Ós Pressan is a non-profit initiative designed to bring out and promote new authors, to create an inclusive writing community and to challenge the reality of the publishing industry in Iceland.
In the ongoing social change in Iceland, where over 10% of the population was born in another country, we identified a tremendous gap between the current social reality and the literary-publishing scene. The absence of representation of foreign-born writers brought us to a wider and more inclusive idea: the margins of the Icelandic society and literature, the voices that are not being heard. We want to explore this area, bring out and promote new authors, offer them the opportunity to be heard and create a community addressing this social and cultural change.
The Ós writing community started in early 2015 during a workshop celebrating the
100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in Iceland and is dedicated to
gathering writers from the margins of Icelandic society and bringing them into Iceland´s rich literary scene.
The Icelandic word Ós refers to the estuary or delta of a river - a spot where one river becomes many or many become one before entering the ocean. Move the accent and, in English, O's becomes the sound of delight and surprise upon discovering something new. Accent to the right again and it becomes Oś, the Polish word for axis.
ABOUT ÓS PRESSAN
