Opening Conference for Norway as Guest of Honour in Bologna 2026

Norway will be Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2026. Please join us for the Opening Conference at the Norwegian Festival of Literature in May.

Bologna Children’s Book fair is one of the world’s leading book fairs of its kind. Each year a new country is invited to be Guest of Honour, and in 2026 it is Norway that will hold the prestigious title. The project will be organised by NORLA, and on the 24th May we invite the industry for an kickstart event open to all. Please register here if you would like to join us. We have also got a Facebook event you are welcome to check out.

Where: Festsalen, Kulturhuset Banken, Kirkegata 41

When: 24th of May, 09 AM -12 AM

Programme:

08.30 Arrival and registration

09.00 Reading by Simon Stranger

09.10 Welcome by Director of NORLA Margit Walsø 

09.20 Opening by State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Equality, Odin Adelsten Aunan Bohmann.

09.30 Expectations, Excitement, and Export: How to be Guest of Honour in Bologna 2026  

Panelists: Elena Pasoli, Exhibition Manager, Bologna Children’s Book Fair , Cristina Marasti, Iperborea Publishing House, Margit Walsø, Director of NORLA and Evy Tillman, Literary Agent, Oslo Literary Agency. The conversation is led by Arne Vestbø, Chair for NORLA and General Secretary at NFFO.

10.10 Break 

10.40 Boklek by Bjørn F. Rørvik

11.05 Literature from Norway and Italy in a Global Context: Perspectives from Different Parts of the Book Industry 

An authors’ and illustrator’s perspective: Øyvind Torseter

Leser søker bok by Monica Helvig

Heidi Austlid: The Joy of Reading

Piero Attanasio, Head of Public Affairs, Italian Publishers Association

11.45 Round-up

12.00 The program is finished

After the program we invite you to join us for lunch at the café. Hope to see you there!

NB! Changes in the programme might occur.

Upcoming activities

October 15

Application deadline: Stage slots for professional programme at Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2026

NORLA invites proposals for professional programme events on the Norwegian stage at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, 13–16 April 2026.
Non-commercial organizations that promote Norwegian and Sámi children’s literature, illustration, and reading are invited to apply to present their own events aimed at a professional audience. Selected contributions will form part of Norway’s official Guest of Honour programme.

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.

October 23

Krakow, Poland

New Voices Authors at a book trade meeting in Krakow

The participants in NORLA’s New Voices program will this autumn put into practice what they have learned during the workshops, and meet publishers and/or readers in real life. The goal is to support the sale and dissemination of their books into more languages – on the way to Bologna.

During the International Book Fair in Krakow, NORLA is hosting a book trade meeting featuring presentations by New Voices authors Arne Lindmo, Gøril Sæther, and Pernille Radeid. In addition, Norwegian agents will meet with representatives from the Polish publishing industry.

The event is organized in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Warsaw.