Lots happening later in the Autumn - not least in Frankfurt!
Here you will find details on a l l of our upcoming events.
Here you will find details on a l l of our upcoming events.
See our pictures that prove it here!
Read more about Norway as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2019 here.
In September we have had visits from 20 German booksellers here in Oslo. During the visits representatives met with authors, illustrators and Norwegian bookstores, and were given an introduction to the Norwegian literary system, among other things. The program has shown the breadth of Norwegian literature and there was a great deal of engagement from the bookselleres during the visits. This is an important part of our strategic cooperation, which may be crucial for getting Norwegian books under Christmas trees in 2019.
We are looking back on days filled with exciting meetings and events at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018. After Sunday’s Handover Ceremony, Norway officially is Guest of Honour.
See pictures below for highlights of our week and interesting people we met.
The planning of Norway Guest of Honour Frankfurt 2019 is well under way.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s largest book fair and this year all the Norwegian participants were gathered at a large joint stand, in a reinforced collaboration between the Norwegian Publishers Association, Norwegian agents, NORLA and Norwegian publishers. The stand was a hub of extensive activity and vibrant energy, and it was of course also decorated with many good, beautiful books in all genres.
All seven of NORLA’s staff members took part in the book fair this year for the very first time! This was also NORLA’s 25th anniversary in Frankfurt, an event that was commemorated by a friendly gesture of appreciation from the book fair in the form of a delicious cake delivered to the stand.
Would you like to work with literature and be part of Norway’s largest cultural export project ever? Are you well organized and fond of writing?
As an intern at NORLA you will get a foot in the door in the Norwegian literary sphere and useful experience in project management as well as communication and PR. The position is suitable for a student or graduate who is fluent in German and English and is looking to obtain experience.
Working hours are flexible within 3 days a week for a limited period of time during autumn 2018. The place of work is Oslo.
We look forward to the many activities coming up this autumn!
First, the book fair in Beijing was held last week, where NORLA participated for the ninth consecutive year.
We also attended the Haugesund Film Festival, where we participated in the seminar Books from Haugesund for the second year in a row.
This week the fourth batch of writers began our author program New Voices. The five participants will attend events all around Europe throughout autumn – some will also visit Japan.
During the presentation of the culture report “The Power of Culture,” Trine Skei Grande asserted that cultural policy is freedom of expression’s policy. We at NORLA could not agree more.
In 2019, Norway will be the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. As Guest of Honour, Norway will have a 2300 m2 indoor pavilion. In January, NORLA, in collaboration with The Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DOGA) and The Norwegian Architectural Association (NAL), announced an open plan and design contest for the design of the pavilion. 66 applications were approved for further judgment. The results of the competition have now been released.
From May 28th – June 3rd, the Nordic region’s largest literary festival took place in Lillehammer. During the festival, NORLA arranged a seminar for translators who work with translating fiction from Norwegian into English, French, Dutch and Polish. NORLA also invited several international publishers and scouts to Oslo and Lillehammer (in cooperation with the Publishers’ Association and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Participants came from Great Britain, the United States, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
A group of German journalists and influencers also visited Norway in connection with the festival.
Norway is Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2019. Bringing forth new literary voices internationally is an important goal of the initiative. NORLA has entered into the development program, New Voices, in collaboration with Talent Norway and the Norwegian Publishers’ Association. The program will create a space for highlighting areas of the rich literary underground.
In our announcement text to Norwegian publishing editors you will find all the details about the New Voices program.
Group 4 of New Voices consists of the following authors:
The Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019 presented its extensive cultural programme, the concept for the Guest of Honour Pavilion and the list of authors who will attend the fair. Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess Mette-Marit will travel across Germany on a literary train tour in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn AG. Erika Fatland and Karl Ove Knausgård will speak at the fair’s opening ceremony.
The last six months have been filled with activities in connection with the Frankfurt project and NORLA’s core efforts. Publisher and translator seminars, expert visits from curators, and press tours are just some of the things that have taken place over the last few months. We’re looking forward to the autumn! The highlight will be when Norway receives the Guest Scroll from Georgia during the book fair in Frankfurt in October. This will mark the official start of our year as Guest of Honour!
April has been an eventful month. Some of the highlights were the visit from the Frankfurt Book Fair, the press conference where the project’s new partners were presented and the jury meetings for evaluating the incoming design proposals for the Guest of Honour Pavilion. May will include visits from publishers and a press trip in connection with the Norwegian Festival of Literature in Lillehammer and further development of the literary program.
The first group of participants chosen for NORLA’s development programme for new literary talents – “New Voices” – has been decided. The four names are:
Simen Ekern, Sigbjørn Mostue, Roskva Koritzinsky and Nils Henrik Smith.
Innovation Norway is launching a new export program in cooperation with NORLA, which will assist literary agents in selling more Norwegian literature abroad.
As part of the government’s commitment to the cultural and creative industries, Innovation Norway has been commissioned to implement an export program for Norwegian literary agents in cooperation with NORLA. Literature Go Global (Litteratur ut i verden) will contribute to strengthening Norwegian literature’s competitiveness in international markets; building solid agencies that can represent Norwegian authors internationally; and make use of the 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair, as a strategic arena for selling Norwegian literature.
Last week, the international book industry was gathered in Leipzig – and the Norwegian presence was the largest ever! 13 Norwegian authors met their readers at dozens of events, NORLA hosted a translation seminar, and the starting gun was fired for our German bookstore strategy in the build up to Norway as Guest Of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2019.
Below is a selection of photos from some of the many highlights at this year’s book fair in Leipzig. We look forward to more!
Read more (in German) in Börsenblatt.
NORLA, Norwegian Literature Abroad, is starting to implement the project team for the Norwegian Guest of Honour-presentation in 2019.