Stefán Máni was born and raised in a small fishing village on the West Coast of Iceland. He dropped out of school aged seventeen and for the next twenty years he worked in the fishing industry and as a construction worker. After losing a job and experiencing melancholia, he began to write. In 2006, The Ship became a national bestseller and he set asail for international waters.
He is a father-of-two and currently lives in Reykjavik.