Andri Snær Magnason

Andri Snær Magnason is an Icelandic writer. He has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays and CD's. His work has been published or performed in more than 16 countries. His most recent work is the book Draumalandið, a highly praised work of non-fiction dealing with all sorts of issues in modern Iceland, mostly environmentalism but also e.g. the US Army being in the country, inconsistencies in policies regarding towns outised of Reykjavík and less dramatic things like ideas in general and other such issues. His latest novel, LoveStar was chosen “Novel of the year” by Icelandic booksellers 2002, it received the DV Literary Award and a nomination to the Icelandic Literary Prize. His children's book, The Story of the Blue Planet, was the first children's book to receive the Icelandic Literary Prize and has been published in 12 countries. The Story of the Blue Planet received the Janusz Korczak Honorary Award 2000 and the West Nordic Children's Book Prize 2002. The play from the story is on the main stage of LKTYP in Toronto in 2005. Andri has collaborated with various artists, mostly with a band called múm. Andri is vice-president of The Icelandic Writers Union, board member of The Culture House in Reykjavik and has been active in the fight against the destruction of the Icelandic Highlands. Andri has recently published the book Dreamland - Self-help for a frightened nation. It is a book that critisices the fast destruction of the Icelandic nature by the damming of rivers for the gain of aluminiumcompanies.

Andri is born in Reykjavík on the 14th of July 1973. He comes from a family of doctors and nurses. His father is a doctor, his mother is a nurse, his sister is a brain surgeon, his brother is a student but his wife is a nurse. Andri is married to a nurse, her sister is in med school, his mother-in-law is a nurse and her sister too. His great grandfather was a doctor in the West Fjords of Iceland. His grandfather, Björn Thorbjarnarson is married to a nurse from Toronto, he was a chief surgeon at the New York Hospital and professor at Cornell University. Björn wrote the bestseller: Surgery of the Bilinary Tract, 1975. Andri lives in Reykjaví­k, he has two children.

External links

* [http://www.simnet.is/andri/index.php Official website]