Iceland’s internationally renowned writer Sjón speaks about Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was, a moving depiction of a young gay man’s experience in 1918 Iceland, and reveals the research he did into the Spanish flu epidemic, which hit an Iceland busy celebrating the end of the war and the beginning of its independence with brutal force. The event also features readings from the novel.
Born in Reykjavik in 1962, Sjón is a celebrated Icelandic novelist. He won the Nordic Council’s Literary Prize for his novel The Blue Fox (the Nordic countries’ equivalent of the Man Booker Prize) and the novel From The Mouth Of The Whale was shortlisted for both the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. His novel Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was was awarded every Icelandic literature prize. His latest published work is the definite edition of the trilogy CoDex 1962
Also a poet, librettist and lyricist, Sjón has published nine poetry collections, written four opera librettos and lyrics for various artists. In 2001 he was nominated for an Oscar for his lyrics in the film Dancer In The Dark.
