About Óskar

Óskar is born in Reykjavík in 1965. He's written stories since his teenage years, but it wasn't until 2011 that he decided to write his first novel – the criminal thriller HILMA.

“For me it was now or never. I would never be at peace with myself until I had taken this step. Previously I'd only written anything when my so called “spirit” was present, but this time I wanted to test it, the “spirit”...and myself. Could I sit for x hours a day without my “spirit” being present?”

Turns out he could. Óskar sat and wrote for the next 3 years, with the end result being the novel HILMA which was released in April 2015 to fantastic reviews. It rocketed to the top of the Icelandic bestseller charts.

“It was a tough process. Not the writing itself, because I loved creating characters, settings, environments, opposites, threats and feelings. I found this captivating tension and the passion to write the reader himself into these circumstances. Have him be there with everyone's feelings, thoughts and sounds. To put the reader in the shoes of those I'm writing about. In that regard I don't care on what road the characters are on – redemption or damnation, it's the journey that counts. The hard part is that I have to dive deep for these things, both into myself and into others, and that was often a gruesome task.”

Before HILMA was even published, a film production company approached Óskar and purchased the film rights to the novel. Þórómar Jónsson will direct and Ottó Geir Borg is adapting a screenplay from the novel.

Hilma is a two-part novel and Óskar has already started work on the eagerly awaited second part, though it is not a direct sequel to Hilma.