Emil Hjörvar Petersen is an Icelandic author of speculative fiction. After publishing two poetry collections, his praised post-apocalyptic fantasy trilogy about the Norse gods who survived Ragnarök, Saga eftirlifenda (Survivors of Ragnarök), made him known as a pioneer in the SF&F genres in Iceland. The trilogy was published in 2010-2014. Afterwards, Petersen turned to writing a crime-fantasy series, a combination of Nordic Noir, urban fantasy and Icelandic folklore. The story follows a broke and divorced medium and her psychic teenage daughter getting caught up in crime investigations connected to supernatural beings. The first book, Víghólar (Crimson Hills), was published in 2016 and turned out to be a hit, it was awarded and optioned for a TV-show by leading Icelandic producer Sagafilm. Two more novels have been published in the series along with short stories. In 2021, the major audiobook streaming service Storytel published a folk horror story by Petersen, Ó, Karítas, as a Storytel Original.

Being one of the founders of IceCon, the Icelandic fantasy, science fiction and horror convention, Petersen has worked with Reykjavik UNESCO City of Literature and has written educational material for schools focused on speculative fiction. Petersen lives in Kópavogur, Iceland, where he works on his upcoming novels.