Selected Translations

Novels, Anthologies, and Long-Form Nonfiction Works

One True Word by Snæbjörn Arngrímsson (Pushkin Vertigo; forthcoming 2024)

The Mark by Fríða Ísberg (Text Publishing, April 2024 / Faber & Faber; June 2024)

Best Non-Required Nordic Poetry 2022 (Orðskjálfti; 2023)

An annual anthology of the best poems of the year selected by young poetry enthusiasts across the Nordic countries. The poems in this collection were chosen by young editors in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Translator of 15 poems in the anthology.

Mountain Roads in Reykjavík by Sigurlín Bjarney Gísladóttir (as yet unpublished)

Translated on behalf of the author.

Dead Empires by Steinar Bragi (as yet unpublished)

Translated on behalf of the author / Salomonsson Agency. (World English rights available.)

My Father’s Library: Requiem (Miscellany) by Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson (Tunglið Forlag; 2023)

Published in a limited edition of 69 copies to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Tunglið Forlag (World English rights available).

The Fires: Love & Other Disasters by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir (AmazonCrossing; 2023)

Wing by Wing: Best Non-Required Nordic Poetry 2021 (Orðskjálfti; 2022)

Wing by Wing is the second installment of The Best Non-Required Nordic Poetry — an annual anthology of the best poems of the year selected by young poetry enthusiasts across the Nordic countries. The poems in this collection were chosen by young editors in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Translator of 10 poems in the anthology.

The Book of Reykjavík by Various. Comma Press (UK), 2021.

Anthology of short stories set in Reykjavík, Iceland. Translator of four stories in the collection by Björn
Halldórsson, Fríða Ísberg, Friðgeir Einarsson, and Kristín Eiríksdóttir.

I Drink the Ink: Best Non-Required Poetry 2020 (Orðskjálfti; 2021)

I Drink the Ink is the first installment of The Best Non-Required Nordic Poetry — an annual anthology of the best poems of the year selected by young poetry enthusiasts across the Nordic countries. The poems in this collection were chosen by young editors in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden. Translator of 12 poems in the anthology.

Screenshot by Bergur Ebbi. Forlagið (ISL; Foreign Rights Available), 2020.

A Fist or a Heart by Kristín Eiríksdóttir. AmazonCrossing (US), 2019.

*Winner of the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s Nadia Christensen Translation Prize; 2019.

The Ninth Step by Ingvi Þór Kormáksson. ShieldCrest Publishing (UK), April 2019.

Birds by Hjörleifur Hjartarson and illustrated by Rán Flygenring. Angústúra Forlag (ISL), 2018.

Find Your Inner Viking by Ingvar Jónsson. Self-help book translated on behalf of the author (ISL).

Short Stories and Novel Excerpts

“A Radio Operator Goes Hunting,” by Steinunn G. Helgadóttir. West Branch. February 2024.

“The Night Before Admittance,” by Ármann Jakobsson. Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2023.

“The Quiet Game,” by Halla Þorlaug Óskarsdóttir. Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2023.

“The Bell,” by Steinar Bragi. The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Vol. 2, 2022.

“The Dwarf with the Ear,” by María Elísabet Bragadóttir. Forthcoming in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2021.

“On the Edge: Writing from Iceland.” Published in Words Without Borders, 2021.

Guest edited special issue featuring new writing by eight Icelandic authors. (All translated by myself unless otherwise noted.) Prose by Björn Halldórson, Fríða Ísberg, Steinunn G. Helgadóttir, Thora Hjörleifsdóttir (trans. Meg Matich), and Thórdís Helgadóttir. Poetry by Bergrún Anna Hallsteinsdóttir (tras. Meg Matich), Eva Rún Snorradóttir, and Haukur Ingvarsson (trans. Meg Matich).

“April 1, 2006,” by Fríða Ísberg. Published in The Southern Review (US), 2021.

“Uterus,” by Þórdís Helgadóttir. Published in MQR Mixtape, online imprint of Michigan Quarterly Review (US), forthcoming 2020.

“The Chandelier” and “Girlfriend #3” by Fríða Ísberg. Published in The Iowa Review (US), 2020.

“Profile” by Fríða Ísberg. Published in PRISM International (CA), 2020.

Excerpt from A Fist or a Heart. Published in Scandinavian Review (US), Autumn 2020.

“The Summerhouse” by Sunna Dís Másdóttir. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2020.

“Strawberry Moon” by Júlía Margrét Einarsdóttir. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2019.

A Fist or a Heart (excerpt) by Kristín Eiríksdóttir. Published on LitHub (US), September 2019.

“Evelyn Hates Her Name” by Kristín Eiríksdóttir. Published in Tupelo Quarterly (US), July 2019.

“Abel’s Autobiography” by Kári Tulinius. Published in Words Without Borders (US), Queer Issue X, 2019.

“The Neighborhood” by Lóa Hjálmtýsdóttir. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2019.

“If Only You’d Called” by Björn Halldórsson. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2019.

“What It’s Like to Drown” by Friðgeir Einarsson. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2019.

“Korríró, Baby” by Þórdís Helgadóttir. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2019.

“The Doctor’s Appointment and Its Consequences” by Brynjólfur Þorsteinsson. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2018.

“The Chandelier” by Fríða Ísberg. Published in Iceland Review (ISL; distributed internationally), 2018.

“Elín, Misc.” (Excerpt). Published in EuropeNow (US), 2018.

“Ascension” by Steinunn G. Helgadóttir. Published in Quiddity (US), 2018.

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Steinunn G. Helgadóttir. Published in Lunch Ticket (US), 2018.

"Of a Mother's Mind" (Excerpt) by Kári Tulinius. Published in PEN Austria's Words and Worlds, 2017.

"On the Way to the Writer's Conference"​ by Auður Jónsdóttir. Published in Gutter (UK), 2016.

Picture Books, Children's, and YA Lit

Mia’s Magic Gadget by Þórunn Eva Thapa, Illustrated by Bergrún Íris Sævarsdóttir. Translated on behalf of the author, 2020.

The Silver Key by Sigrún Eldjárn. Translated on behalf of the author, 2020.

Fíasól is On a Roll by Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir. Translated on behalf of the author, 2020.

Fíasól Never Gives Up by Kristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir. Translated on behalf of the author, 2019.

“Wolf and Edda and the Stolen Artifact” (Excerpt) by Kristín Ragna Gunnarsdóttir. Published on website for BookTrust (UK), 2018.

Commissioned translation for BookTrust’s “In Other Words Project,” promoting international children’s literature in English translation. My sample was one of many international submissions to this project and was chosen as one of the organization’s 2018 shortlist titles.

The Stuff of Nightmares ed. by Markús Már Efraím. Translated on behalf of the editor, 2017.

Collection of horror stories written by eight-to-ten-year-old Icelandic schoolchildren.

Poetry

“Poems from a Cloven Heart: II and XXIX” by Helen Cova. Michigan Quarterly Review, Special Translation Issue (Forthcoming 2024).

Faux Flora: A Multisensory collaboration between Fischersund & the Impostor Poets (2022)

Translator of six poems by the members of the Impostor Poets collective.

“Snowfire” by Kári Tulinius. Published in PEN: Finland’s Sulava: The Multilingual Literature of Finland. October 2021.

“Four poems from Glacier Line” by Kári Tulinius. Published in Asymptote, July 2021.

“On the Edge: Writing from Iceland.” Published in Words Without Borders, 2021.

Guest edited special issue featuring new writing by eight Icelandic authors. (All translated by myself unless otherwise noted.) Prose by Björn Halldórson, Fríða Ísberg, Steinunn G. Helgadóttir, Thora Hjörleifsdóttir (trans. Meg Matich), and Thórdís Helgadóttir. Poetry by Bergrún Anna Hallsteinsdóttir (tras. Meg Matich), Eva Rún Snorradóttir, and Haukur Ingvarsson (trans. Meg Matich).

“1992 Edge Milky Way,” “Ars Politica, or what my female friends taught me about zombies,” and “A Novel Ending With the Distant Barking of Dogs” by Kári Tulinius. Poetry in Action (a bimonthly, online poetry feature curated by Action Books), 2020.

“KIDS INHI GHSC HOOL” and “THEB ELLE STEP OQUE” by Kári Tulinius. Circumference, 2020.

“CHUR CHIN NAGA SAKI” and “LOVE ONTH EBOR DERS” by Kári Tulinius. KROnline (The Kenyon Review), Sept/Oct 2020.

“PICT URED SPLE NDOR,” “KIDS KEEP PAST SAFE,” and “Reykjavík Summer 2012” by Kári Tulinius. Published in Spoon River Poetry Review, vol. 44.2 (US), December 2019.

“PICT URED SPLE NDOR” was nominated for the 2020 Pushcart Prize.

Selected Poems by Kári Tulinius, Kristín Eiríksdóttir, Jón Örn Loðmfjörð (Lommi), and Sigurlín Bjarney Gísladóttir. Published in The Cafe Review’s Summer Icelandic Issue, ed. Meg Matich, 2018.

"Entropic Nature: Four Poems" by Kári Tulinius. Published in the University of Iowa’s Exchanges, 2017.

“Dust” by Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir. Published in CV2: Contemporary Verse 2 (CA), 2017.

Essays and Short Nonfiction

“Translation is…” by Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir. Translating: Architecture. Ed. Marc-Antoine Durand and Katie Filek. As Found Editions (FR), forthcoming 2024.

“Bookworm in a Chrysalis,” by Natasha S. Writers Adrift: Essays by Foreign-Born Writers in Iceland. Ed. Ewa Marcinek and Natasha S. Una útgáfuhús (ÍS), 2023.

Natasha’s essay was also published on LitHub in April 2023.

“Bright Words Will Light Your Way,” by Jakub Stachowiak. Writers Adrift: Essays by Foreign-Born Writers in Iceland. Ed. Ewa Marcinek and Natasha S. Una útgáfuhús (ÍS), 2023.

“GRÍMUR,” Dr. Ynda Eldborg. Essay booklet to accompany photographic exhibition of the same name at Nordic House (Rvk). 2023.

“Status Check” - Printed booklet of poetry and essays to accompany exhibition of the same name, shown at Gerðarsafn Museum in April-May 2022. Authors: Bergur Ebbi, Fríða Ísberg, Halldór Armand, Jakub Stachowiak, Kristín Eiríksdóttir, with accompanying essays by co-curators Kristína Aðalsteinsdóttir & Þorvaldur Sigurbjörn Helgason.

“You’ll Know What You’re Looking For When You Find It,” by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. Rvk Poetics. Reykjavík Bókmenntaborg / UNESCO City of Literature (ÍS). 2021.

“One Minute of Life,” Margrét Bjarnadóttir. Rvk Poetics. Reykjavík Bókmenntaborg / UNESCO City of Literature (ÍS). 2021.

“I love all my authors.” An interview with Tone Myklebost. Magnús Guðmundsson. Icelandic Literature Center blog. 2021.

“Clear Results of Promotional Efforts” by Hrefna Haraldsdóttir. Icelandic Literature Center blog. 2021.

“Dispatches from a Microlanguage” by Thora Hjörleifsdóttir. LitHub (US), 2021.

“The Imposter Poets Issue a Manifesto” by Fríða Ísberg, Melkorka Ólafsdóttir, Ragnheiður Harpa Leifsdóttir, Sunna Dís Másdóttir, Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir, and Þórdís Helgadóttir. LitHub (US), 2019.

“A Modern-Day Saga in Fancy Dress” by Kristinn E. Andrésson. Scandinavian-Canadian Studies (CA), 2019.

Scholarly article examining social critique and Cold War allegories in Halldór Laxness’ Gerpla,
commissioned by the journal for a special issue examining the modern reception of the Fóstbroeðra saga.

Iceland Defense Force by Bragi Þór Jósefsson. Crymogea (ISL), 2015.

I by Valdimar Thorlacius. Crymogea (ISL), 2015.

Photographer Valdimar Thorlacius's collection of photographs and interviews with recluses living in the Icelandic countryside.

Selected Publications

Nonfiction Works (Long-Form)

22 Places You Absolutely Must See in the Faroe Islands. Crymogea (ISL), 2014.

Photographic travel guide to the Faroe Islands. From the book jacket:

Situated midway between Iceland and Norway, the Faroe Islands represent uncharted territory for most travelers—a verdant, rugged archipelago of eighteen islands where often, the puffins outnumber the people. So here are twenty-two Must-See sights when you visit the Faroes: from turf roofed homes in secluded seaside villages to Viking longhouse ruins, from a magnificent Stone Forest to sheer coastal cliffs which shelter nesting birds in the hundreds of thousands.

In many ways, these pastoral islands seem to exist outside of time. But even as its people proudly protect their cultural heritage, the Faroes have undergone enormous developments that have helped to shape them into the unique place they are today. Visiting these 22 fantastic locations won’t reveal all of the Faroes’ secrets by half, but they will be a wonderful introduction to a place and a people that you’ll want to visit again and again.

Personal Essays

“Að læra íslensku in fourteen words.” (Tusculum Review; 2018)

(Commissioned.) Humorous, personal essay, styled as an Icelandic dictionary, which traces my language-learning experience in Iceland.

“Independent People” (The Island Review; 2014)

‘In this particular instance, my friend and I were discussing the way in which Icelanders tend to offer help. Or, more accurately, the frequency with which they specifically don’t offer help. To my friend, a very considerate and attentive person herself, this often comes across as rudeness. To her Icelandic husband, it’s the very opposite. “If someone wants help, they’ll ask for it,” he told her. “But they probably want to do it themselves.”

“An Outsider in Iceland” (The Island Review; 2014)

‘I’m foreign. There’s no real point pretending otherwise. Here in Iceland, like many others (more than you might imagine in a country this small and this isolated), my most prominent characteristic is that I wasn’t born here. (Or, as they say in the state of Maine, I’m “from away.”) It’s a condition I don’t expect to overcome anytime soon. And honestly, I’m not sure I want to.’

Travel Writing

I've authored multiple travel articles for Icelandair Stopover, Icelandair's in-flight magazine, and The Reykjavík Grapevine, among others. Most recently, I was commissioned to write the cover story for the first issue of Air Iceland's new bilingual in-flight magazine, My North. I also spent two years as a columnist for the website The Island Review, writing essays about life and travel as an expat in Iceland. Samples available upon request.

“Hidden Valley of the Gods” (Icelandair Stopover; 2018)

Commissioned article. Hiking in Þórsmörk, a popular destination in the Icelandic highlands. Article included photos taken by the author.

“Secret Sigló” (My North In-Flight Magazine; 2017)

Commissioned article. 48 hours in Siglufjörður, one of the northernmost towns in Iceland. The article was accompanied by a sidebar piece on sea swimming in a nearby fjord.

“Six Degrees of Cheeseburger Soup” (The Island Review; 2016)

‘In January, however, the weather pattern begins to swing queasily between frost and thaw on an almost daily basis, meaning that the once-beautiful snow morphs into ever-hardening, ever-slickening sheets of packed ice, so even if you don’t slip and crack a rib over the course of the month, it’s unlikely that you’ll make it to February without a grim array of purple bruises up and down your backside. January is all about returning: it’s back to work and back to school and back to the humdrum every day and no one is particularly amped about it.

In the midst of such malaise it’s natural, I think, to look for things to lighten the overall mood, and this is where Ostborgarasúpa, or Cheeseburger Soup, comes into play.’

“Summertime and Summer Time” (The Island Review; 2015)

‘Rather, I’d say that summer is more of a state of mind in Iceland than it is a season, or a holiday, or a set of prescribed traditions. There’s a kind of urgency accompanies the sudden shift from near-constant darkness to near-constant daylight, a sense that while it may not exactly be warm, this is the time to go out and make the most of what several of my coworkers and acquaintances have referred to as “fallegt land okkar”—our beautiful country. Suffice to say, out of office auto-replies are quite commonplace from April to September.’

“What’s In a Name?” (The Island Review; 2015)

"Among the many idiosyncratic things that people know about Iceland is that the country has an official naming committee, or Mannanafnanefnd, which dictates what names people can and cannot give their children.”

“Time Will Tell” (The Island Review; 2015)

‘As people in other parts of the world make their New Year’s resolutions, drink champagne toasts, and watch the ball drop, Icelanders have their own set of traditions for ringing in the coming year. Some of these traditions are reasonably well-known outside of Iceland — our fireworks are legendary — but I wager that there are still relatively few people who know about another popular tradition: that of the annual völvuspár, or ‘oracle prophecies,’ that are not only published in a number of respected Icelandic publications in late December, but also are themselves the subject of many a detailed analysis by local news outlets.’

“On the Road Again (And Again)” (The Reykjavík Grapevine; 2014)

A profile of the Ystafell Transportation Museum in North Iceland.

Book Reviews

I began writing both long and short-form book reviews and literary essays for The L Magazine in 2007. I continued as a regular book reviewer for a variety of American publications—including Three Percent, The Second Pass, and Reviewing the Evidence until 2012. After moving to Iceland, I also contributed book reviews to The Reykjavík Grapevine and Iceland Review. My areas of focus have primarily been literature in translation, particularly contemporary Icelandic and Nordic fiction, as well as crime fiction. My review of Purge by Sofi Oksanen was selected by the National Book Critics Circle to be featured as the “Review-of-the-Day” on Powells.com in June 2010. Samples available upon request.

Cultural Articles and Interviews

“On the Periphery: New Writing from Iceland” (Words Without Borders; 2021)

Introduction to guest-edited and co-translated special issue of WWB featuring eight Icelandic authors.

“This issue attempts to navigate the space that Iceland occupies, spotlighting Icelandic writing from the last five years that engages with global socio-political issues, contemporary mindsets, and topics of public conversation from the perspective of a nation that is literally and figuratively on the periphery—at once very much impacted by, and participant in, these conversations, but still a minor player, without the stature, or power, to effect real change on, say, the international climate policy that will have everything to do with whether those glaciers melt—or at the very least, how fast.

[“On the Periphery”] also looks at the flip side of this marginality—the ways in which being supporting cast on the world stage means avoiding the spotlight when it comes to issues that the country still has work to do on. (Who can bother, after all, with a few soiled socks from a country like Iceland when the US alone generates more than enough dirty laundry for everyone?) The scope of the topics explored in this issue is, therefore, necessarily broad without being comprehensive, running the gamut from environmental issues and queer rights to intimate partner violence, immigration and migration, and participation in international aid efforts.”

“Thrash and Burn: Neskaupstaður’s Metal Fest with Heart” (My North In-Flight Magazine; 2019)

Commissioned article. 48-hours at the Eistnaflug Metal Festival, which is held annually in a remote village in East Iceland.

“Compliments to the Chef” (Icelandair Stopover; 2019)

Commissioned article. Interview with Chef Bjarni Siguróli Jakobsson, who represented Iceland in the 2019 Bocuse d’Or culinary competition, often characterized as the ‘Olympics of Cooking.’

“(Not) Going by the Book” (Icelandair Stopover; 2018)

An interview with Iceland’s first lady, Eliza Reid, about being an immigrant in Iceland, setting new precedents for a first lady, The Iceland Writers Retreat, things she’s learned from traveling, and more.

“Hidden People: They’re Just Like Us (Kind Of)” (The Reykjavík Grapevine; 2015)

Cover Feature. Socio-historical discussion of the Hidden People in Icelandic folklore, accompanied by original translations of Icelandic folktales.

“More Icelandic Than the Flag” (The Reykjavík Grapevine; July 2014)

On Iceland’s love affair with mayo. Accompanied by a translation of “Mayonnaise In Memoriam,” a short satirical essay by Andri Snær Magnason.

“America Daze” (The Reykjavík Grapevine; 2013)

America, as interpreted by an annual promotion at an Icelandic department store.