Björk Bjarkadóttir

Björk Bjarkadóttir was born in 1971 in Reykjavík. She graduated from the secondary school Menntaskólinn í Hamrahlíð in 1991, studied at Konst och Hantverksskolan in Goetheburg as part of  a student exchange program in 1996 and received her master‘s degree in Visual Communication (encompassing graphic design, photography and illustration) from ESAG Penninghen in Paris in 1997.

Björk published her first children‘s book in 1999, titled Gíri Stýri og skrýtni draumurinn (Giry Steery and the Strange Dream), about the giraffe bus driver Gírmundur. Gíri Stýri og veislan (Giry Steery and the Party) followed in 2001 and in the years 2003-11 Björk wrote and illustrated eleven more books for children. Among those Amma fer í sumarfrí (Granny‘s Holiday), for which she won the Dimmalimm Icelandic Illustrator‘s Prize in 2006. That same year, Björk received a special recognition from IBBY in Iceland for her contribution to children‘s literature.

Björk has also illustrated many children‘s books penned by other authors, such as Skrímslið litla systir mín (My Little Sister, The Monster, 2013) by Helga Arnalds and Kroppurinn er kraftaverk (Your Body is a Miracle, 2014) by Sigrún Davíðsdóttir. She has exhibited illustrations, paintings and photography in private and group exhibitions in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Italy and the USA, and held workshops in conjunction with the publication of three of her children‘s books. Her books have been published in translation in Norway, the Faroe Islands, Austria and Egypt.

Björk lives in Oslo.