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It was one of the stranger days in Reykjavík: All at once the day of the municipal elections and the day of the Eurovision Song Contest – which, in Iceland, inspires a degree of devotion reserved for deities in most other countries.

"Turbulence is important, not tidiness," says Auður Jónsdóttir of her fast-paced novel Winter Sun, which was released by German publishing house btb last spring, and thumbs its nose at just about every genre convention you can think of.

The protagonist of Winter Sun is Sunna, a confused young woman described by Auður as “a leaf in the wind”, passively drifting through life. One day in December, however, when the days are at their shortest and darkest, Sunna is forced to come to terms with her past: Just as her employer, a publishing house, grants her a chance to direct a course on crime fiction, she needs to look after the son of her boyfriend, who is stranded in the Westfjords of Iceland by a an unrelenting storm.

Wintersun has been released in Germany under the name Jenseits des Meeres liegt die ganze Welt, translated by German author Kristof Magnusson. The book has already received praise by Der Spiegel:

"In ihrem Roman "Jenseits des Meeres liegt die ganze Welt" findet Audur Jonsdottir authentische Orte, geschickt konstruiert sie Situationen im Wechsel zwischen Gegenwart und Rückblende. Es gelingt ihr: eine ungewöhnliche Mischung aus psychologischer Reflexion und Kriminalroman. Ein von der ersten Seite an ebenso sinnliches wie spannendes Buch, das einen unverwechselbaren Eindruck hinterlässt - man will nach der Lektüre sehr gern mal nach Island reisen."

Der Spiegel review: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/unispiegel/d-78490679.html

The metropolitan police is searching for Arndis Theodorsdottir . . . she was last seen at Korpulfsstadir Centre for Culture last Friday . . .

Sunna is shocked when she sees the announcement on the internet. Memories from her time as a student with Arndis in Barcelona haunt her and make it difficult to focus on the crime fiction writing course she is supposed to be directing. On the other hand, the pre-Christmas rush at the publishing house where she is working has reached its peak and there’s little time left to investigate the disappearance of an old friend.

(From Publishing trends, New York)

Hot in Iceland at the moment is young author Audur Jónsdóttir, recipient of the Icelandic Literary Prize, nominee for the Nordic Council Literary prize, and granddaughter of Nobel Prizewinner Halldor Laxness.

Her famous grandfather served as inspiration for a children’s book in 2002, but her multicultural experiences living in Barcelona and Denmark are the fodder for her latest novel. A story set in a nameless city in a nameless country, Deposit deals with the seemingly ubiquitous issues of immigration and culture clash.

The reception of The People in the Basement by the Danish media has been overwhelming with 7 or more positive reviews in all the main newspapers in just 10 days. We have already told you about the reviews in Jyllandsposten, Information and Berlingske Tidene and now Weekendavisen, Politiken, Jydske Vestkysten and Fyens Stiftstidende have joined this choir .

It´s only been two years since Audur finished her last novel and harvested several good reviews, prizes and nominations. Now It seems like history is repeating itself, her first book review in Denmark, published in Jyllandsposten on Friday, is very favourable.

The review in Jyllands-Posten was the first since the proper publication of The People in the Basement in Denmark on September 29th. And what a review by Henriette Bacher Lind. What praise!

The remains of 2006 will be busy for Icelandic writer Auður Jonsdottir. The Danish translation of The People in the Basement will be published by Tiderne Skifter in September. The name of the book in Danish is Dem i Kælderen.

In November Auður is attending a seminar in Copenhagen and then she will have to catch a plane to Germany early the next morning for a seminar in Greifswald.