Guðrún Saemundsen comes from Iceland, the land of fire and ice, where winters are long and with what seems endless darkness. Extremes of weather can bring blizzards and violent storms. The climate and natural surroundings have a power and dynamic that are hugely inspiring. In between these outbursts the weather calms down, the winter mid-day sun hovering low over the horizon; with evening come starry-bright skies and Northern Lights dancing across the heavens. Then spring arrives, the days grow longer and Icelanders discard their winter clothing, even though it’s not particularly warm. The atmosphere over Iceland is, actually, pretty much always chilly – and always fresh. Now’s the time when Guðrún finds it harder to sit at home writing; all Icelanders, in fact, find it very difficult to stay indoors when there’s fine weather. Even in the evening. That’s just the time when it’s good to seize the opportunity to refill one’s tank; to get ideas and inspiration from here and there in the environment: people, fresh air, the marvels of nature, the surrounding ocean, long summer nights, fresh water, the energy in the earth. You can find so many places in Iceland where you can be alone with yourself. And you don’t need to go far to find them; we’re surrounded by Nature and mountains, with camping areas within easy reach. All this stimulates creative powers and brings inspiration to daily life and is without doubt why Guðrún has been writing since she was a child. Why she has this need to express herself with words on a page. To write about what comes to her in the moment rather than following some trend. 

Single mother Guðrún Saemundsen lives in the Reykjavík metropolitan area with her two children and two cats. The days can be demanding: the hustle and bustle of work, driving to ferry the children to and from nursery and school. All the things that need doing back home after work — and don’t forget to feed the cats. Then the lovely times with the children in bed in the evenings when they read a book together and she tells them stories. That’s life. When all is calm and the children are asleep, she sits at the computer in candlelight while sleet hammers at the window. Then she loses herself in her imaginary world, enters into a total other consciousness and lets herself flow.

Saemundsen’s first book Hann kallar á mig (2015) was nominated for the audiobook Storytel Awards in 2021. Her second book Andstæður was published in 2018. The third is titled RÓSA (2021), now in English translation by Björg Árnadóttir and Andrew Cauthery (2024). All self-published.