Empowering diverse voices through multilingual writing and innovative digital education.
The Nordic Multilingual Writing LAB project empowers older youth and adults with diverse backgrounds, supports educators working in multicultural environments, and promotes multilingual writing through the innovative use of digital education tools and technologies.
Helen Cova
1 Course • 0 StudentBiography
Helen Hafgnýr Cova, born in Venezuela, is a published Icelandic writer, founder of Editorial Karíba, and a member of Ós Pressan. Her first book, Snulli Likes Being Alone, was published in 2019 in Spanish, Icelandic, and English. Her second book, Autosarcophagy – To Eat Oneself, a collection of short stories for adults, was published in 2020 in English and Icelandic. Her third book, Snulli Learns to Say No, was published in 2022, also in three language versions.
Following the success of her children’s books, Cova published Svona tala ég (This Is How I Speak) in 2023, which was nominated for Best Icelandic Children’s Book at the Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature Children’s Literature Award. That same year, she released Ljóð fyrir klofið hjarta (Poetry for a Split Heart), her first poetry collection.
Cova’s work has appeared in anthologies and literary magazines in Iceland and abroad, including Ós – The Journal, Tímarit Máls og Menningar, Skáldreki, Ordskælv, and The Polaris Trilogy—an anthology destined to land on the south pole of the moon aboard a NASA space flight. She has participated in festivals such as the Vancouver Writers Fest, Opin Bók in Ísafjörður, and the New York Sant Jordi Festival, as well as numerous events throughout Iceland.
Helen Hafgnýr Cova lives in the Westfjords, where she runs the publishing initiative Karíba. In 2025, she founded the Flateyri Literary Festival.
