The heirs of Icelandic Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Halldór Laxness (1902-1998) have signed a new contract with publishing house Vaka-Helgafell on the republication of his works. The event took place at Gljúfrasteinn, the author’s home which is now a museum, on his birthday April 23.
Halldór Laxness. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The date was also considered appropriate because it was the First Day of Summer, according to the Icelandic calendar, and this week is also International Book Week.
To commemorate the event, the republication of Laxness’s books will begin immediately, starting with Sjöstafakverid, which is a collection of short stories that first appeared in 1964.
The short stories are related to each other—each story represents a life span and can therefore be considered a coming-of-age story. The book is currently being sold at a considerably reduced price, ISK 499 (USD 3.85, EUR 2.90).
Also, in celebration of the contract, all Icelandic residents are invited to download the audio book version of Laxness’s 1948 novel Atómstödin (The Atom Station) for free from forlagid.is until May 1.
The novel is read by the author himself and was first broadcast on national radio station RÚV in 1971.
