New and Old Voices to Japan

NORLA will be hosting several events in Japan, in cooperation with the Norwegian embassy in Tokyo, and the universities of Osaka.
Two participants from our New Voices program, Linn Strømsborg and Monica Isakstuen, will be taking part in addition to translators Anne Lande Peters and NORLA’s co-workers Oliver Møystad and Dina Roll-Hansen. The events in Japan are following up NORLA’s activities in Tokyo in 2016.

Friday, November 9:
We will visit the University of Osaka and hold presentations for about 60 students of Scandinavian wanting to learn about Norwegian concepts of colour – and about Norwegian literature.

Saturday and Sunday, November 10-11:
We are holding a day-long seminar for Japanese translators of Norwegian, which 15 translators have signed up for.
The low birth rate in Japan makes Scandinavian gender-equality politics of great interest, and on Sunday, November 11, we will attend a seminar on gender equality and Norwegian family policy at the University of Kyoto. The seminar will use Ibsen’s Little Eyolf, and the books of Monica Isakstuen and Linn Strømsborg as a starting point.

Tuesday, November 13:
We will meet publishers and other contacts at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo. For this event there are 23 publishers and editors signed up! Later in the day NORLA will participate in a seminar about Ibsen, where Norwegian to Japanese-translator Anne Lande Peters will also talk about Lille Eyolf.

Read more
Linn Strømsborg, presentation at the Cappelen Damm Agency’s website
Monica Isakstuen, presentation at the Oslo Literary Agency’s website
Anne Lande Peters, who is NORLA’s Translator of the Month for November

See the covers of Norwegian books recently published in Japanese through NORLA’s translation subsidies on our Flickr-profile.

Photos, from the left:
Anne Lande Peters, Linn Strømsborg (photo: Heidi Furre) og Monica Isakstuen (photo: Paal Audestad).

Upcoming activities

October 9-October 11

New York, USA

Norwegian author program at the 200th anniversary of Norwegian emigration to the USA

NORLA is collaborating with the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York on several literary events in connection with the arrival of the ship Restauration in New York on October 9. The vessel set sail from Stavanger on July 4 and is scheduled to arrive in New York on October 9 – retracing the exact journey of the first Norwegian emigrant ship that departed on the same dates in 1825. Upon arrival, a large public celebration is planned at the pier, with 2,000–3,000 guests expected from 10:00–14:00.

HRH Crown Prince Haakon, together with the voyage’s patron Liv Ullmann, will welcome the ship, and a variety of cultural events will take place at the harbor. NORLA will host a stand highlighting Norwegian literature. Mari Kanstad Johnsen will hold a children’s reading session on board the ship Wavertree, while moderator Anderson Tepper will lead a conversation with Lars Mytting, Edy Poppy, and Jon Fosse’s translator Damion Searls at the beautiful McNally Jackson Seaport bookstore, located at Pier 16.

Thor Gotaas will give a talk on Norwegian immigration and Ørkenen Sur during a ferry trip on the East River with HRH Crown Prince Haakon and invited guests.

October 10

The Fosse Prize 2026 – NORLA Invites Endorsements

We welcome endorsements that meet the criteria below, with a brief justification (maximum 1 page), by Friday October 10, 2025, 12:00 (CET):

• The prize will be awarded to a translator who has made a particularly significant contribution to translating Norwegian literature and/or drama into another language (directly from Norwegian), with emphasis on their entire body of work.
• The promotion of literature and culture beyond translation can also be considered.

October 15-October 19

Frankfurt, Germany

NORLA at Frankfurter Buchmesse

NORLA will be present at this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse. You are invited to come by and visit us at the Nordic common stand at Hall 4.1, stand B17.
We are very much looking forward to meeting contacts both old and new!

Please contact us should you like to book an appointment.