Reykjavik, Ep. 3

November 27, 2013 — In an obvious attempt to elevate Reykjavik to LDM City of the Year status, Literary Death Match returned to brilliant Iceland — and more specifically Kex — for a late-year extravaganza that saw Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir outduel Vigdís Grímsdóttir in a game of Lone Star Lit, by a final score of 59-14, winning Guðrún Eva the LDM Reykjavik, Ep. 3 crown. 

But before the finale was even a thought, the brilliant night kicked off with Vigdís Grímsdóttir, author of Kaldaljós and many others, who read a quiet and smartly funny excerpt from her new novel Dísusaga. Next up was Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl, author of the Icelandic Literary Prize-winning Illska, who performed a pair of excellent poems that enchanted the wowed crowd. 

The mic was then handed over to the trio of all-star judges: Egill Helgason, journalist and host of Kiljan; Halla Margrét Jóhannesdóttir, actress, director and author of the poetry collection 48; and comedian/journalist Ugla Egilsdóttir. The trio riffed and quipped and doled out praise for both competitors, before they made the night's first impossible decision, naming Vigdis the night's first finalist. 

After a boozy intermission, Round 2 kicked off with Dagur Hjartarson, author of Eldhafið yfir okkur and Þar sem vindarnir hvílast og fleiri einlæg ljóð, who started with a poem about cats in Reykjavík, before finishing with a novel excerpt about former prime minister Davíð Oddsson. Finally it was Guðrún Eva, Icelandic Literary Prize winning author of Allt með kossi vekur, who thrilled the crowd by reading from her in-progress novel which had the audience on their edge of their seats.

Again the judges were center stage, with hoorays and delight delivered in the direction of both writers, before they made their night's second impossible choice, naming Guðrún Eva as the night's second finalist. 

Then host and LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga took center stage, announcing the One Star Wonder finale, in which he read off 1-star Amazon book reviews written about classic books. The finalists, teamed with a mix of volunteers from the crowd, traded points, and while Team Vidgis was off to a hot start, Team Guðrún Eva took control late, chiming in with the final answer, winning Guðrún Eva the Reykjavik, Ep. 3 medal, and literary immortality to go with it.

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