Mariana Windingland – Translator of the Month

NORLA launched its largest international initiative outside of Europe when Norway was the Guest of Honour at the Cairo International Book Fair in 2024, one of the world’s largest public book fairs, attracting nearly 5 million visitors.

We are very pleased to welcome Marit Borkenhagen as the new Chair of the Board at NORLA. The Director of the Norwegian Festival of Literature – Sigrid Undset Days in Lillehammer – succeeds Arne Vestbø, who has held the position for four years.

According to initial evaluations, Norway’s role as Guest of Honour at the Leipzig Book Fair was a major success, especially in terms of media visibility.
During the fair, more than 4,000 print articles were published, with a total advertising value equivalent of 659,290 €. The campaign achieved broad reach, not only featuring well-known authors like Karl Ove Knausgård, Maja Lunde or Vigdis Hjorth but also highlighting voices like Kjersti Anfinnsen, Wencke Mühleisen and Oliver Lovrenski, showcasing the diversity of Norwegian literature.

Oh! How we enjoyed spending last week at the Norwegian Festival of Literature, in Lillehammer! Along with crowds of happy festival goers, we celebrated the festival’s 30th anniversary and a wonderfully packed program with a focus on Sápmi. It was a sheer delight to take part in it all.

Each year, NORLA awards grants to support the translation of a wide range of Norwegian books into other languages. In 2024, a total of 529 grants were awarded for translations into 47 languages. NORLA received 546 applications in total, covering 445 works of fiction and 101 nonfiction titles. Of the 529 grants awarded, nearly a third were books for children and young adults — in total 147 publications.

2024 was another successful and eventful year for Norwegian literature abroad. The German translator Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel was named the first recipient of the new Fosse Prize. At the book fair in Cairo, Norway, as Guest of Honour, was able to build a literary bridge to the Arab world. Preparations for the upcoming Guest of Honour appearances at the book fairs in Leipzig 2025 and Bologna 2026 also moved into detailed planning.

On April 24, the German translator Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel was awarded the newly established Fosse Prize in a dignified and splendid celebration at the Royal Palace in Oslo. He held a wonderful acceptance speech, and we are now thrilled to be able share his words, by popular demand.

Following Jon Fosse being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 for both prose and drama, a collaborative initiative was launched to promote contemporary Norwegian drama, by PAHN (Performing Arts Hub Norway), The Norwegian Centre for New Playwriting – NCNP (Dramatikkens hus), and NORLA. The initiative is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This week marks the start of NORLA’s new talent program, New Voices for Children and Young Adults. The program is aimed at Norwegian authors writing fiction and non-fiction for young readers, and its goal is to provide emerging authors with international experience through travel, networking, and a deeper understanding of the outward-facing aspects of being a writer.

This week, we have warmly welcomed five translators to Oslo for a two-week stay at Hotel Bondeheimen, our Translators Hotel.

Jon Fosses German translator Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel discovered Fosse by chance at a NORLA seminar in 1992. Here, he discusses the joy and challenges of translating the Nobel laureate, and trusting the power of simplicity. 

Sabine Richter translates fiction and non-fiction from Norwegian to German. She is originally from East Germany, but has lived and worked for very many years in Norway, as well as the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Spain and Iran. Sabine now lives in beautiful Vienna, but commutes to both Oslo and Madrid.

Her most recent translation work are two novels by Kjersti Anfinnsen, De siste kjærtegn and Øyeblikk for evigheten, which were published as one volume in January 2025: Letzte zärtliche Augenblicke (Septime Verlag).