Writing Workshops &
Cultural Tours in Iceland
Registration for the 2023 Iceland Writers Retreat & Iceland Readers Retreat in Reykjavík, Iceland is now open. It will be held April 26-30, 2023.
SPECIAL EARLY BIRD OFFER: Sign up by July 1, 2023, and you’ll get ISK 40,000 (about US$300) off the final fee.
Click here for further information.
Join us for a series of workshops and panels led by an esteemed team of international writers.
Between intimate workshops and lectures we’ll offer the chance to tour the spectacular Golden Circle, sit in the cozy cafes of Reykjavik, soak in geothermal hot springs, listen to new Icelandic music, meet contemporary Icelandic writers, and learn about the country’s rich literary tradition.
The Iceland Readers Retreat will run concurrently to the IWR. Featuring New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik (in 2022; our 2023 faculty is yet to be announced), the IRR is an event for avid readers to delve into the oeuvre of an internationally recognized author, as well as the extensive literary traditions and heritage of Iceland.
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"Absolutely superb in every way."
Rozalind Dineen, Features Editor at the Times Literary Supplement (TLS)
"Quite possibly the world's most special creative writing course."
Travel writer Rory Maclean, 2018 faculty
"If you have a chance to attend the Iceland Writers Retreat, leap at it roaring."
Lauren Groff, National Book Award nominee and 2018 faculty
"It was life changing ... an incredible experience"
Kevin Larimer, Editor in Chief, Poets & Writers
"One of the world's best writers' retreats"
The Sydney Morning Herald
"Gets better and better every year."
Laurie, US, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 participant
"For a writer, it doesn't get much better than this"
Huffington Post
"One of the most thoughtfully planned, helpful, and inspirational events ever."
Carol, 2015, 2016, 2017 participant
"The perfect place to discover literary inspiration"
The Daily Beast
Workshops & Panels
Our workshops are led by acclaimed fiction and non-fiction writers from around the world.
Touring
Participants can choose between three exclusive full-day outings into the Icelandic countryside. All day tours are led by and feature contemporary Icelandic writers. (All participants can attend one all-day tour.)
Time to Write
Dedicated blocks of time throughout the retreat allow participants to focus on their writing. Extend your visit with the “Relax, Read & Write” option that includes two group dinners, an open mike night, and the option of an additional two nights’ accommodation.
Music, Food, & More
Hit the streets of Reykjavik to see live music, listen to readings by local writers, dine at some of Reykjavik’s best eateries. and mingle with faculty and other participants at our Cocktail Receptions.
FEATURED AUTHORS:
We will add additional authors as they are confirmed.
2022 Faculty
Aminatta Forna
Commonwealth Writers' Prize winnerÁrmann Jakobsson
Speaker on every day tour.Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
Bestselling author of "The Nest"Dan Kois
Editor at SlateDavid Chariandy
Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize winnerElnathan John
Betty Trask Award WinnerGretchen Rubin
New York Times bestselling authorHeather Harpham
Writer, teacher and theatre artistHera Björk
Pub night singerKristín Eiríksdóttir
Reader at pub nightKristín Helga Gunnarsdóttir
Award-winning writerMazen Maarouf
Speaker at pub nightPatrick Gale
Sunday Times best-selling authorWill Ferguson
Giller Prize WinnerYrsa Sigurðardóttir
Internationally bestselling authorPAST FACULTY
Adam Gopnik
New Yorker staff writerAdania Shibli
Award winning author and teacherAdelle Waldman
Bestselling authorAlison Pick
Man Booker Prize nomineeAndrew Evans
Author, travel writer, and TV hostAndrew Westoll
Charles Taylor Prize winnerAndri Snær Magnason
Icelandic Literary Prize winnerAnn Hood
NYT bestselling authorBarbara Kingsolver
Orange Prize for Fiction winnerBret Anthony Johnston
Director of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, AustinCarsten Jensen
Olof Palme Prize winnerChigozie Obioma
Man Booker Prize finalistChris Cleave
New York Times bestselling authorClaudia Casper
Author, IWR AlumnaCraig Davidson
Scotiabank Giller Prize nomineeDavid Lebovitz
Chef, AuthorElina Hirvonen
Author, journalist, and filmmakerElizabeth Renzetti
Bestselling author and journalistEsi Edugyan
Giller Prize WinnerGeraldine Brooks
Pulitzer Prize winnerGerður Kristný
Icelandic Literature Award winnerGwendoline Riley
Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction nominee (2017)Hallgrímur Helgason
Icelandic Literary Prize winnerIain Reid
Award winning authorIvan Coyote
Hilary Weston Roger's Trust prize nomineeJames Scudamore
Man Booker Prize nomineeJohn Vaillant
Governor General’s Award winnerJoseph Boyden
Giller Prize winnerKate Williams
Historian, novelist, and broadcasterLauren Groff
National Book Award finalistLina Meruane
Chilean writer and scholarLina Wolff
August Prize winnerLinn Ullmann
Critically acclaimed Norwegian authorLouis de Bernières
Commonwealth Writers' Prize winnerMadeleine Thien
Man Booker Prize nomineeMarcello Di Cintio
Award-winning travel writerMark Kurlansky
Journalist and bestselling authorMeg Wolitzer
Bestselling AuthorMiriam Toews
Governor General’s Award winnerNadifa Mohamed
Somerset Maugham Prize winnerNeel Mukherjee
Man Booker Prize nomineePamela Paul
The New York Times Book Review editorPaul Murray
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse winnerPaul Yoon
Harvard University lecturerPaula McLain
Author of The Paris Wife & morePriya Basil
Commonwealth Writers' Prize nomineeRagnar Helgi Ólafsson
Icelandic Literary Prize nomineeRandy Boyagoda
University of Toronto English professorRory Maclean
Bestselling travel writerRuth Reichl
Bestselling food writer and editorSara Wheeler
Internationally bestselling travel writerSarah Moss
Creative Writing Prof and award-winning authorSjón
Nordic Council Literary Prize winnerSusan Orlean
New Yorker staff writerSusan Shreve
Guggenheim Award winnerTaiye Selasi
Granta “Best Young British Novelist”Terry Fallis
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour winnerTessa Hadley
Windham Campbell prize winnerVilborg Davíðsdóttir
Author, Ethnologist, JournalistVincent Lam
Giller Prize winnerTHE BLOG
News & Events
Win 50 percent off your delegate fee!
We are so excited to be returning to an in-person event next month that we are offering one
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