Author and poet Ófeigur Sigurðsson was born in Reykjavik 1975. He received his BA degree in 2007, with a thesis on the taboo and transgression in the works of Georges Bataille. A prolific poet, Ófeigur has published several collections including Toast to the Midwinter (2001) and Redness (2006). In 2005 his first novel was published but his second novel, A Novel of Jon (2010), became the first Icelandic novel to receive the European Union Prize for Literature, in 2011. The best-seller Oraefi: The Wasteland (2014) was the runaway literary sensation of the year, becoming a massive bestseller, snatched up the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2014, and won The Icelandic Booksellers‘ Prize the same year. It was a Best Translated Book Awards Finalist 2019 in the US and nominated for the National Translation Award, ALTA, in 2019. Besides publishing several award-winning novels, Ófeigur has translated literature and written for radio.