Today, NORLA had the pleasure of welcoming four new translators to Oslo for the fifth season of our translators hotel at Hotell Bondeheimen:

Katerina Kristufkova (Czech)
Riina Hanso (Estonian)
Eleonora Pankratova (Russian)
Miroslav Zumrik (Slovakian).

We look forward to spending the next two weeks in their company!

The translators are at present translating among others the following books: Erlend Loe’s novel Volvo lastvagnar, Marit Reiersgård’s crime fiction novel Tall Snow, Tore Rem’s award-winning Knut Hamsun. The Journey to Hitler and Merethe Lindstrøm’s From the Winter Archives.

They look forward to meeting authors they are translating, or will be translating, and to better get to know Norwegian publishers and agents. They will also take part in several literary events and book launches during their stay, as well as visits to bookshops. In addition to this, the Norwegian Children’s Book Festival in Oslo (Barnebokfestivalen, September 15-17), and Oslo Culture Night (Oslo kulturnatt, September 16) will offer great opportunities for dives into Norwegian literature, culture and history.

All four will also be having work stations in our office, so we look forward to seeing them almost daily.

(From the left: NORLA’s Torill Johansen (who administers the translators hotel scheme), Katerina Kristufkova, Riina Hanso, Eleonora Pankratova and
Miroslav Zumrik.
Photo: Mette Børja).

NORLA offers its warmest congratulations to Per Petterson, who this week received the prestigious Aschehoug Prize.
Per Petterson is one of Norway’s most critically acclaimed contemporary authors. His books have found readers all over the world as they are translated into no less than 50 languages.

NORLA will be taking part in many book fairs, seminars and meetings in the coming months.

See where you can find us and when in the course of the autumn here.

Please feel free to contact us to schedule a meeting.

The translators of the month for August and September are the British-Norwegian translation duo Deborah Dawkin and Erik Skuggevik. They are currently making headlines with new translations of four of Henrik Ibsen’s best known dramas, which have just been published by Penguin Classics.
Together they have also translated a broad spectrum of Norwegian titles, from fiction and non-fiction to graphic novels.

If you read Norwegian you can become better acquainted with Deborah and Erik here.

At NORLA we are back from our summer holidays, and we have today learned that any e-mails sent us Wednesday 27 July and Thursday 28 July have unfortunately not reached us, due to technical problems following a system update not initiated by us.
Everyone who has sent us e-mails July 27 and 28 should have received a notice about delay in our e-mail system.
But since all e-mails sent July 27 and 28 have failed to reach us, we do hope you are able to resend you e-mail to the original e-mail address, including attachments etc.

Prolonged application deadline:
Due to these technical problems, we prolong the August 1 application deadline, for both translation subsidy for Norwegian fiction AND for author and lecturer visits to institutions of higher learning abroad.
The new application deadline is through Thursday 3 August.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused!

The most important news item of the spring for Norwegian cultural life was that Norway was named Guest of Honour for the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2019. In the speech given by the Minister of Culture in conjunction with the signing of the agreement, she emphasized that Norway has hereby acquired a unique position for the internationalization of Norwegian literature and culture through the book fair’s strong position in the important German market and worldwide. The Guest of Honour project provides great opportunities for Norwegian authors and for increasing the export of literature in the coming years. The book trade’s combined investment will be crucial and Norwegian Book Day in June clearly demonstrated that the industry is prepared to make the most of this opportunity. Activities commence now. NORLA’s talent development programme for new literary voices within all genres will start up in the autumn, in collaboration with Talent Norway and the Norwegian Publishers Association.

Upon the signing of the agreement between NORLA and Frankfurter Buchmesse for Norway as Guest of Honour at the Book Fair in 2019, the talent programme for young authors in Norway was confirmed. The development programme for new author talents will be organized through a collaborative agreement with Talent Norway (Talent Norge). The Norwegian Publishers Association will also contribute generously to the programme.

Recruitment is an important aspect of the work of Norway as Guest of Honour and Margit Walsø, NORLA’s director, emphasizes that cultivating new literary voices internationally is an important goal of the Frankfurt initiative. The long-term timeframe leading up to 2019 and the collaboration with Talent Norge will provide the opportunity to flush out unknown talents from Norway’s abundant literary underbrush.

In the years leading up to 2019, 20-30 authors will receive an offer of participation in a development programme focusing on the international aspects of the author profession. The programme will facilitate development through the exchange of experiences, travel, lectures, activities and network building.

Jørn Lier Horst is the winner of the Petrona Award 2016 for ‘Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year’ for his novel The Caveman. NORLA offers its warmest congratulations!

There was joy and enthusiasm all around in the National Theatre in Oslo on 12 May 2016, as the agreement between the Frankfurter Buchmesse and NORLA, Norwegian Literature Abroad, was signed and officially confirming Norway as Guest of Honour at the book fair in 2019.
NORLA’s director Margit Walsø welcomed an enthusiastic audience and revealed that NORLA has been working towards the realization of the Guest of Honour project for about three years.
The Norwegian Minister of Culture, Linda Hofstad Helleland, held an enthusiastic speech welcoming this unique opportunity for Norwegian literature and culture to make an even bigger impression abroad. She also encouraged more privat sponsors to seize the opportunity to come aboard, to make the most of the project’s fantastic possibilities of Norwegian branding abroad.

On 12 May at 2 PM, in the lobby of the National Theatre in Oslo, NORLA’s Director Margit Walsø and Frankfurter Buchmesse’s Director Juergen Boos signed the agreement confirming Norway as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2019.

At NORLA, we offer our very warmest congratulations to Lars Mytting on his international bestseller Norwegian Wood being awarded the British Book Industry Award as best Non-Fiction book 2016!