
Rights sold to:
Poland (Biuro Literackie)
Ukraine (Vydavnytstvo)
Denmark (Torgard)
Hungary (Polar Egyesulet)
ITCH, Partus Press, 2018.
For foreign rights: Laurence Laluyaux,
l.laluyaux@rcwlitagency.com
Nominated - Nordic Council Literature Prize 2020
Shortlisted - Fjöru Prize - Icelandic Women's Prize for Literature 2019
2nd place for Fiction - The Icelandic Bookseller Prize 2018
Stories published in The Iowa Review, The Southern Review, PRISM International, Words without Borders and Comma Press.
Does modern life give us all more or less the same itchiness? The short story collection Kláði by Fríða Ísberg is a beautiful example of the breath of spring that young writers can bring to literature. Renewals and changes are among the most important conditions of life for literature; sometimes they arise when new people take the stage and look at topics in a different light. The narrative method is both realistic and modernist. The value of the work lies first and foremost in a strong emotional approach, which requires the reader to relate to attitudes and values in the present time.
The short stories in Kláði are broadly about how it is possible to grow up and be reconciled to the fate that awaits modern human beings. The stories deal with sex and relationships, conflicts between the generations and genders, porn and alienation, stereotypes and the curse of addiction, guilt and oppression, hollow traditions and love that is time-consuming and hard to find, as well as perseverance and a smothering sense of sorrow.
- Rationale of the Nordic Council Literature Prize