NORLA’s talent programme for young authors confirmed
Upon the signing of the agreement between NORLA and Frankfurter Buchmesse for Norway as Guest of Honour at the Book Fair in 2019, the talent programme for young authors in Norway was confirmed. The development programme for new author talents will be organized through a collaborative agreement with Talent Norway (Talent Norge). The Norwegian Publishers Association will also contribute generously to the programme.
Recruitment is an important aspect of the work of Norway as Guest of Honour and Margit Walsø, NORLA’s director, emphasizes that cultivating new literary voices internationally is an important goal of the Frankfurt initiative. The long-term timeframe leading up to 2019 and the collaboration with Talent Norge will provide the opportunity to flush out unknown talents from Norway’s abundant literary underbrush.
In the years leading up to 2019, 20-30 authors will receive an offer of participation in a development programme focusing on the international aspects of the author profession. The programme will facilitate development through the exchange of experiences, travel, lectures, activities and network building.
The programme is not a writing school, but is instead about the public-oriented and international aspects of being an author, providing insight into the work of translators, media training, knowledge about the international book market, reception and reviews, and will enable participants to meet readers from other countries.
Senior Advisor at NORLA and Project Manager of the programme Dina Roll-Hansen will focus on capitalizing on NORLA’s large international network, and says:
“Many authors mention in particular meetings with translators, publishers and readers abroad as incredible learning experiences and the source of greater awareness in relation to own writing practice. There are a lot of resources here for young authors. NORLA has an extensive international network that we will use to put together an exciting and useful programme for the participants.”
The first group of 3-4 participants will be chosen in the course of the autumn 2016. The selection will be made in collaboration with professional communities in the book trade. NORLA is now working on development of the programme contents, but since much of the programme is to be tailored to the individual participants, large portions of the programme will not be finalized until the participants have been selected.
Read more
More about Talent Norway here.
Read everything about Norway as Guest of Honour at the 2019 Frankfurter Buchmesse here.
