Kötlu and Leó's Christmas Adventure – another harvest of creative summer jobs
Hrafnhildur Emma Björnsdóttir, “Hremma” is a Hafnarfjörður-based artist and author who spent last summer and autumn writing and illustrating an Advent calendar about Katla and Leo. Hremma will be reading some chapters from her Christmas calendar, The Christmas Adventure of Katla and Leó, on Saturday, 10 December at 2 p.m. at the Hamran youth centre.
A Christmas calendar in book form – Christmas reading at Hamran on 10 December at 2 pm
Hrafnhildur Emma Björnsdóttir, “Hremma” is a Hafnarfjörður-based artist and writer who spent last summer and autumn writing and illustrating an Advent calendar about Katla and Leo. Hremma got the idea for the Christmas adventure of Katla and Leó in 2018 when RÚV's Idea Days were looking for Christmas content. The idea has developed a great deal since then; the television programme became a book, then a comic book, and then a book again. Hremma's final project for her diploma in creative writing at the University of Bifröst was a script for 24 chapters about the siblings Katla and Leo. She then spent the summer turning the script into a book and illustrating it.
Now it's time for the harvest!
Thanks to the creative summer jobs offered by the City of Hafnarfjörður, Hremma had the long-awaited time to work on a project that had been at the idea stage since 2018, to complete 24 chapters and draw illustrations, which the artist later submitted to the Reykjavík City Library and won the Christmas calendar competition. A shorter version of the story is now being published daily until Christmas, but next year Hremma hopes to be able to publish a longer version of the story as a book. The author Hremma will read several chapters from her Christmas calendar, 'The Christmas Adventure of Katla and Leo', on Saturday 10 December at 2 p.m. in the youth centre Hamrinn at Suðurgata 14 in Hafnarfjörður.
About the Christmas Adventure of Katla and Leo
„The Christmas Adventure of Katla and Leo“ is about the adventures of the siblings, Katla and Leo, and their dads, Grím and Kára, in the run-up to Christmas. The family lights the four advent candles, shops for Christmas presents at Kringlan, and the children get presents in their shoes from 13 famous brothers. On St. Lucia's Day, they eat skate, and on Christmas Eve, Christmas dinner is at six o'clock, right after the bells ring on the radio. The siblings discover the secret of the Yule Lads and find out that Christmas is in danger. The story also involves earthquakes, a rescue mission and Grýla's attempt to learn how to use a smartphone. All of Hremma's stories feature diverse characters, and Kötlu and Leó's Christmas Adventure is no exception. The story reflects everyday diversity and uniquely Icelandic Christmas traditions.
About Hremma
Hrafnhildur Emma, or Hremma, was born in the United States in 1998 but moved to Hafnarfjörður in 2000 and has lived there ever since. She bought her first flat in Hafnarfjörður last year with her fiancée and is enjoying it. Hremma studied drama at Fjölbrautaskóli Garðabæjar and graduated in the spring of 2017. In 2019, she attended the Musik og Teaterhøjskolen in Toftlund, Denmark, completed a diploma in creative arts at the University of Bifröst in 2021, and is currently studying literature and creative writing at the University of Iceland. A passion for drama, stories and theatre has always been present. Hremma has acted in several productions, written four plays of varying lengths, directed, been a production manager, created props and sewn costumes, to name but a few things. Throughout her career, Hremma has worked mostly with children, which is why it is not surprising that she writes a great deal for them.
The City of Hafnarfjörður's creative summer jobs continue to pay off.....
In the summer of 2021, the City of Hafnarfjörður, in collaboration with the Hamarinn Youth Centre, decided to revive the “Creative Summer Jobs” project, which had been run in the summer of 2017. Individuals and groups aged 18-20 were then invited to submit ideas for creative projects in Hafnarfjörður. Through Creative Summer Jobs, selected groups get the opportunity to work on various creative projects in different areas of the arts, which enliven the town's social life and delight tourists and residents in one way or another. The projects are varied and appeal to different age groups and interests. Klara Ósk Elíasdóttir is the project manager for Creative Summer Jobs.