Two Icelandic novels have been nominated for the French literary prize Prix Médicis, according to bokmenntaborgin.is. The prize has been awarded annually since 1958 and is among the most respected in France. Works are nominated in two categories: novels written in French and novels in translation.
This year, two Icelandic novels are among the 13 nominated in the latter category, both of them translated by Eric Boury. These are the novels Illska (Le mal, or Malevolence) by Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl og Fiskarnir hafa enga fætur (D’ailleurs, les poissons n’ont pas de pieds, or The Fish Have No Feet) by Jón Kalman Stefánsson. The former is published by Métailié, the latter by Gallimard.
The Prix Médicis will be awarded November 5.
This week, bb.is reports, Illska was nominated for Prix du meilleur roman étranger , a prize given for the best foreign novel published in France this year. The novel has already been awarded the Prix Transfuge as the best Nordic novel of the year.
