Secrets of the Sprakkar and Woman, Captain, Rebel with Eliza Reid and Margaret Willson

Eliza Reid, the First Lady of Iceland, is a journalist, editor, co-founder of the annual Iceland Writers Retreat, and the author of the internationally bestselling book Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World. Her book discusses Iceland's current attitudes toward gender equality and how working to achieve it benefits everyone in society and shares inspiring insights about what we can all do to improve equality and equity for all.

Margaret Willson, a writer and cultural anthropologist, is an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington and Senior Associate Scientist at the Stefánsson Arctic Institute, Iceland. Her recent book Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain, explores the astonishing resilience and adventures of Captain Thurídur Einarsdóttir, a 19th-century woman who firmly stood on the side of justice in an unequal and oppressed Iceland, became one of the most celebrated fishing captains of her time, and solved a notorious robbery. Woman, Captain, Rebel has been called by Eliza Reid "meticulously researched and evocatively written.”

Both books will be available for purchase at the event.

National Nordic Museum

Eliza Reid

The First Lady of Iceland examines her adopted homeland's attitude toward women—the deep-seated cultural sense of fairness, the influence of current and historical role models, and, crucially, the areas where Iceland still has room for improvement.

Reid's own experience as an immigrant from small-town Canada who never expected to become a first lady is expertly interwoven with interviews with dozens of sprakkar (extraordinary women) to form the backbone of an illuminating discussion of what it means to move through the world as a woman, and how the rules of society play more of a role in who we view as "equal" than we may understand.

Secrets of the Sprakkar is a powerful and atmospheric portrait of a tiny country that could lead the way forward for us all.

"Secrets of the Sprakkar is a fascinating window into what a more gender-equal world could look like and why it's worth striving for. Iceland is doing a lot to level the playing field: paid parental leave, affordable childcare, and broad support for gender equality as a core value. Reid takes us on an exploration not only around this fascinating island but also through the triumphs and stumbles of a country as it journeys towards gender equality."

—Hillary Rodham Clinton

Margret Willson

Margret is a writer, cultural anthropologist, and an Affiliate Associate Professor with the Departments of Anthropology and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington. She has traveled extensively, working, doing research, or ethnographic film in Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland... and a number of other places. She currently lives in Seattle with her partner and their cat, Mister.

Margaret Willson

(L to R) Book cover of Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain, author Margaret Willson, and Secrets of the Sprakkar book cover.