Margherita has translated plays, films and so far more than 70 books, mostly fiction, from Norwegian to Italian, but she also translates from Swedish and Danish. Conveying the importance of translation to non-professionals, is something she finds very rewarding and inspiring, and also exchanging ideas and experiences with colleagues from all over the world.

Following Jon Fosse’s Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023, the Norwegian government has established a new annual initiative to honor the author—a yearly Fosse Lecture with accompanying events organized by the National Library, where a Fosse Prize for Translators, worth NOK 500,000, will also be awarded. Through this initiative, the government aims to emphasize the importance of Fosse’s authorship, both in Norway and internationally.

The National Library manages the Fosse Lecture and the Fosse Prize for Translators on behalf of the government. In collaboration with NORLA, the National Library will annually award the Fosse Prize to an outstanding translator of Norwegian literature and/or drama (not necessarily in book form).

In Oslo, on September 26, while celebrating International Translation Day, or Hieronymus Day as it’s known in Norway, NORLA presented its annual translation award for the nineteenth time. NORLA’s Translator’s Award for 2024 goes to Mišo Grundler for his outstanding work in translating Norwegian non-fiction into Croatian. Congratulations!

We at NORLA are both proud and delighted to present our Selected Titles for the Autumn:

25 wonderful books which are divided into fiction and non-fiction, for both adults, children and young adults.
See all the Selected Titles below

At NORLA, we are working intensively on Norway’s two Guest of Honour projects, which will take place at the Leipzig Book Fair in 2025 and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2026. In the coming months, we look forward to many exciting events related to these initiatives.

Our translator of the Month this September is Astri Ghosh, who has made the works of authors such as Henrik Ibsen, Jon Fosse, Qurratulain Hyder and Rabindranath Tagore accessible to readers across linguistic and cultural borders.

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)