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Hildur Knútsdóttir Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

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Hildur Knútsdóttir

How to pronounce Hildur Knútsdóttir: hill-dure KNUTS-doh-teer

Hildur Knútsdóttir Biography

Hildur Knútsdóttir was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1984. She has lived in Spain, Germany, and Taiwan and studied literature and creative writing at The University of Iceland. She writes fiction both for adults and teenagers, as well as short fiction, plays, and screenplays. Hildur is known for her evocative fantastical fiction and spine-chilling horror. The Night Guest is her first book translated into English. She lives in Reykjavík with her husband, their two daughters, and a puppy called Uggi.

Hildur Knútsdóttir's website

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Interview

Hildur Knútsdóttir discusses her horror novel, The Night Guest, with Daryl M. from the Los Angeles Public Library.

What was your inspiration for The Night Guest?

I have had unexplained bouts of fatigue a couple of times a year for the past few years. I wake up bone tired and feel as if I have been dancing all night or helping someone move, and doctors found nothing wrong with me. And it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that these bouts usually manifested themselves just after I turned in a book to my editor, and they were definitely stress-related. So they still happen, but now I know they will pass. But they started me wondering: What would it be like to wake up exhausted and find proof that you did not spend the night in your bed, but you have no memory of where you went or what you were doing there? So the idea for The Night Guest was born.

Are Iðunn, or any of the other characters in the novella, inspired by or based on specific individuals?

Not deliberately. But I guess you are always stealing from someone or something in your life. But I just want to state for the record that I have an excellent relationship with both my older sister and my mother.

How did the novella evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters, scenes, or stories that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Hildur Knútsdóttir at BookBrowse
The Night Guest jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Hildur Knútsdóttir but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Idra Novey

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    Idra Novey is the award-winning author of the novel Ways to Disappear, winner of the 2017 Sami Rohr Prize, the 2016 Brooklyn Eagles Prize, and a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize for First Fiction. Her poetry collections... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Night Guest

    Try:
    Those Who Knew
    by Idra Novey

  • Nafkote Tamirat

    Nafkote Tamirat

    Nafkote Tamirat is a native of Boston. She holds an MFA from Columbia University. Her short stories have appeared in Birkensnake, The Anemone Sidecar, and Best Paris Stories. The Parking Lot Attendant is her first novel. (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Night Guest

    Try:
    The Parking Lot Attendant
    by Nafkote Tamirat

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