The All Things Nordic newsletter returns with a new edition bringing together books, cinema, architecture, technology and some of the stories shaping the Nordic world — with direct links for readers who want to explore further.
Newsletter #37 Is Here
The All Things Nordic newsletter is back, and issue #37 offers a journey across a remarkably varied Nordic landscape: from new ATN books and traditional folklore to independent cinema in Reykjavík, Finnish architecture, artificial intelligence and the increasingly important relationship between Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Entitled New Books, Reykjavík Cinema and a Changing North, the new edition also marks a renewed commitment to using the newsletter as a regular companion to All Things Nordic: a curated selection for readers who may not have caught everything published on ATN during the week, and an easy starting point for discovering the stories, interviews and projects that deserve another look.
Two New ATN Books Take Centre Stage
Books lead this edition, beginning with Nordic Tales and Folk Traditions by Hilda Lainen, a collection of 24 stories drawn from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Åland and Sápmi, populated by trolls, spirits, heroes, enchanted animals and the landscapes in which generations of Northern storytelling took shape. Newsletter #37 also introduces My Denmark Travel Journal — Places, Encounters and Memories, the latest volume in the ATN Travel Journal Series, conceived as a personal companion for travellers exploring Denmark, whether wandering through Copenhagen, discovering Aarhus and Aalborg, or heading into the smaller towns, islands and landscapes of Jutland.
From Beverly Hills to Reykjavík
Cinema provides one of the most personal stories in the new issue, with American writer and director Janaé Rachel Ballot recounting the extraordinary journey that brought her debut feature Dissociated Me from Beverly Hills to its world premiere at the Reykjavík International Film Festival. Her exclusive ATN diary combines filmmaking with friendship, resilience and the experience of encountering Iceland through cinema, while another story in the newsletter crosses the Atlantic in the opposite direction: West Nordic Film Days in New York, showcasing films and filmmakers from Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Architecture, AI and a Changing Nordic Region
Newsletter #37 also looks at a North undergoing significant cultural, technological and geopolitical change. Finland’s architectural heritage enters the picture through the international recognition of Alvar Aalto‘s humanist modernism, providing another reason to explore the country’s design culture from Helsinki onwards, while a separate story examines the environmental questions surrounding Finland’s expanding data-centre infrastructure in the age of artificial intelligence. Further west, the first dedicated summit bringing together the heads of government of Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands points towards a new phase in West Nordic cooperation, as Arctic and North Atlantic affairs acquire ever greater strategic importance.
ATN Conversations: Mark Diffey and Scandinavian Art
The new edition also returns to one of our recent ATN Conversations, this time with Mark Diffey, the British designer based in Oslo and founder of the Scandinavian Art online gallery. Diffey discusses the challenge of giving contemporary Nordic artists greater international visibility and moving beyond the familiar shorthand of Scandinavian minimalism, revealing a much broader world of colour, illustration and experimentation. It is precisely the kind of conversation the renewed newsletter will continue to highlight alongside the week’s newest material: interviews worth revisiting should not disappear simply because another publishing day has begun.
A Weekly Way to Keep Up with the Nordic World
All Things Nordic now publishes across an increasingly broad range of subjects, from travel and culture to society, design, gastronomy, technology, books and current affairs, and not every reader can reasonably follow every story as it appears. The newsletter is therefore intended to provide a more leisurely route through that material: a weekly editorial selection rather than simply another stream of headlines. If you enjoy travelling in the Nordic countries, following their changing societies or discovering the people, places and ideas behind them, Newsletter #37 is a good place to begin — and to rediscover All Things Nordic in your inbox. Read All Things Nordic Newsletter #37 on Substack.
Suggested Online Sources
All Things Nordic · All Things Nordic Newsletter on Substack · Meet Mark Diffey: The Curator Behind Scandinavian Art Online Gallery
Some travel links in this article are affiliate links. If you book an experience through them, All Things Nordic may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
