The Delegation participates in the Reykjavik Book Fair!

The EU Delegation to Iceland, in collaboration with the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), welcomed the Irish author Sheila Armstrong, who received the 2025 Special Mention from the EUPL. The Delegation participated in the Fair with a booth all weekend, where guests could acquire a copy of the newest EUPL Anthropology - which includes excerpts from the 2025 shortlisted novels. 

The Delegation also informed attendees on the cultural collaboration between EU and Iceland through the Creative Europe programme and the 2026 deadline to apply for the Creative Europe literary fund. Each year during the current programme period (2021–2027), Creative Europe supports 40 literary translation projects, with funding of millions of Icelandic króna (€5 billion). 500 books are translated each year under the funding scheme.

The Fair provided guests with the opportunity to learn more about the circulation of European literature, the importance of translation and the many possibilities available to writers when nominated for the EU Prize for Literature. 

Last year, the Icelandic author María Elísabet Bragadóttir was nominated and received the 2024 Special Mention. This year, she and Sheila Armstrong took part in a panel discussion organised by the Book Fair and the EU Delegation - about the EUPL and their journeys as writers. Sheila also read from her book Falling Animals, which was previewed at the Delegation’s booth. 

In addition to the booth, the EU Delegation held a reception for the authors, translators and publishers present at the Fair, as well as the diplomatic corps, and other distinguished guests. Ambassador Clara Ganslandt spoke about the multilateral cooperation between EU and Iceland, the development and opportunities of the EUPL, and highlighted the presence of the guest author of the Fair, Sheila Armstrong. The Mayor of Reykjavik, Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir, held a speech focusing on the Christmas Book Flood, Icelandic literature heritage and the cultural collaboration between the EU and Iceland. She emphasized the importance of literature not being confined by borders, and this is something that can be achieved through translation.