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. She lives in Reykjavík with her husband, their two daughters, and a puppy called Uggi. The Night Guest is her first book translated into English and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
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 published version?
So I think I have written around… 25 books? And The Night Guest probably the one that I have revised the least of all of them. The reason for that is that I came up with the story when I was in the middle of writing a very complex YA trilogy that spans multiple generations and hundreds of years and two different worlds. I actually wanted to take a break from writing the last book of the trilogy to write The Night Guest, but my Icelandic editor was like: "Well, no. Finish the trilogy first." So the story of Iðunn stayed with me for a long time before I could actually sit down and write it, so I had already worked out all the kinks beforehand in my head and knew exactly what was going to happen. I had really been looking forward to being able to write it, so when I finally sat down to do so, I wrote it in about three weeks, and I barely changed a word in the manuscript. Me and my Icelandic editor called the edits we did "bee surgery" because they were so small. There were, however, some edits on the translation, but they were all something relating to cultural differences between Iceland and the US, just really making sure readers got the context of some things, like how the health care system works, etc.
Your biography says you were born and live in Reykjavík. Do you have any favorite places? A hidden gem that someone visiting should not miss but would only learn about from a resident?
Of course I do! Iceland and Reykjavík get a lot of tourists, and we have a few hidden places that we keep secret from the tourists. But I obviously cannot tell the internet about them, as I would be shunned from Icelandic society. But if you meet me in Iceland and buy me a beer, I might tell you.
But three places that are perhaps a bit off the beaten path, and I feel safe disclosing, are Hrísey, Húsavík, and Flatey in Breiðafjörður. AND the local swimming pools are a must. Every town has one, and it's where the Icelanders go. They are cheap and so nice! Just remember to wash thoroughly and without your swimsuit before going in. If you don't, you'll probably get told off by a local.
You've written works of fiction for both adults and young adults. You've also written short stories, plays, and screenplays. Is there a format that you prefer over the others?
Not really. One of the things I love about writing is that you have these different forms of storytelling, and when you get a new idea for a story, you can choose the format that best serves that story. That being said, I have written many more novels and novellas than I have scripts and plays, and that does come more easily to me, probably because I have a lot more practice in that form.
Is there something you haven't done yet but are hoping to have the opportunity to try?
I was once asked to write a libretto for an opera, and I chickened out and declined. But I think that was the right decision and I don't have any regrets—yet.
In your Acknowledgements, you mentioned that you met Mary Robinette Kowal, who translated and reads the audiobook of The Night Guest, at IceCon (a science fiction & and fantasy convention in Reykjavík). You also state that if you hadn't met her, readers might never have had the chance to read The Night Guest. Can you tell us a bit about how you met and how she helped get The Night Guest into the hands of readers?
IceCon is probably one of the tiniest SFFH conventions in the world. They always have one Icelandic guest of honor and a couple of international guests of honor as well. And in the fall of 2021, I was the Icelandic guest of honor and Mary Robinette and Ted Chiang were the international guests. It was the middle of the pandemic, so Ted Chiang joined remotely, but Mary Robinette came. The Night Guest had just come out in Icelandic, and I was talking about it and read a short chapter in Icelandic. Afterward, we were walking downtown, and Mary Robinette asked me if I had an agent. I wasn't looking for one, but I was open to it, so she connected me with her agent, Seth Fishman. She then very graciously offered to translate a part of The Night Guest to send to him, and Seth sold the book in just a couple of weeks. It all happened really fast, and nobody was more surprised at those turns of events than I was.
The Night Guest could make a truly unsettling film. If it was being adapted, who would your dream cast be?
Thank you. I agree that it would probably work well as a film! I don't have a dream cast. What I find exciting about seeing adaptations of my work is to see other people's interpretations of it. There is a reason I am a writer and not an actor, director, or casting director. I have a version of Iðunn in my mind, and if a film is ever made, I am much more interested in seeing other creative people's version of Iðunn on the screen rather than my own, if that makes sense. There are so many great actresses, and each would bring their own nuance and experience, and they would undoubtedly add something to the character that I couldn't.
I have never really understood writers who are very protective when it comes to adaptations. I have already written my version of the story; it exists in the book, and that version stays there regardless of how a movie turns out.
Are you a fan of the Horror genre? What are some of your favorite novels, films, and/or series? Who are your favorite authors and/or filmmakers?
I am! I love everything horror, except people being horrible to other people. There is so much of that in the real world; it's in the news constantly, and that's why I prefer stories about monsters or supernatural beings being horrible to people. And I can never resist a monster in space! I love T. Kingfisher, and also everything that Rachel Harrison writes. Recent reads that I loved were Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes, The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim and Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman.
Do you have a least favorite? (I realize that you may not want to address this one, and if that is the case, please don't. But I also realize it might be so bad that it could be fun to answer.)?
I am not very into slasher horror unless the one doing all the slashing is not a human. And if I am watching a movie or a TV show and there is a naked, sexy female corpse on a table in full view, I turn that off or walk out of the theater.
I also recently discovered that I am growing a bit tired of evil framed in Biblical terms. I don't really know why, maybe because I am not religious at all, and I find it more interesting if the "evil" isn't really evil as such, but just a being doing its thing and people happen to be in the way.
What do you think it is about Horror that draws you, as an author and/or reader, to these types of stories?
I have no idea. Maybe because I live such a safe, boring life?
What's currently on your nightstand?
A glass of water.
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
I'm really sorry, but I don't think I can. There are so many books that have influenced me in different ways. Some because I thought they were really good, and others because I thought they were really bad. For example, there was a book I had heard about, and the plot seemed intriguing from what I read on the back. I thought I knew how that story would be. And then I read the book, hated it, and thought: "I could probably do better than that." And maybe that is what made me attempt to write my first novel. But other people loved that book, and it would be unfair to name it, so I am not going to.
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
I loved everything by Isabel Allende. And the Earths Children series by Jean M. Auel.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
No. They let me read anything I wanted to read. When I was bored, I would just pick something from the shelves at home. And I got bored a lot, so I read a lot of weird books growing up, not all of which might be described as "age-appropriate." But the only negative to that is that there were entire subplots and scenes that just went totally over my head when I was reading because I was too young to understand what was really going on. There are many great books that I have come to realize that I might have read way too soon, books I would probably have appreciated a lot more if I had found them later in life.
Is there a book you've faked reading?
No. But there are a lot of books that I felt that I was "supposed" to read that I have started and then given up on. For example Ulysses, Moby Dick and The Name of the Rose, just to name a few.
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
Just last week I was at WorldCon in Glasgow, and there I was influenced by the very beautiful Illumicrate version of Starling House by Alix E. Harrow.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Not a single book, no. But books have absolutely changed my life. I read so much, and I write so much, and I actually have no idea what I would be doing with my life if it didn't revolve around books.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
Yes, but it is only available in Icelandic. It is called 90 sýni úr minni mínu by Halldóra Thoroddsen, and you should all learn Icelandic and then read it.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
Not really. Life is short, and there are so many books I want to read!
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
I think everything impacts you in one way or another. But the last thing I cried over was the TV series One Day. I had read somewhere that it was a tearjerker, but I had already read the book, so I went in knowing the end and somehow thought that would inoculate me from the crying. But then I watched the series, and I cried so much that I really freaked out my younger daughter, who has now put a moratorium on sad TV shows in our house because she says that I cannot be trusted with them.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
Any version of sleeping in, eating good food, and meeting friends.
What is the question that you're always hoping you'll be asked but never have been?
How weird and mysterious eels are?
What is your answer?
I do!
What are you working on now?
I am working on a horror novella about a goddess from Norse Mythology who did not make it into the canon in the Edda's and was therefore lost from history—until my protagonists find her, of course, on a remote Icelandic island. I am also writing a YA-fantasy that takes place in an alternative Iceland with monsters and megafauna.
