Rakel Helmsdal

File:Rakel Helmsdal.JPG

Rakel Helmsdal in 2014.

Rakel Helmsdal (born 25 September 1966 in Tårnby, Amager, Denmark, has been living in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands for most of her life) is a Faroese writer. For a 5-year peroid she lived in France where she wrote four of her books. She has been teaching in creative writing and drama. She has also arranged theatre for youth. She has been writing a series of books about the little and the big "skrímsl" (some fantasy creatures similar to trolls) together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler. Their books have been translated into other Nordic languages. Her first book: Tey kalla meg bara Hugo, has been translated into Norwegian. The books have been published in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Sweden, France, Finland, Spain and Norway. Helmsdal has created her own marionett-theatre, which she calls Karavella Marionett-Theatre. She was president for the Faroese writer's association Rithøvundafelag Føroya from 2009 to 2011. Her mother is the Faroese poet Guðrið Helmsdal.

Bibliography

Children's books

• 1995 – Tey kalla meg bara Hugo (2. edition: 2003)
• 1996 – Søgur úr Port Janua
• 1997 – Hvørjum flenna likkurnar at, Hugo?
• 1998 – Drekar og annað valafólk, illustrated by Edward Fuglø
• 2003 – Kom yvirum, Hugo!
• 2004 – Nei! segði lítla skrímsl, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2006 – Stór skrímsl gráta ikki, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2007 – Gott hugflog Hugo
• 2007 – Myrkaskrímsl, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2008 – Skrímslasótt, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2008 – Várferðin til Brúnna, From Mosakulla 1, illustrated by Edward Fuglø
• 2009 – Veturin hjá Undu. From Mosakullan 2, illustrated by Edward Fuglø
• 2010 – Skrímslavitjan, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2011 – Skrímslahæddir, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2011 – Veiða vind, musical work, book and CD. Rakel Helmsdal wrote the text, Kári Bech composed the music tónleikin and Janus á Húsagarði made the drawings. The musical work was performed in Norðurlandahúsið (The Nordic House in Tórshavn) for 3500 children who came from villages from all around the islands.
• 2011 – Revurin við silkiturriklæðinum
• 2013 - Klandursskrímsl, written together with Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Kalle Güettler
• 2014 - Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum, ISBN 978-99972-0-063-1

Short stories

• 1989 – Firvaldaseljarin (published in the Faroese literature magazine Brá)
• 1989 – Dýpið (Published in Brá, later translated into Norwegian in Fysta ferda bort, Samlaget, 1993)
• 1992 – Ferðandi í tíð og rúmd (ferðahugleiðing (Varðin, 52))
• 1993 – Delirium symphonica (poem in Brá)
• 1995 – Glámlýsi og mánalátur (published in Birting 1995, and in the book Søgur úr Port Janua, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 1996)
• 1995 – Argantael (published in Ein varligur dráttur í tara, MFS, 1995)
• 1993 – Køksgluggin (published in Barnablaðið in November and December 1993, illustrated by Edward Fuglø, also published in Drekar og annað valafólk, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 1998)
• 1995 – Apríl (Published in Søgur úr Port Janua, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 1995, also published in Heiðin hind, Skúlabókagrunnurin, 1999)
• 1996 – Skerdu vit veingir tínar, Ikaros? (Published in Søgur úr Port Janua / Stories from Port Janua)
• 2001 – Angi av ribes (published in the short story anthology Mjørki í heilum, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 2001)
• 2002 – Huldumjørkin (Vit lesa. Kom við (Skúlabókagrunnurin) 2002)
• 2005 – Alioth ("Mín jólabók 2005", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
• 2006 – Fimm mans til eina kvartett (Svartideyði og aðrar spøkilsissøgur / The black death and other ghost stories (Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags) 2006)
• 2007 – Kvirra nátt ("Mín jólabók 2007", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
• 2008 – Ov nógv av tí góða – og eitt sindur afturat (published in "Mín jólabók 2008", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
• 2010 – Spitølsk short story for children, published in Elskar – elskar ikki, which is a collection short stories by Nordic authors.

Plays

• 1988 – Nær kemur kavin?
• 1989 – Ævinliga árið
• 1999 – Brúsajøkul
• 1996 – Kvarnareygað Purpurreyða
• 1997 – 5 violettir flugusoppar
• 1998 – Tá mánin setur og sólin rísur
• 1999 – Vitavørðurin
• 2000 – Sildrekin
• 2002 – Gomul skuld

Recognition

• 1996 – Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar Býráðs (Faroese award) for her children's book Tey kalla meg bara Hugo.
• 2004 – Dimmalim (Icelandic award) for Nei! segði lítla skrímsl, which was written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2007 – Barnabókaverðlaun Menntaráðs Reykjavíkur (Icelandic award) for Stór skrímsl gráta ikki, which was written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
• 2008 – Won an award in a short story competition, the stories should be for the Faroese youth
• 2009 - Várferðin til Brúnna - nominated for the West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize.
• 2011 - Skrímslahæddir nominated for the Fjörðuverðlaun (Icelandic award).
• 2013 - Veiða vind nominated for the Nordic Children's Book Prize (called Nordisk Skolebibliotekarforenings Børnebogspris or Nordisk Børnebogspris in Danish and Norwegian).
• 2013 - Children's Cultural Prize of Tórshavn City Council (Faroese cultural award for children's literature and other cultural achievements), she won the award for Veiða vind and for the books about the Skrímsl (a kind of troll)
• 2016 - Nominated for the West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize for her book Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum.

External links

• BFL.fo
• Almenna heimasíðan hjá Rakel Helmsdal