The winner of the inaugural Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2011, Hannah Kent spent a transformative year at the age of 18 in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland as part of the Rotary Exchange Program.

During her time in the country, she came across the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be executed for murder in Iceland in 1830. Fascinated by the tale, she returned to Iceland many times, researching the story of the last months of Agnes’ life which became the basis of her first book Burial Rites.

Currently completing her PhD at Flinders University in Adelaide, she is the co-founder and deputy editor of the Australian literary journal Kill Your Darlings.

We interviewed her at the Sydney Writers’ Festival about her unique life journey and how Iceland came to dominate the life of a girl from the Adelaide Hills.