SOLD OUT Crossed Readings: Jón Kalman Stefánsson & Sigridur Hagalin Bjornsdottir, from Icelandic to French

Crossed Readings: Jón Kalman Stefánsson & Sigridur Hagalin Bjornsdottir, from Icelandic to French

An Evening of Readings in Icelandic and French, Hosted by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Sigridur Hagalin Bjornsdottir & Chloé Germentier This exceptional evening will highlight the powerful and evocative words of two major voices in contemporary Nordic literature. Jón and Sigridur will read selected excerpts from their essential works in Icelandic, offering a unique immersion into the rhythm and musicality of their native language. In parallel, Chloé Germentier will bring these same texts to life in French, creating a poetic and sensory dialogue between the two languages. A rare and unforgettable evening not to be missed!

Jón Kalman Stefánsson

Icelandic author, born in Reykjavik in 1963. Over the last few years Jón Kalman Stefánsson has created a unique and enchanting fictional world in his fifteen novels and two poetry collections. Four of these works have been nominated for the Nordic Council Literary Prize. In 2005 Jón Kalman received the Icelandic Literature Prize for Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night, an unusual novel made up of a collection of stories and connected fragments. Stefánsson made his international wide breakthrough with the Trilogy about the Boy: Heaven and Hell, The Sorrow of Angels and The Heart of Man, for which he gained international recognition and numerous prizes. Fish Have No Feet, the first book in his following duology, was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize and received numerous international awards. The Story of Ásta (2017) became an instant bestseller in Iceland upon publication. His novel Your Absence is Darkness published in 2020 and was awarded Le Prix du livre étranger 2022 France Inter/Le Point. His latest novel My Yellow Submarine came out in 2022 and is already sold to 11 territories.

Sigridur Hagalin Bjornsdottir

Sigridur Hagalin Bjornsdottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1974. She studied history and journalism in Reykjavik, Salamanca (Spain) and at Columbia University in New York (USA), and worked as a broadcast journalist in Denmark and Iceland for 16 years before turning to fiction. Since 2016 she has written novels on subjects ranging from political cataclysms, natural disasters, AI and Icelandic medieval history, and is currently working on her sixth novel. Her books have been translated into ten languages, including French and English. She also works as a news anchor and hosts a political debate program on the Icelandic National Television, RÚV.

Chloé Germentier

Chloé, born in South Korea and raised in Brussels, moved to Montreal in 2004. After 16 years at the Brussels-Capital Economic and Trade Office, she fully dedicated herself to her artistic career in 2020. An actress, she is known for roles in Appelle-moi si tu meurs, Une autre histoire, and Chaos. Passionate about storytelling, she lends her voice to documentaries, podcasts, and audiobooks. Engaged in her craft, she participated in the Au creux de l’oreille project, offering phone readings during the pandemic. Versatile, she thrives both in front of the camera and behind a microphone.