May-Brit Akerholt translates Jon Fosse to English, and is fascinated by his unique voice. Here she speaks about her first encounter with Jon Fosse’s texts, how the word “yes” can have very different associations in Norwegian and English, and why she enjoys so much translating last year’s Nobel Prize Winner in Literature.
Norway will be the Guest of Honor at the Cairo Book Fair 2024. This is a golden opportunity to strengthen the dialogue between Norway and the Arab-speaking world, by presenting the scope of Norwegian literature to an Egyptian audience. The Norwegian programme will be opened by HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit in Cairo January 25. The Crown Princess is Ambassador for Norwegian literature abroad. Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, will also participate in the opening of the book fair.
Jon Fosse’s works are available for readers and audiences all over the world. In NORLA, we want to draw attention to some of the around fifty translators who have made that possible. We are proud to present to you our new column “Why I Translate Fosse”!
First up is Terje Sinding, who translates Fosse to French, even though he is born and raised in Norway.
For a limited time, NORLA guarantees that translation grants awarded to German publishers and publishers active in German-speaking Europe will cover 50 per cent of the translator’s fee, up to a maximum of NOK 100,000 (approx. EUR 8,800). Grants are awarded for translating works of fiction and general non-fiction, children’s and young adult (YA) books, and 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 Leipzig Book Fair 2025.
