Name: Brian FitzGibbon

Nationality: Irish/Icelandic

Date of birth: 17.03.60

Domicile: Iceland

Profession: Translator and writer

Working language pairs: 

Icelandic > English

Italian > English

French > English

Specialised in: Banking, finance, marketing, European affairs, telecommunications, multimedia, IT, tourism & travel, film, theatre and literature.

Education: 

B.A. course in Icelandic

University of Iceland 

(completed 2 years, 1996 -1997)

B.A. (hons) Drama/Italian, 1986

University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC)

6 month course on conference interpretation

PCL (Polytechnic of Central London), UK

Born in Dublin in 1960,  Brian FitzGibbon currently resides in Iceland, where he works as a freelance writer and translator.

Recent work

Representative assignments include translations for the Central Bank of Iceland, Reykjavik Energy (Orkuveita Reykjavikur), the Icelandic Ministry of Finance and the Reykjavik Art Museum .

Examples of other companies he was worked for include the global pharmaceutical group Alvogen, ACRO Securities, the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik, the Icelandic Opera and the University of Iceland Lottery.

Before rejoining the freelance market in 2008, he worked as a full-time translator and copywriter for the CEO's Office of Kaupthing Bank (now known as Arion Bank) in Reykjavik. His main tasks there included the translation and editing of documents from all divisions of the bank, but principally the group's global intranet, as well as its corporate communications and research divisions.

Prior to moving to Iceland in 1996, he lived in Italy, where he operated as a freelance translator and interpreter on the private market, working for international organisations such as the European University Institute in Florence, FAO in Rome, UNICEF and UNESCO.

Literary translations

With a background in film and theatre, much of Brian's work has also gravitated towards the translation of stage plays, film scripts, and novels. 

His translation of "Butterflies in November" by Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir was listed for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2014 and his translation of the Icelandic cult novel "101 Reykjavik" by Hallgrimur Helgason for Faber & Faber in 2002, was praised by the New York Times for its lucidity (NYT review) and the Guardian (read Guardian review)

Personal writing projects

Screenplays by Brian FitzGibbon:

OTHERWORLD, feature screenplay developed with the assistance of Moonstone International, the Irish Film Board and the Icelandic Film Centre, 2004.

HIDING PLACES, feature for Grand Pictures, 2003 developed with the assistance of the Irish Film Board, 2003.

STRANDED, Ireland 1998, 24 min. film. Premiered at the Tribeca Film Center in New York.

101 REYKJAVÍK, assistant screenwriter to director Baltasar Kormákur, 1999.

Stage plays:

ANOTHER MAN, finalist at Playwrights Slam, 2005 Chichester Theatre Festival, UK

THE PAPAR, Abbey Theatre (Peacock) - Dublin July 1997

Radio plays:

ANOTHER MAN, RÚV National Icelandic Radio, 2008

PAPAR, RÚV National Icelandic Radio, 2005 (nominated for the Icelandic Gríma Award)

FARDU TIL HELVÍTIS, RÚV National Icelandic Radio, 2003

GO TO HELL, RTE 1996 (National Irish Radio)