Guðrún Helgadóttir Children's Book Award granted to ‘Bestu vinir’

The manuscript ‘Bestu vinir’ (Best Friends) by Eva Rún Þorgeirsdóttir and Blær Guðmundsdóttir has been awarded the 2026 Guðrún Helgadóttir Children's Book Award. The award was presented during a ceremony at Höfði by Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir.

Established in 2018 to honor the writer Guðrún Helgadóttir, the award is given annually to an unpublished manuscript for a children's or youth book to encourage innovation in Icelandic children's literature. This year's competition saw seventy manuscripts submitted to the City of Reykjavík.

The winning story, which will be published by Bókabeitan, follows a boy and a girl who form an unexpected friendship while working together to solve a mystery at their school. The authors described the book as a collaborative effort, with Þorgeirsdóttir writing the text and Guðmundsdóttir providing the illustrations.