Ólafur Gunnarsson (b. 1948) is among Iceland’s best storytellers. He made his publishing debut in 1978 and has since written novels and poetry and also books for children. With his highly acclaimed trilogy, Trolls’ Cathedral (1992), Potter’s Field (1996) and Winter Journey (1999), he has earned a place among the major realists in Icelandic letters. Trolls’ Cathedral was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize in 1992 as well as the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996. An adaption for the stage premiered at The National Theatre in 1996. Gunnarsson received the Icelandic Literary Prize for his novel, The Ax and the Earth, in 2004. His children’s book The Beautiful Flying Whale, 1989 has been published widely, and was nominated to the Nordic Children’s Literature Award in 1990. Olafur has also translated Kerouac’s novel On the Road and Dashiel Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.