We are very happy to welcome two new colleagues aboard!

Our Translator of the Month for August is Olga Drobot, who translates from Norwegian to Russian full-time. Among the many authors she has translated, are Henrik Ibsen, Per Petterson, Erlend Loe, Roy Jacobsen, Lars Saabye Christensen, Karl Ove Knausgård, Maria Parr, Rune Belsvik, and Bjørn F. Rørvik. Olga holds a PhD in Nordic literature history from Moscow University. She loves children’s books and is an expert in reading to children. She also participates in the “Ibsen in Translation” project, and has recently helped organize a literature school — “Free Word” — in Armenia.

Our Translator of the Month for July is Alex Fouillet, who translates both fiction, including crime novels, and non-fiction from Norwegian to French. During his studies at Sorbonne University, he became acquainted with Norwegian texts and especially liked the excerpts from the Varg Veum novels so much that he decided to translate one of the books, initially on his own, soon helped by his close friend Elisabeth Tangen. That’s when the adventure truly began. Since then, he has translated over seventy books, mainly Norwegian crime fiction novels, but also other genres and a few books from Danish and Swedish. Alex currently lives in Caen, where he also teaches at the Nordic Department at the University of Caen.

When Jon Fosse’s Hungarian translator Éva Dobos is in the Fosse bubble, few things can get her out of it. Here, she shares her first meeting with his literature, and how she had to fight to have Fosse published in Hungarian.

Our Translator of the Month for June is Carmen Freixanet, who hails from the city of Manlleu, situated between the Pyrenees and Barcelona. She studied Spanish and Catalan languages and literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Autonomous University of Barcelona) and later taught these subjects in the adult education sector. Carmen has lived in Oslo for 17 years, where her enthusiasm for Norwegian culture, literature, and language blossomed.
Carmen’s love for literature in general, and Norwegian literature in particular, led her to begin translating both non-fiction and fiction. Her latest translations are Erika Fatland’s three books about her travels to various parts of the world.

Carmen sings in a choir, and she believes that this type of activity helps to release tension, express emotions, and also aids in writing. She now lives in the municipality of Palafrugell, on the Costa Brava coast in Catalonia.

This week, we have warmly welcomed four translators to Oslo for a two-week stay at Hotel Bondeheimen. The translators now in place in Oslo, and also working from NORLA’s offices, are:

Paul Russell Garrett (Canada/Great Britain)
Öyvind Vågen (Sweden)
Željka Černok (Croatia)
Andrea Romanzi (Italy)

In 2023, NORLA granted subsidies for translation of Norwegian literature into 51 different languages. A total of 553 applications for translation grants were received, of which 546 were approved, distributed among 440 fiction titles and 106 non-fiction titles.
Children’s and young adult books account for just under a quarter of all translations, regardless of genre.

Our Translator of the Month for May is Cristina Falcinella, originally from Milan, Italy, where she specialized in Nordic studies before obtaining a doctorate in Gender Studies/Norwegian theatre. She has primarily translated fiction but also non-fiction, and for the theatre. Cristina is currently, and with great pleasure, working on another Jon Fosse book, Olav’s Dreams (original title: Olavs draumar), after a long hiatus of intense ‘motherhood’ and overlapping literary and musical activities. Looking out of her window, she sees the Mediterranean from the Catalan coast in Barcelona, where she has been residing for over twenty years now, amidst the intersection of multiple languages and cultures, but with Norway nestled in her heart.

For everybody working at NORLA, sparking the joy of reading is a true privilege. And today we are happy to celebrate World Book Day by recommending books from our Selected Spring Titles.
You will find more information on all the spring titles here, and quite a few also include sample translations in English.

On 18 April, Dutch translator Paula Stevens received Europe’s largest translation prize, the Martinus Nijhoff Prize, for her translations of Norwegian literature. We at NORLA offer her our warmest congratulations!

Our Translator of the Month for April is Chie Asada from Japan. She studied Swedish at Osaka University of Foreign studies in Japan, and she then learned Norwegian when spending a year in the South of Norway, attending a folk high school (“folkehøgskole”). At present, Chie is collaborating with a Norwegian colleague on translating works by Tarjei Vesaas. She is also teaching Norwegian at Osaka University part-time.

Norway will be Guest of Honour at the Leipzig Book Fair in 2025, which is to take place March 27-30. The German market is one of the most important for Norwegian literary exports, and the Guest of Honour status in Leipzig gives Norwegian books and Norwegian authors a unique opportunity to reach German readers.