The Pavilion Program for Norway Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse has now been launched
With more than 70 program posts we hope to engage and entertain the German and international audience at the main stage in Norway’s Guest of Honour Pavilion from 16 to 20 October 2019.
The project Norway as Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019 consists of a year-long comprehensive literature and cultural program. The highlight will take place in Frankfurt during the book fair, from 16-20 October 2019, where Norway will have its own pavilion with two stages full of literary, political and cultural events including a large number of Norwegian authors.
“With so many Norwegian authors being translated to German in 2019, the task of putting together an engaging literary program has been an exciting and challenging one. And we are now very much looking forward to sharing the program, which we believe will win over an already highly-interested German public,” says NORLA’s Director, Margit Walsø.
Strong Voices, The Joy of Reading and Diversity. Norway will be promoting strong and current voices and stories from Norway, the joy of reading, and the freedom of expression in all genres through a wide range of events – including those held at the pavilion – throughout the year. Issues related to nature and the environment, the polar and northern areas, Sami literature and culture, the relation between literature and important topics such as feminism and gender equality, modern family life, as well as diversity and identity in a changing Europe will be central themes. For the duration of the exhibition there will also be activities at the tables in the pavilion and around the exhibition area, as well as in the city of Frankfurt itself as part of BookFest and OpenBooks.
“The hour of freedom.” Freedom of speech will be a central theme at the book fair in Frankfurt and for Norway as Guest of Honour. At 13.00 each day, in the pavilion, there will be program items concerning free speech under the banner "The hour of freedom.”
“Once a year, Frankfurt becomes the world capital for the exchange of ideas. Along with writers, and pioneering organisations such as ICORN, we have strived to create a program linked to challenging debates and difficult questions,” says Halldór Guðmundsson, Project Manager for Norway as Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019.
The cultural program. Exhibitions, theatre productions and concerts in the city of Frankfurt featuring Norwegian artists are another important part of the Guest of Honour project. The culture program is the result of good cooperation with Germany’s cultural institutions. The program will engage and show the German public new aspects of Norway, and Norwegian and Sami culture. The program in the pavilion will also offer daily artistic contributions. The culture program was presented on June 4 at Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt.
The pavilion program. The most important criteria for an author to participate in the Guest of Honour Pavilion program is for them to be published by a German-language publisher during 2019, with particular emphasis on the autumn releases. Some exceptions will be made in order to give particular attention to certain themes.
The Norwegian Festival of Literature goes to Frankfurt. The program on Saturday 19 October has been created by the Norwegian Festival of Literature who will bring Lillehammer’s intimate festival atmosphere to Norway’s pavilion.
“We are very happy to be able to contribute to Norway’s huge push in Frankfurt this autumn. Our goal is for German readers to experience some of Norway’s most exciting literature, in an international context,” says the festival’s manager Marit Borkenhagen.
Stage 2. The Stage 2 program will run parallel to the main stage program and will feature literary discussions with, and presentations from several authors along with a number of features concerning the Norwegian literary system, literary criticism, the classics, joik and poetry, awards ceremonies, the launch of a book about Norwegian-German film-relations, and more.
Program items in collaboration with: the Publishers Association, Norwegian Authors’ Union, Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association, Norwegian Translators Association, Norwegian Writers for Children, SÁLAS – Sami Publisher and Newspapers Union, Sami Authors Union, Norwegian Writers Center, the Fritt Ord Foundation, Arts Council Norway, Association Read!, Willy Brandt Foundation, the Goethe Institute, the Ibsen Center – Ibsen in Translation, the ITB Buch Award, Thon Hotels, Oppland County, the City of Oslo, the Munch Museum, the National Theatre, the House of Literature in Oslo, the German-language publishers, the Norwegian Festival of Literature, ICORN, IPA, Talent Norway, Bergen Municipality and others.
On Thursday October 17, NRK will broadcast all day from the pavilion’s Stage 2.
See below for the Pavilion main stage program (the program may be subject to change).
See our website, www.norway2019.com, for information about the project, events in the German speaking area and articles about literature and arts from Norway.
Please follow us and tag us in your posts connected to Norwegian literature and the Guest of Honour year:
The project’s Facebook page (in German)
NORLA’s Facebook page (in English)
Instagram
The main hashtag for the project is #norwegen2019, we also use our slogan as a hashtag #dertrauminuns and #thedreamwecarry
