Gunnar Gunnarsson

Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889–1975) is one of Iceland’s most widely read twentieth-century authors. Raised in Fljótsdalur and based for three decades in Denmark, he wrote mainly in Danish to reach a Nordic and European audience. His breakthrough was the family saga Borgslægtens historie; English-language readers know him best for The Good Shepherd (Advent), The Black Cliffs (Svartfugl), and the autobiographical Church on the Mountain cycle. Gunnarsson returned to Iceland in 1939 and built The Writer’s House at Skriðuklaustur, where he lived and worked; today the house is a culture centre and historical place, home to the Gunnar Gunnarsson Institute. His books have been widely translated, adapted for stage and screen, and he was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.