Rakel Helmsdal

Rakel Helmsdal (born 25 September 1966) is a Faroese writer. Her mother is the Faroese poet Guðrið Helmsdal and her father the wood artist Ole Jakob Nielsen. Rakel was born in Tårnby, Amager, Denmark, but has lived in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands for most of her life. She lived for five years in France, where she wrote four of her books. She teaches creative writing.

Together with Áslaug Jónsdóttir from Iceland and Kalle Güettler from Sweden, she has written a series of books about the little and the big monster.

Helmsdal was president of the Faroese writer's association Rithøvundafelag Føroya from 2009 to 2011.

Helmsdal has created her own marionette theatre, which she calls Karavella Marionett-Theatre.

Books

 * 1995 – Tey kalla meg bara Hugo (2. edition: 2003)
 * 1996 – Søgur úr Port Janua (short stories)
 * 1997 – Hvørjum flenna likkurnar at, Hugo?
 * 1998 – Drekar og annað valafólk, illustrated by Edward Fuglø
 * 2003 – Kom yvirum, Hugo!
 * 2004 – Nei! segði lítla skrímsl, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2006 – Stór skrímsl gráta ikki, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2007 – Gott hugflog Hugo
 * 2007 – Myrkaskrímsl, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2008 – Skrímslasótt, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2008 – Várferðin til Brúnna, From Mosakulla 1, illustrated by Edward Fuglø
 * 2009 – Veturin hjá Undu. From Mosakullan 2, illustrated by Edward Fuglø
 * 2010 – Skrímslavitjan, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2011 – Skrímslahæddir, written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2011 – Veiða vind, musical work, book and CD. Rakel Helmsdal wrote the text, Kári Bech composed the music tónleikin and Janus á Húsagarði made the drawings. The musical work was performed in Norðurlandahúsið (The Nordic House in Tórshavn) for 3500 children who came from villages from all around the islands.
 * 2011 – Revurin við silkiturriklæðinum
 * 2013 – Klandursskrímsl, written together with Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Kalle Güettler
 * 2014 – Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum, ISBN 978-99972-0-063-1
 * 2014 – Skrímslakiskan, written together with Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Kalle Güettler
 * 2017 – Neyðars skrímsl, written together with Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Kalle Güettler
 * 2018 – Miljuløtur
 * 2019 – Loftar tú mær?

Short stories and other short texts

 * 1989 – Firvaldaseljarin (published in the Faroese literature magazine Brá)
 * 1989 – Dýpið (Published in Brá, later translated into Norwegian in Fysta ferda bort, Samlaget, 1993)
 * 1992 – Ferðandi í tíð og rúmd (ferðahugleiðing (Varðin, 52))
 * 1993 – Delirium symphonica (poem in Brá)
 * 1995 – Glámlýsi og mánalátur (published in Birting 1995, and in the book Søgur úr Port Janua, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 1996)
 * 1995 – Argantael (published in Ein varligur dráttur í tara, MFS, 1995)
 * 1993 – Køksgluggin (published in Barnablaðið in November and December 1993, illustrated by Edward Fuglø, also published in Drekar og annað valafólk, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 1998)
 * 1995 – Apríl (Published in Søgur úr Port Janua, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 1995, also published in Heiðin hind, Skúlabókagrunnurin, 1999)
 * 1996 – Skerdu vit veingir tínar, Ikaros? (Published in Søgur úr Port Janua / Stories from Port Janua)
 * 2001 – Angi av ribes (published in the short story anthology Mjørki í heilum, Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags, 2001)
 * 2002 – Huldumjørkin (Vit lesa. Kom við (Skúlabókagrunnurin) 2002)
 * 2005 – Alioth ("Mín jólabók 2005", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2006 – Fimm mans til eina kvartett (Svartideyði og aðrar spøkilsissøgur / The black death and other ghost stories (Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags) 2006)
 * 2007 – Kvirra nátt ("Mín jólabók 2007", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2008 – Ov nógv av tí góða – og eitt sindur afturat (published in "Mín jólabók 2008", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2009 – Ongin inni (published in "Mín jólabók 2009", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2010 – Spitølsk short story for children, published in Elskar – elskar ikki, which is a collection short stories by Nordic authors
 * 2013 – Ljósareyðir UFO'ar (published in "Mín jólabók 2013", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2014 – Suð av ymsum ættum (published in "Mín jólabók 2014", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2015 – Akkurát sum Klikk-Karl (published in "Mín jólabók 2015", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2016 – Út í vindin (published in "Mín jólabók 2016", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2017 – Tú ert púra svøk! (published in "Mín jólabók 2017", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2018 – Loftar tú mær? (published in "Mín jólabók 2018", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)
 * 2019 – Omman mín er ein eingil (published in "Mín jólabók 2019", Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags)

Plays

 * 1988 – Nær kemur kavin?
 * 1989 – Ævinliga árið
 * 1999 – Brúsajøkul
 * 1996 – Kvarnareygað Purpurreyða
 * 1997 – 5 violettir flugusoppar
 * 1998 – Tá mánin setur og sólin rísur
 * 1999 – Vitavørðurin
 * 2000 – Sildrekin
 * 2002 – Gomul skuld
 * 2011 – Revurin við silkiturriklæðinum
 * 2012 – Skrímslini
 * 2013 – Veiða vind
 * 2016 – Dansa so væl og leingi
 * 2017 – Skrímslalív

Recognition

 * 1996 – Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar Býráðs (Faroese award) for her children's book Tey kalla meg bara Hugo.
 * 2004 – Dimmalim (Icelandic award) for Nei! segði lítla skrímsl, which was written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2007 – Barnabókaverðlaun Menntaráðs Reykjavíkur (Icelandic award) for Stór skrímsl gráta ikki, which was written together with Icelandic Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Swedish Kalle Güettler
 * 2008 – Won an award in a short story competition, the stories should be for the Faroese youth
 * 2009 – Várferðin til Brúnna – nominated for the West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize.
 * 2011 – Skrímslahæddir nominated for the Fjörðuverðlaun (Icelandic award).
 * 2013 – Veiða vind nominated for the Nordic Children's Book Prize (called Nordisk Skolebibliotekarforenings Børnebogspris or Nordisk Børnebogspris in Danish and Norwegian).
 * 2013 – Children's Cultural Prize of Tórshavn City Council (Faroese cultural award for children's literature and other cultural achievements), she won the award for Veiða vind and for the books about the Skrímsl (the Monsters) and the plays made of these books
 * 2013 – Nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize together with Áslaug Jónsdóttir and Kalle Güettler for the book ''Klandursskrímsl
 * 2016 – Nominated for the West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize for her book Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum.
 * 2016 – Received the West Nordic Council's Children and Youth Literature Prize for her book Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum.
 * 2017 – Nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize for the book Hon, sum róði eftir ælaboganum
 * 2020 – Barnabókaheiðursløn Tórshavnar Býráðs