We at NORLA are proud and delighted to present our selected titles for the autumn:

October’s translator of the month is Serbian Radoš Kosović (b. 1984) who translates from Norwegian and Danish. He has translated over fifty works in various genres, primarily novels, but he has also translated philosophy, drama, children and young adult’s books and a collection of poems. In 2015 he received the Aleksandar I. Spasić Award for Translating Non-fiction for Lars Fr. H. Svendsen’s A Philosophy of Freedom (Geopoetika, 2013), as well as the Miloš N. Đurić Award for Best Translation of Fictional Prose for Merethe Lindström’s Days in the History of Silence (Geopoetika, 2015). Radoš is a member of the Serbian Translators’ Association (UKPS) and sits on the jury for the Ljubiša Rajić Award for Best Debut Translation, which supports talented young translators. He has a master’s degree in Nordic languages and literature at the University of Agder in Kristiansand. He lives in Belgrade.

Norway has fostered many award-winning and praiseworthy authors who have been translated into a variety of languages, and they are more than happy to visit your festival! NORLA offers travel grants for international literature festivals and literary events, whether it be a physical festival or a digital event. We are happy to assist with advice and guidance, and we look forward to hearing from you!

In October, we will be announcing this autumn’s selected titles. And at the translator’s pastry shop this time you will get first-hand knowledge of these books, as well as meet colleagues and NORLA staff.
We invite you to three different digital pastry shops: for fiction, non-fiction, and children and young adult’s literature respectively (it is only possible to choose one genre).

Wednesday, October 13 at 15:00 (Norwegian time)

There is a limited number of places, so in the event of there being very high demand names will be drawn by lottery.
Welcome to the literary pastry shop!

We at NORLA want to showcase the crucial work translators do, and in the last week of September we will join the worldwide celebration of the patron saint of translators, St. Jerome, or St. Hieronymus as he is known in Norway.
Even though our task is promoting Norwegian literature, we like to use the occasion of The Interational Translation Day – in Norway called “Hieronymus Day” – to recommend good books that have been translated well into Norwegian.

Thank you to all the translators out there who make world literature available to us!

September is World Kid Lit Month, an initiative focusing on disseminating literature for young readers written in languages other than English, and books that are available in English translation.

In Norway, we are very proud of our brave literature for children and young adults, and many titles are available in English translation. And we are of course happy to present a small selection.

September’s Translator of the Month is Anja Majnaric. She translates fiction from Norwegian and English to Croatian. Anja has translated many of Karl Ove Knausgård’s books (My Struggle 1-6, Spring and Summer), Jens Bjørneboe’s History of Bestiality Trilogy and The Sharks, and many other authors such as Maja Lunde, Vigdis Hjorth, Geir Gulliksen and currently Johan Harstad, plus also some crime fiction. She has recently set up a publishing house, together with two friends: Woodencloak Books. Anja lives in Zagreb with two cats and she is a night owl.

Do you work with creating, developing, disseminating, or selling Norwegian art and cultural products internationally? Now you can apply to participate in a new cross-cultural competence program under the direction of Norwegian Arts Abroad.

NORLA’s subsidy scheme for export and market initiatives will boost demand, exports, and market development for Norwegian books and authors abroad, The scheme supports the development of good marketing ideas and initiatives for titles which have a strong potential, which contribute to new initiatives or put wind in the sails of ongoing projects with international partners. There are many initiatives being planned.

Women in Translation, or WIT, is a global collaborative project held every August, to help promote women writers from around the world who write in languages other than English. Here at NORLA we are pleased to share our own contribution to WITMonth with you.

August’s Translator of the Month is Karolina Drozdowska from Poland. She works mainly with fiction and her translation of Nina Lykke’s novel Natural Causes (original title “Full spredning”) has just been published in Poland by the publisher Pauza. In addition to being a translator, Karolina is an assistant professor at the Institute of Scandinavian and Finnish Studies at the University of Gdansk and she is also secretary of the board at the Polish Literary Translators’ Association (Stowarzyszenie Tłumaczy Literatury).
In 2013, Karolina won NORLA’s causerie (kåseri) competition with her text about series of commercial fiction, Jens Bjørneboe and leading a double life. She has translated more than 90 books.

Summer is approaching and there is optimism in the air. We are all motivated by the prospect of brighter times and a more predictable autumn ahead.

Throughout the pandemic, NORLA has maintained a high level of digital travelling. This spring we built on the experience gained from the numerous webinars we held for industry contacts last year. These webinars allow foreign publishers and editors to meet Norwegian agents. They are also shown NORLA’s films presenting this spring’s selected titles in which the authors themselves talk about their books. Most of the webinars are arranged in close collaboration with Norwegian embassies and consulates, and some are also in collaboration with key translators. This fruitful collaboration is something we are very grateful for.