Last Chance to Save Norwegian Studies Abroad

Clara Sondermann translates into German from Norwegian, Swedish and Danish. She has translated books by Jenny Hval, Eivind Hofstad Evjemo, Athena Farrokhzad, Olga Ravn and Ursula Andkjær Olsen. Clara studied Scandinavian languages and literature in Greifswald, Reykjavík and Berlin, and has worked as a publishing editor in Hamburg. For several years she was on the editorial board of the literary journal Edit in Leipzig. Besides being a translator and freelance editor, she works with children on literature and Creative Writing.

In 2028, it will be 200 years since Henrik Ibsen was born. As the world’s most performed playwright after William Shakespeare, the anniversary will be celebrated on a grand scale, both in Norway and internationally. As a prelude to the Ibsen 2028 anniversary, the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin invited guests last week to a day dedicated to Norwegian drama, held in the beautiful setting of the ambassador’s residence. The event is part of an ongoing collaborative project between PAHN (Performing Arts Hub Norway), Dramatikkens hus (The Norwegian Centre for New Playwriting – NCNP) and NORLA, which has resulted in a series of presentations of Norwegian drama around the world, including in New York, Leipzig, London and now Berlin. The aim of the project is to bring Norwegian voices out into the world by building on the legacy of Henrik Ibsen and Jon Fosse with a new generation of playwrights.

When Norway was Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April 2026, Norwegian children’s and YA literature was given a unique opportunity to shine before an international audience. The result was a great success.

In 2025, NORLA awarded a total of 478 translation grants for books translated into 53 languages, with overall funding exceeding NOK 10.3 million. Altogether, NORLA received 502 applications for translation support. The highest number of grants went to German and the Scandinavian languages.

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

Our translator of the month for May is Helena Fagertun, who translates from English, Norwegian and Danish into Swedish. The influential Swedish literary blogger Bernur has described her as a ‘translator who has developed a speciality for a certain kind of unruly queer prose’. Helena has translated books by contemporary authors such as Kate Zambreno, Julia Otsuka and Isabel Waidner, and introduced classics by writers like Mary MacLane and Ann Quin to Swedish readers. In 2026, her first translation of novels from Norwegian are being published: The Sami Problem by Kathrine Nedrejord and Eat All by Leander Djønne.

In Oslo, the Fosse Prize was awarded to the Dutch translator Paula Stevens. The Fosse Lecture was delivered by the American author Marilynne Robinson.

Dutch translator Paula Stevens has been awarded the 2026 Fosse Prize for Translators of Norwegian Literature. The prize was presented by Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery during a formal ceremony at the Royal Palace in Oslo on Thursday, 23 April, on World Book Day.
Many have expressed a wish to read the wonderful acceptance speech Paula delivered, and we are therefore very pleased to share it here.

At Salaborsa, Bologna’s beautiful main library, NORLA yesterday had the great pleasure of hosting an event for translators of Norwegian literature into other languages.
As part of the Norwegian Guest of Honour presentation at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, we held a physical version of the normally digital “NORLA’s Translator’s Pastry Shop” – or Oversetterkonditori.

As part of Norway being Guest of Honour at the Bologna Book Fair 2026, NORLA guarantees that translation grants awarded to publishers of literature for children and young adults will cover 50 per cent of the translator’s fee, up to a maximum of NOK 100,000 (approx. EUR 8,300). Grants are also available for production subsidies for illustrated books. The maximum grant amount for production subsidy is NOK 20,000 (approx. EUR 1,650).

Deadline for the guarantee has been extended to June 1, 2026.

NORLA’s Translator of the Month in April is Sylvia Kall, who translates from Norwegian into German. She holds a PhD in German literary studies and lives in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Her first translation was Ibsen. Kunstnerens vei by Bjørn Hemmer, published in Germany in 2009 as Ibsen: Der Weg des Künstlers. This was a particularly exciting project, as she herself introduced the book to the German market and was involved in securing funding for the publication. She also worked closely with the author to adapt the book for a German readership. Since then, Sylvia has translated non-fiction by Morten A. Strøksnes, Erling Sandmo and Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, as well as fiction by Nina Lykke and Helene Flood.

We will always like to remain Guest of Honour to some degree: Norway was once again able to present its literature widely during the Leipzig Book Fair, and, as in the previous year, was met with great interest from the public.