Around 400 writers will attend the next NonfictioNOW conference, held at the University of Iceland, 1–4 June 2017, among whom are Aisha Sabatini Sloan and Gretel Ehrlich from the United States, the Norwegian Karl Ove Knausgaard who became famous for his autobiography Min Kamp and Jón Gnarr, former Mayor in Reykjavík and author of autobiographical books.
The NonfictionNow conference is dedicated to all non-fictional writings of all kinds and was founded in the United States in 2005, but this is the first time the conference is held in Europe. Further information on the programme can be found on the conference website, nonfictionow.org. It is, furthermore, possible to buy tickets to lectures of the following authors in Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre:
- The American writer Gretel Ehrlich, the author of 15 books, including the award-winning, Solace of Open Spaces.
- The Norwegian Karl Ove Knausgaard who became world famous for his epic six-part autobiographical novel My Struggle (Min Kamp). He has been hailed by the critics as the most important writer in Noway after Henrik Ibsen.
- The young Aisha Sabatini Sloan, the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, The Fluency of Light: Coming of Age in a Theater of Black and White and the upcoming essay collection, Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit, chosen by Maggie Nelson as the winner of the 1913 Open Prose Book Contest.
- The poet and writer Wayne Koestenbaum has published numerous books and several collections of poetry; including the popular The Queen’s Throat: Opera, Homosexuality, and the Mystery of Desire.
The Conference begins in the University of Iceland's Main Building on 1 June with roundtable sessions and an opening reception and a film screening that evening in the University Cinema. The two days that follow will be filled with a panel session discussing non-fiction in all its diversity and on 2 and 4 June the special lectures will be held in Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre.
The Nordic House will host authors' evenings with both Icelandic and international writers. Among the Icelandic authors are Jón Gnarr, Elísabet Jökulsdóttir and Vilborg Davíðsdóttir. Finally, the President of Iceland Mr. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson will give the closing speech at Silfurberg, Harpa on 4 June.