2024-09-27

NORLA’s Translator’s Award 2024 goes to Mišo Grundler

In Oslo, on September 26, while celebrating International Translation Day, or Hieronymus Day as it’s known in Norway, NORLA presented its annual translation award for the nineteenth time. NORLA’s Translator’s Award for 2024 goes to Mišo Grundler for his outstanding work in translating Norwegian non-fiction into Croatian. Congratulations!

Mišo Grundler (b.1988) has in only a few years become central to the work of translating Norwegian literature into Croatian. His work is of very high quality and he is considered one of the country’s best translators, whichever language he is working from.
He has translated several Norwegian non-fiction authors – including five titles by Lars Fr. H. Svendsen, as well as Erika Fatland, Arne Næss and Sigri Sandberg. Altogether he has translated more than 40 titles from Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Mišo was nominated for two translation awards in Croatia for his work on Simon Stranger’s Keep Saying Their Names (Leksikon om lys og mørke) – which is admittedly a novel, but has strong elements of non-fiction.
He has also recently translated Peer Gynt, an impressive achievement, which – although it falls beyond the scope of these circumstances – says something about the extent of his abilities.

In connection with the award, NORLA has received a special message from publisher Dijana Bahtijari at TIM, the publishing house Mišo works closely with. Bahtijari highlights not only Mišo’s qualities as a translator, but other aspects of his personality – writing:

It is a true pleasure to celebrate Mišo on this very special occasion.
As a translator, he has brought countless works from Scandinavian languages to life, bridging cultures with both precision and artistry.
But what truly sets Mišo apart is the humour he brings into everything.
Whether it’s cracking jokes mid-sentence or making fun of his own missteps, Mišo manages to lighten any room while delivering exceptional work. His ability to balance laughter with linguistic brilliance is something that not only makes him an extraordinary professional but also a friend I’m lucky to know.

NORLA’s Translator’s Award is presented for translations made directly from Norwegian and is given to a talented emerging translator, to stimulate the continued achievements of Norwegian literature.
The award was presented for the first time during the Norwegian Literature Festival in Lillehammer in 2007, and has since been given to translators of non-fiction and fiction on alternating years. The award consists of NOK 20,000 and a two-week stay in Norway, at NORLA’s translator hotel: Bondeheimen.

We congratulate Mišo Grundler on winning NORLA’s Translator’s Award for 2024!

Read more

Learn more and see all Norwegian titles translated by Mišo Grundler on Books from Norway

Read about NORLA’s Translator’s Award here