April 13 2023
Norway

Open half-day seminar on Ukrainian language and co-translation

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a great demand in Norway for Ukrainian language skills as well as knowledge about the country itself. One way of gaining insight into Ukraine’s history, culture and mentality is through fiction. Many Norwegian publishers want to publish fiction by Ukrainian authors, however there is currently a lack of qualified translators of Ukrainian to Norwegian.

NORLA and the Norwegian Association of Literary Translators will meet this demand by facilitating a collaboration between translators whose native languages are Norwegian and Ukrainian, i.e., between the Association of Literary Translators’ members and NORLA’s network of translators.

The project consists of three parts:

1. An open half-day seminar about Ukrainian language and literature, and co-translation. April 13, 2023, 9-13, at Litteraturhuset in Oslo.
The seminar will be live streamed here
More details available here (in Norwegian)

2. A Ukrainian-Norwegian translator’s workshop, June 24, 2023

3. A Ukraine issue of the periodical Mellom, which is devoted to the art of translation, containing the Ukrainian texts translated within the framework of the project, published in October 2023.
The first part of the project will therefore be the half-day seminar on April 13. There will be speakers from Norway and Ukraine. Some of the participants will take part via video link from Ukraine.
The project is initiated by the Norwegian Association of Literary Translators and NORLA, and is being carried out in close collaboration with Mellom and the Ukrainian Association in Norway.

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.

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.