Translators seminar in Moscow – in commemoration of the translator Ljubov Gorlina

Russian-Norwegian translators are organizing a seminar on 5 February 2016 at the embassy in Moscow. Translators from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Archangelsk and Murmansk will take part. The seminar is dedicated to the translator Ljubov Gorlina (1926-2013).

In the course of her career Ljubov – by many known as Ljuba – Gorlina translated a large number of books from Norwegian and also Swedish into Russian. Her debut was with Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s A Happy Boy, and from the early 1960s up to the end of her life she made Norwegian authors such as Knut Hamsun, Torborg Nederaas, Tormod Haugen, Herbjørg Wassmo, Jostein Gaarder, Aksel Sandemose, Thorvald Steen, Jon Ewo, Ketil Bjørnstad, Anne-Cath. Vestly and many, many others available to Russian readers.

In 1995 she was awarded the St. Olav’s Medal for her work and the dissemination of Norwegian culture and literature.

Ljubov was a mentor in the Russian translation community who did a great deal to help her younger colleagues find their way at the beginning of their careers. For that reason, the organizers wish to dedicate this year’s translators seminar to her.

NORLA will be represented at the seminar and also contribute a small subsidy.

For the seminar, NORLA has produced a film about Ljuba Gorlina. The film is in Norwegian (with Russian sub-titles), and in it several renowned people from the Norwegian literary scene share their stories of meetings with Ljuba; The first director of NORLA, Kristin Brudevoll, authors Herbjørg Wassmo, Thorvald Steen and Jon Ewo, and former literary agent of the Gyldendal publishing house, Eva Lie-Nielsen.
See NORLA’s film below:

A tribute to Ljuba Gorlina (with Russian sub-titles) – Памяти российского переводчика Любови Горлиной (1926-2013) from NORLA.

Read more about the seminar (in Russian) here.

See a list of Ljubov Gorlina’s translations in the National Library’s database here.

If you understand Norwegian or Russian, you might want to have a look at the TV-documentary about Ljubov Gorlina, “Norsk litteratur er hele mitt liv” (made by NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting corporation,1993), here.

(Photo: Wikipedia commons)

Upcoming activities

October 31

Meeting of NORLA’s expert committee for non-fiction

Meeting of NORLA’s expert committee for non-fiction, for the consideration of applications for translation subsidies with deadline 1 October.

November 14-November 16

Shanghai, China

Norwegian Participation at the Shanghai Children’s Book Fair

NORLA is taking part in the Shanghai Children’s Book Fair with a stand designed for meetings and professional networking. The two illustrators/authors Øyvind Torseter and Marianne Gretteberg Engedal (Skinkeape) will participate in the fair’s professional program and panel discussions. Both also serve on the jury for the Norwegian illustration exhibition at Bologna 2026.
In addition, several Norwegian publishers/agents will take part.

The initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Consulate in Shanghai.

December 2-December 5

Rome, Italy

Networking Event and Launch of the Guest of Honour Program during the Rome Book Fair Più libri più liberi

The book fair Più libri più liberi is dedicated to small and medium-sized publishers, and NORLA is looking forward to participating for the second time – focusing on Norway’s Guest of Honour initiative at Bologna 2026 and on Norwegian children’s literature in general.

And just like last year, we are hosting a networking event and gearing up for Bologna 2026 by launching the Guest of Honour concept and program. Also, Norwegian agents will take part in the fair’s fellowship and/or be present in the rights centre.

The program is organized in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Rome.