January 23 2019
Germany

Touring exhibition of illustration to open Norway’s Guest of Honour year

Georg Grosz meets Mulysses at Slush Mountain
Modern illustration from Norway

2019 is Norway’s year as Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse, and the first event in this Guest of Honour year will be the touring exhibition "Georg Grosz meets Mulysses on Slush Mountain. Modern illustration from Norway.” The exhibition will open at Felleshuset, at the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin, on January 23rd.

Work by eleven Norwegian illustrators will be on display, selected from a variety of new Norwegian picture books for both children and adults. Illustrations by Lisa Aisato, Per Dybvig, Lars Fiske, Stian Hole, Bendik Kaltenborn, Åshild Kanstad Johnsen, Bjørn R. Lie, Alice Lima de Faria, Gry Moursund, Kari Stai and Øyvind Torseter, representing a rich spectrum of expressions in both technique and theme. All of which can be found in books that are translated and available in German.

The exhibition will be on show throughout 2019, in a number of cities in Germany and Switzerland, including in Bremen, Leipzig and Frankfurt. It is a collaboration between Grafill and NORLA, and will be rounded off with a separate viewing at Grafill’s premises in Oslo, January 9 – February 2, 2020.

Read more about the exhibition here.

(Illustrations taken from the books (left to right) “Grosz. Berlin–New York” by Lars Fiske, “Mulysses” by Øyvind Torseter and “Slush Mountain" by Bjørn Rune Lie).

Upcoming activities

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.

Please have a closer look at presentations in Chinese of NORLA’s Selected Titles this autumn kinesiske presentasjoner av høstens fokustitler her
December 3-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 liberii 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.

In the lead-up to the book fair, we are organizing a full-day seminar for Italian translators and Norwegian language students from universities in Italy. The seminar will take place at Casa delle Traduzioni, and participants will have the opportunity to meet author and illustrator Malin Falch. The sessions will be led by established Italian translators of Norwegian literature.