NORLA's activities to promote the export of Norwegian literature
NORLA’s activities in the 1st quarter 2017
This spring, NORLA’s staff look forward to attending several book fairs, events and literary festivals around the world. See detailed list below.
Feel free to contact us to schedule a meeting!
We hope to see you!
Application deadline: Author and lecturer visits to institutions of higher learning abroad
NORLA administrates the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ scheme for travel grants for authors and lecturers who will visit institutions of higher learning abroad where instruction is given in the Norwegian language.
Read more here.
NORLA to meet Nordic colleagues in Nuuk, Greenland
Director Margit Walsø, and Senior Advisers Andrine Pollen and Per Øystein Roland will be out of office January 17-20, attending a seminar with our Nordic colleagues.
The employees at the Nordic literary offices meet annually, and this year the meeting will take place in Nuuk, Greenland.
We look forward to exchanging experiences and future plans with our colleagues!
The Nordic literary offices all administer The Nordic Council of Ministers’ funding scheme for the translation of literature and drama from one Nordic language to another. Read more about the scheme here.
The first group of authors in NORLA’s talent programme «New Voices» meet for the start of the semester
NORLA’s talent programme for the development of new literary voices «New Voices» (Nye stemmer) is a part of the project of Norway as Guest of Honour nation at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2019. The programme has been established in collaboration with Talent Norge and the Norwegian Publishers Association. The recruitment of new talents is a key element in the work of Norway as Guest of Honour nation and an important part of this endeavour is the promotion of new literary voices internationally.
Norwegian Crime Writers to Festival in India
Thomas Enger and Hans Olav Lahlum are participating at the NOIR LITERATURE FESTIVAL in New Delhi from January 27th – 29th , together with around 30 other writers and speakers. Most participants come from India, so the Norwegian writers will form an exotic element at the festival. Crime fiction is a young and growing genre in India, so the writers can count on a large and enthusiastic audience.
Both writers are published by British publishers, so their book can also reach an Indian audience.
This is the third year this festival is arranged, NORLA and Norwegian writers were present already in 2015.
Visit the festival’s website or Facebook page for more details.
Application deadline: Translation subsidy for Norwegian non-fiction
Read more about the translation subsidy for Norwegian non-fiction here.
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for non-fiction
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for non-fiction (for the consideration of applications for translation subsidies with deadline 1 February).
Read more about the translation subsidy here.
Application deadline (prolonged): NORLA's Translators hotel spring 2017
February 15 is the application deadline for translators of Norwegian literature regarding stays at NORLA’s Translators hotel spring 2017 (weeks 19-20, i.e. as of Monday May 5th through Sunday May 21st).
Please note that the offer is only available for translators who translate directly from Norwegian.
Read more (in Norwegian) here.
Application deadline (prolonged): Sample translation of Norwegian literature
Publishers, agents and translators abroad and in Norway can apply to NORLA for subsidies for sample translations.
Read more here.
Translators of Norwegian literature may also apply to NORLA for subsidies for sample translations from books of interest.
There are no application deadlines. Read more (in Norwegian) here.
NORLA to the London Book Fair
NORLA will take part in the London Book Fair at Olympia, and you will find us at the Nordic stand, 6F70.
We are looking forward to meeting both contacts of old and new!
Please don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule meetings!
See NORLA’s selected Norwegian spring titles on our website.
Application deadline "New Voices": NORLA’s development programme for new literary voices
NORLA once again invites the editorial staffs of all publishing houses in Norway to nominate candidates for our development programme for new literary voices, “New Voices”.
The programme is a part of the Frankfurt 2019 initiative, in the context of which the discovery and promotion of new literary voices is an important objective.
The programme is funded by Talent Norge and the Norwegian Publishers Association, while NORLA is responsible for its implementation.
The programmes first group of four authors was selected in the autumn of 2016 and the program started up in January 2017.
The deadline for nominations from editorial staffs is 15.03.2017.
State visit from the President of Iceland
Their Majesties The King and Queen host the state visit from the President of Iceland, His Excellency Mr Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and Ms Eliza Reid, 21- 23 March.
In focus during the visit will be the two countries’ cooperation within the cultural field, education, science and innovation. And also the shared cultural heritage and the Icelandic-Norwegian cooperation in the Nordic countries and in Europe.
As part of the programme Tuesday 21 March the party will visit the offices of NORLA, Norwegian Literature Abroad.
Read more about the visit (in Norwegian) here.
Click here to see the book covers of Norwegian literature recently translated into Icelandic through translation subsidy from The Nordic Council of Ministers, administered by NORLA.
Read more on the The Nordic Council of Ministers’ programme for the translation of literature and drama from one Nordic language to another here.
Strong Norwegian presence in Leipzig
For many years, Norwegian authors have put their mark on the Leipziger Book Fair, but this year the Norwegian presence is larger than ever. The Norwegian Embassy in Berlin invites seven Norwegian authors to the fair: Jostein Gaarder, Maja Lunde, Øyvind Torseter, Ole Thorstensen, Gudrun Skretting, Erika Fatland and Håkon Øvreås. They will all perform at different venues during the book fair; Jostein Gaarder, Maja Lunde and Ole Thorstensen will also be performing at the famous Nordische Lesenacht on Friday March 24th.
In addition the authors on the NORLA’s program New Voices (Nye stemmer) will also come to Leipzig: Simen Ekern, Roskva Koritzinsky, Sigbjørn Mostue and Nils Henrik Smith will have a seminar with the German translators who have made sample translations of their texts, and together they will meet the audience at the Nordic pavilion, Hall 4, D300.
Håkon Øvreås and Øyvind Torseter will be awarded the «Leseluchs des Jahres 2016» prize, by Radio Bremen and Die Zeit, for «Brune» («Super-Bruno») in Wednsday evening.
On Thursday March 23, NORLA invites German translators to a gathering at the Grieg Begegnungsstätte to exchange information and ideas about Norway as Guest of Honour in Frankfurt 2019. The seminar will be followed by a reception where German publishers also are invited.
State Secretary for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Laila Bokhari, will be part of the Norwegian delegation to Leipzig this year, along with chairman of NORLA’s board Aslak Sira Myhre, NORLA’s Project Manager Frankfurt 2019 Halldór Gudmundsson and Coordinator Literary Programme Frankfurt 2019, Andrine Pollen, together with NORLA’s Director Margit Walsø and Senior Advisers Dina Roll-Hansen and Oliver Møystad.
See the Nordic program here.
And the complete festival program here.
Download PDF’s with the program day by day here.
Visit the bookfair’s website.
Application deadline: Translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction
Read more about the translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction here.
NORLA at the Bologna Book Fair
NORLA attends the children’s book fair in Bologna, Italy, April 3-6.
Please contact us if you would like to book a meeting at stand 30 C 18!
Have a look at our selected Norwegian titles for the spring 2017 here.
You may also enjoy our Highlights and Backlists in different genres from 2016/2017 and previous years, here.
See the book covers of Norwegian books for children and young adults published through translation subsidies from NORLA since 2011 on Flickr.
NORLA's offices are closed for Easter until Tuesday April 18
NORLA’s offices are closed for Easter as of Monday April 10. We open again Tuesday April 18.
If you happen to read Norwegian, you may enjoy our reading tips for Easter – “påskekrim” – here.
Curious to learn more about that strange Norwegian tradition of “påskekrim”, i.e. reading/watching crime stories at Easter?
Read more.
Happy Easter!
NORLA is pleased to invite to an input and planning conference about Frankfurt 2019
The conference, followed by a reception, will be held at Sentralen in Oslo Wednesday 26 April, 1 – 7 PM.
Hear – about what it means to be the Guest of Honour at the world’s largest book fair.
See – all the exciting opportunities found in the cultural programme surrounding the fair.
Meet – people from the Frankfurt Book Fair, key German stakeholders, professionals from the book trade and culture sector, and Margit and Halldór who will be responsible for the entire endeavour.
Come – and bring your own ideas!
Click here to see the programme.
Register through 20 April here.
Read more about Frankfurt 2019, including the Norwegian bid book, here.
Extended deadline: Nominate candidates for NORLA’s Translator's Award 2017
NORLA annually hands out an award to a translator of Norwegian literature. The award is given for translations directly from Norwegian.
In 2017, the award will be given to a talented young translator of fiction as an encouragement towards continued efforts.
We would very much like to hear from you about deserving candidates!
International publishers to Oslo
Twelve international publishers from Germany, the United Kingdom and USA will visit Oslo May 2 – 5.
All of four editors of Karl Ove Knausgård’s books are invited to attend the opening of the Munch exhibition «Towards the Forest» (“Mot skogen”) which has been curated by Knausgård.
(Read more here).
The guests will visit Norwegian publishing houses, museums and institutions and they will meet Norwegian authors, editors and literary agents for a full three days.
We look forward to welcoming our guests to Norway, and to offer them some of the best program available!
Seminar in Norwich for translators from the Nordic languages into English
In the beginning of May, NordLit (the Nordic literature offices and representatives for the autonomous regions), is arranging a seminar for translators from the Nordic languages into English in cooperation with British Centre for Literary Translation, a research centre within the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
The seminar will focus on Nordic literature for children and young adults, on Nordic noir and literary fiction.
New season at NORLA’s Translators Hotel
We are looking forward to welcoming four new translators of Norwegian literature to NORLA’s Translators Hotel in Oslo, at Hotell Bondeheimen.
This spring is the sixth season of our popular programme.
The four translators are:
Mariia Tkachenko (Russian)
Anja Majnaric (Croatian)
Miluse Jurickova (Czech).
Sotiris Souliotis (Greek) will be joining the group next week.
Meet the translators and read more here.
Read more about NORLA’s translators hotel and previous guests here.
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for fiction
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for fiction (for the consideration of applications for translation subsidies with deadline 1 April).
Read more about the translation subsidy here.
NORLA's offices are closed Wednesday May 17
NORLA’s offices are closed Wednesday May 17, due to Norway’s Constitution Day.
We wish everyone a Happy 17th of May!
Six of the best Norwegian Nordic Noir authors appear at CrimeFest, Bristol
6 of the best Norwegian Nordic Noir authors appear at CrimeFest
The Nordic Noir genre has been hugely successful with authors such as Jo Nesbø, Stieg Larsson and Karin Fossum influencing international literature. On May 18-21, CrimeFest takes place in Bristol, featuring Norwegian authors Hans Olav Lahlum, Gunnar Staalensen, Jørn Lier Horst, Torkil Damhaug, Thomas Enger and Kjell Ola Dahl. Read more.
NORLA to meet publishers from the Netherlands in The Hague
The Netherlands have long been an important market for Norwegian books. Recently there has also been an increase in the number of non-fiction books translated into Dutch. In collaboration with the Norwegian embassy in The Hague and translator Paula Stevens, NORLA is organizing for the fifth time an exclusive half-day seminar at the embassy that is designed for a select group of publishers from the Netherlands and Flanders This year’s seminar will focus on non-fiction. The four previous seminar have introduced Norwegian fiction, non-fiction, literature for children and young adults and crime fiction.
See a listing of Norwegian books available in Dutch here.
And enjoy the covers of Norwegian books recently published in Dutch through NORLA’s translation subsidies here.
Norwegian authors to attend book fair and translators seminar in Tbilisi
Norway is this year’s country in focus at the Tbilisi International Book Fair in Georgia!
A seminar for Georgian students of Norwegian as well as Georgian translators will be held Wednesday May 24. Organizing the seminar are TSUs Centre of Scandinavian studies and NORLA. Approximately 40 participants will take part, including four translators from Baku in Azerbaijan.
The main organizer of the seminar is translator Tamara Kvizhinadze, who is also NORLA’s Translator of the Month in May. If you happen to read Norwegian, you will enjoy our interview with her here.
All four authors in NORLA’s authors’ programme “New Voices” will speak at the seminar:
Roskva Koritzinsky: “The short story in Norwegian contemporary literature”
Nils Henrik Smith: “Dag Solstad and the Norwegian”
Sigbjørn Mostue: “Back to the roots – the revival of popular beliefs in Norwegian fantasy literature”.
Simen Ekern: “The battle for the soul of Europe: The growth and the future of right wing populism”.
The seminar participants will work in groups discussing the translation of the four authors’ texts.
After the seminar the participants are invited to a reception along with Georgian publishers and contacts, hosted by Norwegian embassies in Tbilisi and Baku.
Norwegian sports- and cultural delegation to China
A Norwegian sports and culture delegation led by the Culture Minister, Mrs. Linda Hofstad Helleland, is visiting China at the end of May. The delegation includes among others the author Jostein Gaarder and NORLA’s director, Margit Walsø. Chinese readers are already very familiar with Gaarder’s books, since a grand total of 16 have already been published in Chinese!
NORLA's activities at the Norwegian Festival of Literature in Lillehammer
We are looking forward to the Norwegian Festival of Literature, Sigrid Undset Days in Lillehammer and also our own exciting programme!
Read more about our translators seminar and the annual international publishers seminar below. NORLA will also take part in a Nordic debate as part of the festival program, as well as in the festival event “Success abroad – flourishing literature at home?”.
Application deadline: Translation subsidy for Norwegian non-fiction
Read more about the translation subsidy for Norwegian non-fiction here.
German fiction publishers to Norway
A group of ten German fiction publishers will visit Norway June 7 – 10, to become even better aquainted with the Norwegian book industry. The publishers will meet a number of authors, editors and literary agents, and they will also join in on the last section of the The Literature Train (“Litteraturtoget”) hosted by Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess Mette-Marit.
Read more about the train.
We look forward to welcoming our guests to Norway, and to an exciting programme both in Oslo and Kristiansand!
German non-fiction publishers to Oslo
A group of ten German non-fiction publishers will visit Oslo June 13 – 16.
The group will receive a thorough introduction to the Norwegian non-fiction industry, and will be meeting a number of authors, editors and literary agents.
We look forward to welcoming our guests to Norway!
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for non-fiction
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for non-fiction (for the consideration of applications for translation subsidies with deadline 19 June).
Read more about the translation subsidy here.
NORLAs offices are closed for summer holidays
At NORLA our summer holiday begins on Monday, 3 July.
The office will open again on Monday, 31 July.
NORLA would like to thank you all for a pleasant collaboration so far this year.
We wish you a wonderful summer – and hope to see you in the autumn!
Looking for books to read this summer?
See a selection of Norwegian books recently published in English here.
Or, if you happen to read Norwegian, you may find reading tips from us at NORLA here.
Application deadline: Author and lecturer visits to institutions of higher learning abroad
NORLA administrates the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ scheme for travel grants for authors and lecturers who will visit institutions of higher learning abroad where instruction is given in the Norwegian language.
Read more here.
Application deadline: Translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction
Read more about the translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction here.
NORLA’s activities, autumn 2017
At NORLA we are looking forward to everything that will take place the coming months.
Don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a meeting.
We are looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible!
NORLA to attend the Haugesund Film Festival
Senior Adviser Oliver Møystad has been invited to take part in the seminar “Books at Haugesund” during The Haugesund Film Festival. The seminar is designed as a meeting place where the book and film trades will join forces and speak about books that can be transposed from text into film.
NORLA and Norwegian authors at the Beijing Book Fair
We are looking forward to attending the book fair in Beijing also this year, in collaboration with our sister organizations from Sweden, Denmark and Finland (NordLit). You will find us at stand no. E1.C10.
Please contact us if you would like to schedule a meeting.
Three literary agents and one publisher have received travel grants from NORLA to visit the book fair. NORLA has also provided funding for the project «China meets Norway in a bookshelf», which will take place in Meridian Space in Beijing during the book fair.
One of the organizers behind the project, Mr. Ben Yu, is NORLA’s Translator of the Month for August. Read more about him here.
See also NORLA’s selected titles which we will present for publishers during the fair, in English and Chinese.
German language publishers visit Norway
On 4–7 September twelve publishers within the fields of non-fiction, fiction and literature for children and young people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland will visit Norway. They will be familiarizing themselves with the Norwegian book world and meet with authors – including the participants in NORLA’s program New Voices – editors and agents.
The group is the fifth visiting delegation to visit Norway so far this year and we are looking forward to an exciting and varied programme in Oslo.
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for fiction
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for fiction (for the consideration of applications for translation subsidies with deadline 1 August).
Read more about the translation subsidy here.
Censorship, self-censorship and care in Norwegian children’s literature
The Norwegian Institute for Children’s Books (NBI) extends an invitation to an international seminar on Thursday, 14 September 09:30 AM–04.00 PM.
Book trade gathering in New York
On Thursday 14 September the Norwegian consulate general in New York and NORLA will host a book trade gathering for American publishers. The focus will be on Norwegian fiction.
Application deadline: Sample translation of Norwegian literature
Publishers, agents and translators abroad and in Norway can apply to NORLA for subsidies for sample translations.
Read more here.
Translators of Norwegian literature may also apply to NORLA for subsidies for sample translations from books of interest.
There are no application deadlines. Read more (in Norwegian) here.
NORLA and the autumn’s six new literary voices to attend the book fair in Gøteborg
We are looking forward to taking part in this year’s Book & Library Fair in Göteborg. You will find NORLA at the International Rights Centre, at table 75.
Contact us if you would like to schedule a meeting.
The six members of NORLA’s “New Voices” programme: Andreas Tjernshaugen, Birger Emanuelsen, Tiril Broch Aakre, Anders Kvammen, Nina Lykke and Mari Kanstad Johnsen, will attend the Gøteborg Book Fair 28–29 September.
Beyond learning more about the international book market and how a book fair functions, the six writers will also introduce themselves as part of the book fair programme.
See the details below:
Awarding of NORLA’s Translator’s Award
During the celebration in Oslo of St. Hieronymus Day, International Translation Day, we will announce the winner of NORLA’s Translator’s Award. The award will be conferred for the 12th time this year and will go to a fiction translator.
Application deadline: Translation subsidy for Norwegian non-fiction
Read more about the translation subsidy for Norwegian non-fiction here.
NORLA to attend Frankfurt Book Fair
NORLA will be very active at the book fair in Frankfurt 2017, in that only two years remain before Norway will be Guest of Honour.
Book fair in Krasnoyarsk
In Krasnoyarsk, located on the banks of the Jenisejs River in eastern Siberia, every year one of Russia’s largest and most important literature exhibition takes place.
Contact Senior Adviser Dina Roll-Hansen if you would like to schedual a meeting.
Application deadline: Translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction
Read more about the translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction here.
Seminar for German language translators in Hamburg
24–26 November NORLA will hold a seminar for German language translators at the Hamburg House of Literature. The seminar will take place immediately preceding Nordische Literaturtage, where a number of Norwegian authors will be represented.
Norwegian authors and NORLA to Nordische Literaturtage
On 27–30 November the Nordic Literature Days at the Hamburg House of Literature will take place.
Three Norwegian authors to attend the Moscow International Book Fair
Also this year, NORLA and Norwegian authors will participate in the Non/fiction Book Fair in Moscow
Book trade meeting in Stockholm
On Tuesday, 05 December, a book trade meeting for Swedish publishers will be held at the Norwegian embassy in Stockholm. The focus will be on children’s books.
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for fiction
Meeting of NORLA’s committee of experts for fiction (for the consideration of applications for translation subsidies with deadline 15 November).
Read more about the translation subsidy here.
Holiday hours at NORLA
At NORLA we will close for the Christmas holiday Friday afternoon, December 22.
The office will reopen on Tuesday, January 2.
