Natasha S. is a poet, translator, journalist and editor. Born in Russia, she has lived in Iceland since 2012. She holds a BA in journalism from Moscow and a BA in Icelandic as a second language, with Swedish, from the University of Iceland. Her first collection of poetry, Máltaka á stríðstímum (2022), received the Tómas Guðmundsson Literary Prize and was nominated for the Maístjarnan Award. Her second, Mara kemur í heimsókn (2025), won the Maístjarnan Award in 2026. She edited and co-authored two anthologies of writing by authors of foreign origin, and in 2023 received the Icelandic Language Committee's recognition for extending Icelandic as a literary language to those who did not grow up with it.
Reykjavík · Icelandic, Russian, English
Books
Mara kemur í heimsókn
Poetry
Benedikt, 2025
Maístjarnan 2026
Skáldreki // Writers adrift
Essays — editor, co-author
Una útgáfuhús, 2023
Máltaka á stríðstímum
Poetry
Una útgáfuhús, 2022
Tómas Guðmundsson Prize 2022
Polífonía af erlendum uppruna
Poetry anthology — editor, co-author
Una útgáfuhús, 2021
Магма / Kvika
Translation of Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir
Дримбук, 2022
Одной цепью
Short story — «На десерт мороженое»
Есть смысл, 2021
Writing
Published work
Journalism & essays
Heimildin — columns, 2023–2024
Víðsjá (RÚV) — columns, 2022
Tímarit Máls og menningar — poetry and essays, 2022–2025
Iceland Review — poetry in English, 2023
Ós pressan — poetry, 2022, 2025
stelkur.is — 2026
gorky.media, batenka.ru, literatice.ru — essays in Russian, 2019–2021
Translation from Icelandic
Þóra Hjörleifsdóttir, Kvika — into Russian, Дримбук, 2022
Einar Kári Jóhannesson, «Mávurinn» — into Russian, 2022
Eva Rún Snorradóttir — poetry, into Russian, 2021
Her work in translation
German — Ein Alb kommt zu Besuch, ELIF Verlag, 2027 (forthcoming)
Swedish — Mara kommer på besök, Ramús förlag, 2026, translated by the author
Italian — poems in Internazionale, 2026
English — essay on Literary Hub, 2023, tr. Larissa Kyzer
News
News
2027
2027
German edition of «Mara kemur í heimsókn» forthcoming
«Ein Alb kommt zu Besuch», ELIF Verlag.
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My second poetry book «Mara kemur í heimsókn» won the May Star (Maístjarnan), the annual Icelandic poetry book award.
«Skáldið Natasha S. hefur hlotið Maístjörnuna, ljóðabókaverðlaun Rithöfundasambands Íslands og Landsbókasafns Íslands – Háskólabókasafns, fyrir ljóðabók sína Mara kemur í heimsókn.»— Landsbókasafn
I’m happy to be part of «Multilingual Poetics», a creative writing course exploring multilingual writing, poetry and translation. In my session, I talk about exophonic writing, literary heritage and the creative possibilities of writing across languages.
«Mara kemur í heimsókn» is the poetry book of the year according to Morgunblaðið newspaper.
«Það er mikill fengur að þessari kraftmiklu og fallegu ljóðabók eftir eitt af okkar bestu skáldum, sem reynist vera af erlendum uppruna.»— Morgunblaðið
? Date of the Morgunblaðið issue?
2025
Bara bækur
? What was it (review/interview on RÚV's Bara bækur)? Link?
Essays by foreign-born writers in Iceland. Editor and co-author. Una útgáfuhús.
«Innflytjendum á Íslandi fer ört fjölgandi og margir þeirra taka virkan þátt í íslensku menningarlífi. Raddir þeirra hafa þó ekki alltaf fengið að heyrast en með útgáfu safnrita á borð við Skáldreka hafa Íslendingar fengið að kynnast þeim betur.»— RÚV
«Máltaka á stríðstímum eftir Natöshu S. er frásögn manneskju sem fylgist með stríði í heimalandi sínu úr fjarlægð og lýsir þannig breyttum veruleika og leit að nýrri sjálfsmynd þar sem sú gamla er ekki lengur til.»— RÚV
? The CV says 2023, your list puts it under 2022. Which year?
2023
Essay in English on Literary Hub
Translated by Larissa Kyzer.
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2023
Recognition for promoting Icelandic as a literary language
The Board of the Icelandic Language Committee presented me and Ewa Marcinek with a special recognition for promoting Icelandic as a literary language among people whose native language is not Icelandic.
«Ég verð skáld á nýju ári, hugsaði Natasha S á nýársdag 2022 eftir að hafa tekið þátt í ljóðaupplestri 25 skálda í Gröndalshúsi frá sólarupprás til sólarlags á fyrsta degi ársins. Og svo varð.»— RÚV
? What was it (reading? panel on immigrant writers?) and is the Facebook video OK to link publicly?
2021
Photo: Reykjavík Grapevine / Art Bicnick
16 November 2021
«Pólífónía af erlendum uppruna» published
Poetry anthology of 15 authors from 12 countries, released on Icelandic Language Day. Editor and co-author.
«But there will always be brave poets, and a collection of first-generation immigrant writers in Iceland have composed a remarkably diverse and well-written book that breaks the toughest cultural wall there is in Iceland: the old tradition of poetry that Icelanders have dominated for centuries.»— Reykjavík Grapevine
