From March 27 to 30, 2025, Norway was the Guest of Honour at Leipziger Buchmesse, the largest public book fair in Germany.
During the fair, around 50 Norwegian authors took the stage at Leipziger Messe and throughout the city of Leipzig, offering a diverse program with over 80 events. The program included literature for both adults and children, spanning all genres.
Each year, NORLA awards grants to support the translation of a wide range of Norwegian books into other languages. In 2024, a total of 529 grants were awarded for translations into 47 languages. NORLA received 546 applications in total, covering 445 works of fiction and 101 nonfiction titles. Of the 529 grants awarded, nearly a third were books for children and young adults — in total 147 publications.
NORLA’s talent program, New Voices for Children and Young Adults, is aimed at Norwegian authors writing fiction and non-fiction for young readers, and its goal is to provide emerging authors with international experience through travel, networking, and a deeper understanding of the outward-facing aspects of being a writer. Nine authors and illustrators participate in the program, which runs from May 2025 until the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April 2026.
Norway will be Guest of Honour at the Bologna Book Fair, April 13-16, 2026. Illustration plays a central role in the fair, and a key element of Norway’s Guest of Honour program will be an exhibition showcasing the high quality of illustrations in Norwegian children’s literature and showcase the diversity of artistic expressions. NORLA is proud to present a highly competent jury, composed entirely of illustrators.
The starting signal for the Norwegian Guest of Honour initiative for the 2026 Bologna Children’s Book Fair was an international opening conference held during the Norwegian Festival of Literature in Lillehammer in May 2023.
Norway will be Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Italy April 13-16, 2026.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair was established in 1960 and is the world’s largest book fair for children’s and young adult literature. The fair is an international meeting point for the children’s book industry and has a strong focus on the art of illustration. The fair annually attracts 30,000 visitors and 1,500 exhibitors from 90 countries. The Guest of Honour initiative in Bologna represents a boost for children’s literature, both internationally and in Norway, with the aim of also sparking the joy of reading among the young population.
Read more about the Norwegian Guest of Honour initiative here.
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ programme for art and culture will continue its funding scheme for the translation of literature and drama from one Nordic language to another.
Please use our online application form.
The board of NORLA is appointed by the book industry organisations, the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For a limited time, 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 awarded for translating works of children’s and young adults (YA) books of the genres fiction and general non-fiction, comics and graphic novels, from the Norwegian and Sámi languages. Grants are available only for works originally published in Norway. The guarantee is related to Norway being Guest of Honour at the Bologna Book Fair 2026.
This week marks the start of NORLA’s new talent program, New Voices for Children and Young Adults. The program is aimed at Norwegian authors writing fiction and non-fiction for young readers, and its goal is to provide emerging authors with international experience through travel, networking, and a deeper understanding of the outward-facing aspects of being a writer.
2024 was another successful and eventful year for Norwegian literature abroad. The German translator Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel was named the first recipient of the new Fosse Prize. At the book fair in Cairo, Norway, as Guest of Honour, was able to build a literary bridge to the Arab world. Preparations for the upcoming Guest of Honour appearances at the book fairs in Leipzig 2025 and Bologna 2026 also moved into detailed planning.
The Voyage
Reisen
Here we have gathered information and key figures about the Norwegian literature industry.
Publishers from the entire world, including from the Nordic region, can apply for NORLA’s subsidies for translations of Norwegian literature.
Below you will find information on translation subsidies granted the last couple of years.
More information about NORLA’s translation subsidies – and how to apply – is available here.
In April 2026, Norway will be the Guest of Honour at the Bologna Book Fair. Established in 1960, this fair is the world’s largest and most important meeting place for the international children’s book industry.
Illustration plays a central role in the fair, and a key element of Norway’s Guest of Honour program will be an exhibition showcasing illustration art from Norwegian books for children and young adults. The exhibition space, approximately 300 m², will be centrally located at the fairground. It will accentuate the high quality of illustrations in Norwegian children’s literature and showcase the diversity of artistic expressions.
NORLA launched its largest international initiative outside of Europe when Norway was the Guest of Honour at the Cairo International Book Fair in 2024, one of the world’s largest public book fairs, attracting nearly 5 million visitors.
This week, the Norwegian Literature Festival kicks off in Lillehammer and true to tradition, the festival is also the perfect backdrop for the awarding of literary prizes: The Dobloug Prize, The Booksellers Association’s awards and scholarships, The Norwegian Youth Literature Award (“Uprisen”), and also The Norwegian Fiction Translator Fund Award.
At NORLA, we offer our warmest congratulations to all the winners!
Cappelen Damm Agency is the in-house agency of Norway’s largest publishing house, publishing approximately 1,000 titles a year, within the genres of fiction, non-fiction, educational books and children’s books. We represent some of Norway’s leading contemporary authors.
NO-0055 Oslo
Tel: +47 21 61 65 00
E-mail
Website
Facebook
Rights Director Mrs Ingvild Haugland Blatt – Tel: +47 414 10 647
Literary Agent Mrs Anette Slettbakk Garpestad – Tel: +47 984 82 087
Literary Agent Mr Håkon Dalsbø – Tel: +47 40471889
Rights Consultant Ms Sunniva Midtskogen – Tel: +47 984 64 940.
(On leave: Literary Agent Mrs Ida Amalie Svensson – Tel: +47 977 50 106)
P.O. Box 4684 Nydalen
NO-0405 Oslo
Web
Business Area Manager Grethe Kristensen – Tel: +47 917 96 178
Representing foreign rights for: Gyldendal Barn og Ungdom, Gyldendal Litteratur, Kolon Forlag.
P.O. Box 6860 St. Olavs plass
NO-0130 Oslo
Tel: +47 22 03 41 00
E-mail
Website
Facebook
Fiction and children/young adults:
Foreign Rights Director Mrs Anne Cathrine Eng – Tel: +47 957 81 640
Literary Agent Mrs Nina Pedersen – Tel: +47 924 47 665
Film &TV rights Mrs Kirsti Kristoffersen
Academic books: Ms Vibeke Høegh-Omdal – Tel: +47 415 53 713
Schoolbooks, textbooks and other educational material: Mr Vegard Østhagen
IMMA is a Norwegian literary representing Nordic authors mainly – but every rule has an exception. Working with fiction (adult, YA and children’s) and relevant non-fiction. IMMA also keep an eye open for good TV and film material and specialise in screen adaption material.
Mrs Trude Kolaas
Website
Facebook
Fjellveien 48A
NO-1410 Kolbotn
Tel.: +47 977 50 060
Mr Svein Størksen
Website
Facebook
Northern Stories is an independent literary agency representing Nordic writers, with a fine mix of established profiles and promising authors. We represent authors in the genres of literary fiction, young adults and non-fiction.
Geitmyrsveien 7C
NO-0171 Oslo
Ms Astrid Dalaker – Tel: +47 99 69 19 50
Ms Mira Mack Omdahl – Tel: +47 91 53 70 71
Website
Facebook
Oslo Literary Agency is Norway’s biggest literary agency, representing authors in the genres of literary fiction, children’s books, young adult, and non-fiction. The agency work with translation rights across all genres, film rights and dramatization rights.
P.O. Box 363 Sentrum
NO-0102 Oslo
Tel: + 47 22 40 04 00
E-mail
Website
Facebook
Rights Director: Mr Even Råkil – Tel: +47 90 02 44 97
Literary Agent, Children/YA: Mrs Evy Tillman – Tel: +47 952 24 408
Literary Agent, Oktober (fiction): Mr Henrik Francke – Tel: +47 913 53 922
Saga Literary Agency is an independent in-house literary agency for children’s books published by Det Norske Samlaget.
Tel: +47 45 25 51 10
E-mail
Website
Fougners vei 14B
NO-0571 Oslo
Website
Facebook
Mr Hans Petter Bakketeig – Tel: +47 47 67 47 59
Mrs Leyla Körner Øier – Tel: +47 91 34 70 57
Universitetsgata 20
NO-0162 Oslo
Editor/Literary Agent: Ms Tonje Tornes – Tel.: +47 92 86 93 74
Website
Facebook
Winje Agency, founded 2016, is representing authors of high quality in all genres, and publication rights for the Nobel Prize Winner in Literature 2023, Jon Fosse.
Skiensgate 12
NO-3912 Porsgrunn
Tel: + 47 91 84 11 50
Mrs Gina Winje
Website
Facebook
(Updated: Mai 2025)
Sabine Richter translates fiction and non-fiction from Norwegian to German. She is originally from East Germany, but has lived and worked for very many years in Norway, as well as the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Spain and Iran. Sabine now lives in beautiful Vienna, but commutes to both Oslo and Madrid.
Her most recent translation work are two novels by Kjersti Anfinnsen, De siste kjærtegn and Øyeblikk for evigheten, which were published as one volume in January 2025: Letzte zärtliche Augenblicke (Septime Verlag).
We are happy to offer readable insightful interviews with the authors and illustrators of our 25 Selected Titles of the spring.
We invite you to get better aquainted with the books and the people who wrote and illustrated them!