Hakai Magazine

Egill Bjarnason

Author bio

Egill Bjarnason is an Icelandic journalist, based in Reykjavík. His debut nonfiction book, How Iceland Changed the World, will be published by Penguin Books in 2021.

Egill Bjarnason’s Contributions:

An icelandic woman pushes her bike up a hill surrounded by lupine

Why Iceland Is Turning Purple

Buoyed by climate change, an invasive plant is taking over the landscape of the island nation.

Jan 16, 2018 | 2,300 words, about 11 minutes

A sign along a road in western Iceland lets people know a pool is nearby. Every Icelandic community has a public pool and swimming lessons are mandatory for children in grades one through 10. Photo by Egill Bjarnason

Pool-landia

For 70 years, Iceland has kept afloat the idea that mandatory swimming lessons save lives, but the policy doesn’t hold water.

Apr 11, 2017 | 2,700 words, about 13 minutes