Spiegel & Grau Publishes Margrét Ann Thors’s Debut Novel
This August, Spiegel & Grau published Margrét Ann Thors’s (‘10BAR, ‘11TC, ‘16SOA) debut novel Freyja, a tale “steeped in Icelandic folklore and myth, [...] at once a gripping story of a child’s disappearance, a testament to the power of a mother’s love, and an enthralling tale of redemption and forgiveness from a gifted new voice,” according to the publisher. Picked as the top book of the month by the Amazon Editors, it was described as “a brilliant, spooky noir that is as atmospheric as it is gripping, with Thors blurring the many lines between memory, mythology, and reality.”
Thors honed her novel by participating in monthly CFF workshops.
“[The workshops] allowed me to hear feedback from a range of readers, and most importantly left me feeling encouraged to keep writing. I gained a lot from reading the submissions of other CFF members; critiquing someone else's work helped me see my own more clearly.”
From Spiegel & Grau’s blurb: “Freyja revolves around the unsolved case of a young girl’s disappearance that is reopened after twenty years in this atmospheric novel of suspense set in Reykjavík and the Icelandic coast. Unnur, a single mother to a beloved daughter, has secrets. She lives a deliberately quiet life in Reykjavík, where she works at a bakery under an assumed last name. She has spent years pushing away haunting half memories of the last summer of her childhood, when her otherworldly friend Freyja disappeared from a black-sand beach in the remote Dark Valley. Unnur’s safety—and her daughter’s—now hinges on discretion. Yet when her ex-husband returns to Iceland and brings with him a new girlfriend who seems to know more about Unnur than she’s letting on, Unnur may finally have to face the chilling possibility that she is responsible for her friend’s presumed death.”
Discussing how Columbia influenced her work, she added, “So much of who I am as a reader, writer, and person was forged during those years in the larger Columbia community."
Prior to moving to Iceland, Thors spent many years in Morningside Heights, first as an undergraduate at Barnard, then a master's student at Teachers College, and finally a writer in the Columbia MFA program.
"The MFA program in particular was hugely influential on my path to becoming a published author—not just for all the writing and workshopping I did during the program, but maybe more importantly, for all the reading. This foundation has helped me continue my education in writing long after graduating, because I'm able to learn so much from the published works I read.”
After graduating from the MFA program, Thors continued reading and workshopping as part of CFF and eventually served on its executive board.
“CFF helped me cultivate a new literary community of writers from all different professional backgrounds and genres. In particular, serving on the executive board made me feel more integrated and gave me opportunities to connect with other writers.”
Last year, CFF highlighted Thors’s two-book deal with Spiegel & Grau, a prestigious independent house that has published several best-selling titles. Today, we congratulate the release of her first book.
Support CFF writers; get your copy of Freyja today.