BÓKADAGAR 2025: Author conversation

Who is the mother when the child distances themself? And who is the writer when language falls silent?
Vónbjørt Vang has won the 2025 Nordic Council Literature Prize for her poetry collection Black Orchid (Forlaget Eksil). The book is Vang’s third collection of poems, and the prize jury describes it as her strongest work to date. The collection explores a mother’s grief and concern for a child who is growing up, finding their own path — and perhaps beginning to lose their way.
Throughout the work runs the metaphor of the black orchid — of plant life, of the therapeutic nature of gardening and soil — which also evokes the underworld and the darkness into which the child disappears.
There will be a reading from the poetry collection, followed by a conversation with Vang about Black Orchid. The conversation partner is Guðrun í Jákupsstovu (PhD).
Vónbjørt Vang (b. 1974) is an author, poet, and librarian. She studied comparative literature and holds a BA in creative writing. Her short stories and poems have been published in several journals and anthologies. Black Orchid (2023) is her third poetry collection, following Millumlendingar (2011) and Djúpini (2017). Vang has also written the essay collection Úr loggbókinum (2023).
Guðrun í Jákupsstovu (b. 1993) holds a PhD in English and Nordic literature and works as an assistant professor of literature at the University of the Faroe Islands. She has also served on the nomination committee for the Nordic Council Literature Prize since 2020.
Photo of Vónbjørt Vang by Thomas Koba
Organizer: The Nordic House in the Faroe Islands