On Monday 6 February, it was officially announced that Norway will be Guest of Honour at the Cairo International Book Fair in 2024.

Today is the National Sami Day! We in NORLA are proud to be contributing to the translation of Sámi literature, and here are some recent highlights.

As in previous years, NORLA would like to invite translators of Norwegian literature to Lillehammer in connection with the Norwegian Festival of Literature. For up to ten participants, NORLA will cover travel expences, board and lodging from Tuesday 23 until Friday 26 May. It is possible to extend the stay at your own expense.

The participants will be able to take part in the festival’s rich programme at their own leasure. They are also invited to participate in program events of our international  fellowship program: introductions to outstanding children’s and young adults authors and illustrators from Norway, plus an introduction to Norwegian children’s literature and book industry. We are also invite our participants to a kick-off for Norway as Guest of Honour at Bologna Book Fair in 2026.
Translators may also have meetings with literary agents in the Rights Centre at the hotel. The Rights Centre is a collaboration with the Norwegian Festival of Literature in Lillehammer.

The scheme can only be applied for by those who translate directly from Norwegian.

NORLA invites foreign publishers, editors, sub-agents and scouts of Children’s and Young Adults literature to apply for our fellowship program at the Norwegian Festival of Literature in Lillehammer, 23 – 26 May 2023.
Please apply here

January’s translator of the Month is Roxana-Ema Dreve, who translates fiction from Norwegian and Swedish into Romanian and has, among other things, translated Karl Ove Knausgård’s My Struggle 3. In addition to being a translator, Roxana works as an associate professor at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania, where she is currently head of the Department of Scandinavian Language and Literature. Her latest translation is Maja Lunde’s novel for young adults, Battle, which will be published at the beginning of 2023.

NORLA is looking forward to hosting a large-scale conference for translators of literature from Norway, at Lily Country Club, outside of Oslo, June 26-28.
The conference will provide professional training, expertise and inspiration for translators. The program will offer a rich diversity of topics related to Norway’s languages and literature, translation and also great opportunities for networking.

For the first time, translators who wish to participate in the conference have be invited to apply.

The 2022 Norwegian Festival of Literature at Lillehammer took place in May/June. NORLA offered, in close co-operation with several parties, a rich program with activities for several groups invited from abroad: publishers and editors, translators, booksellers and journalists, as well as literary agents from Norway and abroad – plus of course a great number of authors.

Please read more in our overview which may be downloaded below.

December’s translator of the month is Sara Culeddu, who translates from Norwegian and Swedish into Italian. She has studied Norwegian language and literature in Florence and spent a few years living in Oslo after university; now she is an associate professor of Scandinavian studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and is also a translator. She collaborates with many Italian publishers and has translated Knut Hamsun, Hanne Ørstavik, Erika Fatland, Line Baugstø, Monica Kristensen, Erling Kagge and Halldis Moren Vesaas, among others.

Norwegian authors were at the centre of attention when Norway was the Guest of Honour at the 2022 Book Fair in Warsaw, 26 – 29 May.
30 writers and illustrators from Norway featured in 50 different events, and met engaged Polish readers on various books fair stages and in long signing queues.

Read NORLA’s report on the Guest of Honour project here

Now you can apply to participate in our large-scale conference for translators of literature from Norway, at Lily Country Club, Kløfta.

The conference will provide professional training, expertise and inspiration to experienced translators.
The program will offer a rich diversity of topics related to Norwegian language and literature, translation and networking, and it will also contribute to the recruitment of new translators of Norwegian literature.

We will invite 150 translators from the applications received, for participation in the conference. The participants will be chosen to reflect the position and dissemination of literature from Norway in the different language markets.

November’s translator of the month is Andrea Romanzi, who translates from Norwegian and English into Italian. Starting with fiction in 2018, Andrea has translated novels by Norwegian authors Gert Nygårdshaug, Ruth Lillegraven, Ingebjørg Berg Holm and Victoria Kielland, and was presented an award for upcoming translator of the year in 2019. He lived in Bergen for several years while studying at the University of Bergen, and then moved to England to take a PhD in translation studies and publishing history. In addition to translating, Andrea teaches Scandinavian languages and literature at the Sapienza University of Rome, and Statale in Milan. Along with friends from his doctoral studies, he also runs a multilingual magazine called LONGITŪDINĒS which is devoted to creative writing, translation and art.