About

Margret Helgadottir September 2022

I am a Norwegian-Icelandic author and anthology editor currently living in Oslo, Norway. My native language is Norwegian, but on my spare time I write fiction and edit fiction anthologies in English.

My Amazon page is here (UK) and here (.com). My Goodreads page is here. I am @MaHelgad on Twitter. And finally, my Facebook page is here. I am also a charter member of the African Speculative Fiction Society.

Short biography

Margrét Helgadóttir is a Norwegian-Icelandic writer and anthology editor living in Oslo, Norway. Her stories have appeared in a number of both magazines and print anthologies and her debut book The Stars Seem So Far Away, was finalist to British Fantasy Awards 2016. Margrét is editor of the anthology Winter Tales (2016) and the book series Fox Spirit Books of Monsters, seven volumes published between 2014 and 2020. Three volumes were shortlisted to British Fantasy Awards as Best Anthology (2016, 2017 and 2018), and Margret was also awarded with Starburst Magazine’s Brave New Words Award in 2018 for her editor work on Pacific Monsters. https://margrethelgadottir.wordpress.com

Writing

I have written fiction all my life but it was first late 2012 that I started to write only in English and started to submit it for publishing. My first short story was one of the winners of a writing competition held by UK-based publisher Fox Spirit Books. My stories have since then appeared in a number of both magazines and print anthologies such as Future Tense Fiction/Slate Magazine, Gone Lawn Journal, Luna Station Quarterly, Tales of Fox and Fae, Girl at the End of the World, and Sunspot Jungle, to name a few.

I mostly write stories within the speculative genres but I do also write the more literary tale now and then. The writings by authors such as Haruki Murakami, China Mieville, and Ursula le Guin, is among my inspirations.

My debut book The Stars Seem So Far Away was published by Fox Spirit Books early 2015. It’s a post apocalyptic road tale set in a far-future Arctic world, told through linked stories of five survivors. The book was shortlisted (finalist) to British Fantasy Awards in 2016 as Best Collection.

Editing

On my spare time, I am also editor of fiction anthologies:

Winter Tales (2016), Fox Spirit Books
The Fox Spirit Books of Monsters (2014-2020), Fox Spirit Books:

The Fox Spirit Books of Monsters is a coffee table book series with dark short fiction and art about monsters and scary creatures, based on folklore and myths from around the world, written by local authors, seven volumes published annually between 2014 and 2020: European Monsters, African Monsters, Asian Monsters, Pacific Monsters, American Monsters Part 1 & 2, Eurasian Monsters.

Currently working on my ninth anthology, Nordic Voices: The Best of Nordic Speculative Fiction – coming from Rebellion Publishing in October 2023, see here.

Awards

I have had the huge honour to be shortlisted (finalist) to several awards as both editor and author, four times to British Fantasy Awards (2016-2018), and I was also awarded the Starburst Magazine’s inaugural Brave New Words Award 2018 for my editor work on Pacific Monsters.

Margrét Helgadottir – with the inaugural Brave New Words Award from Starburst Magazine

Stories in anthologies I have edited have also been shortlisted to several awards, including Caine Prize for African Writing (2017), Aurealis Awards (2018) and Sir Julius Vogel Awards (2018). See a full list of shortlistings and awards here.

Life

My full name is Ingibjörg Margrét Helgadóttir. I was born in Ethiopia to a Norwegian mother and an Icelandic father. I have also lived in Senegal (Dakar), Denmark (Copenhagen) and in Norway.

I have a six years Cand.polit. degree from the University of Oslo from 1999 and I majored in Pedagogy. I have worked as both Press Advisor, Project Manager and Senior Advisor in several Norwegian ministries and directorates, and at the Nordic Council of Ministers in Copenhagen. I have also worked in media and as teacher at both University of Oslo and high school.

Use of pictures

Text and pictures on this site © Margrét Helgadóttir except where otherwise noted. The pictures of myself featured on this page can be used freely in articles etc about me, but I would appreciate that you referred to me as owner of the pictures.

Book covers on this site © the different publishers. The head picture is a fragment of street art I found on a wall in Rome, Italy during Christmas 2017.