Sjón (Iceland)

born in 1962, in Reykjavik, is a poet, novelist, scriptwriter, and lyricist with the full name of Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson.

His first book was a poetry collection called “Visions”, which he published at the age of 16. As a poet, Sjón has published twelve poetry collections and written opera librettos and lyrics for various musicians, including his compatriot Björk.

Sjón is an internationally acclaimed author of the novels: The Blue Fox, The Whispering Muse, From the Mouth of the Whale, Moonstone, CoDex 1962, and Red Milk, for which he has won several awards, including the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize and the Icelandic Literary Prize. He was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.

He was named Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2021 for his contribution to literature, film, and songwriting. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his lyrics in Lars von Trier’s musical drama Dancer in the Dark at the 2001 Oscars ceremony.
In 2017 Sjón became the third writer, – following Margaret Atwood and David Mitchell, – to contribute to Future Library, a public artwork based in Norway spanning 100 years. 

His novels have been translated into thirty-five languages, including Georgian. In Georgia his novel The Blue Fox was published by the Sulakauri Publishing in 2025 (translated by David Akhaladze) under the title Skuga-Balduri.