Mál og menning

The press has published the work of many of Iceland's best known authors, among them Þórbergur Þórðarson, Jóhannes úr Kötlum, Svava Jakobsdóttir, Þórarinn Eldjárn, and Einar Kárason.

[1] The publishing company Mál og menning was established on 17 June 1937, combining the press Heimskringla, which Kristinn E. Andrésson had founded in 1934, Ragnar í Smára's company Smári og fleirum, and the Félag byltingarsinnaðra rithöfunda (the Society of Revolutionary Authors, which included amongst others Kristinn E. Andrésson himself, Halldór Laxness, Steinn Steinarr, Jóhannes úr Kötlum and Halldór Stefánsson).

But the company soon began publishing its own books, with the objective of making good quality literature available at a low price.

In 1944 Kristinn Andrésson sold Heimskringla to Mál og menning, but Ragnar established the new press Helgafell.

Kristinn E. Andrésson served as the chairman of Mál og menning from its founding to 1971, and was influential on the press throughout that period.

In 1940, the company also established a bookshop, Bókabúð Máls og menningar, on Reykjavík's main street, Laugavegur.

The iconic Laugavegur branch retained the name Bókabúð Máls og menningar until summer 2009, when it moved to Skólavörðustígur.