Søk etter “children's”

In 2015 NORLA received all of 451 applications for translation subsidies, the largest number of applications in NORLA’s history. Out of these NORLA awarded subsidies to 431 publications of Norwegian books for translation into 46 different languages. This is the same number of allocations as in the record year of 2012.
It is particularly impressive that a total of 114 of NORLA’s awarded translation subsidies went to books for children and young people, an auspicious increase from last year’s record of 100 subsidies granted.

There’s been quite a lot of activity at NORLA over the last month, with many great meetings both at home and abroad! We would like to share some photos and briefly inform you about the various events that have taken place.

Norwegian authors and NORLA were recently in Japan and were greeted with an overwhelming interest in Norwegian literature. On 6−10 March, there was a seminar on Norwegian literature, organized in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo. The seminar was designed for publishers and translators, and was about crime fiction, children’s and picture books, and translation.

The Norwegian participants were author Jørn Lier Horst, author and illustrator Mari Kanstad Johnsen, translator Anne-Lande Peters, publisher Svein Størksen (Magikon) and literature agent Hans Petter Bakketeig (Stilton Literary Agency), along with NORLA’s Director Margit Walsø and NORLA’s Senior Adviser Dina Roll-Hansen.
The programme also included eminent Japanese participants, who gave presentations or took part as moderators.

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.

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).

On 14–15 October Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Mette-Marit will travel on the literary train from Berlin via Cologne to Frankfurter Buchmesse, accompanied by 19 authors. The literary train in Germany is a collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NORLA and Deutsche Bahn.

“The literary train in Germany is a unique opportunity to present literature from Norway to a large German-speaking audience. We are really looking forward to having 19 wonderful authors travel with the Crown Princess to Frankfurter Buchmesse,” says Margit Walsø, director of NORLA.

Translator of the Month for August is German translator Karoline Hippe, who works from Norwegian, Danish and English. Four of her translations from Norwegian are being published this year: children’s book NERD by Mina Lystad, non-fiction book Unongs by Pål Moddi Knutsen, Cappelens Forslag’s Conversation Lexicon (edited by Pil Cappelen Smith), and Lotta Elstad’s novel I Refuse to Think.
In addition to translating, Karoline has taught German as a foreign language and also has experience as a moderator.

On September 29th in Oslo, during the celebration of St. Jerome, the patron saint of translators, the 11th recipient of NORLA’s Translator’s Award was announced. The award was established in 2007 to spotlight the work done for Norwegian literature by foreign language translators. The award is to be given to a talented translator and is intended as a measure to encourage the promotion of Norwegian literature.

The award is given annually and on an alternating basis to translators of non-fiction and fiction. This year’s award is for non-fiction and the award recipient is Nargis Shinkarenko, who translates into Russian.

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.

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.

With more than 70 program posts we hope to engage and entertain the German and international audience at the main stage in Norway’s Guest of Honour Pavilion from 16 to 20 October 2019.

April’s translator of the month is Kateřina Krištůfková from the Czech Republic. She is the elected leader of the newly established association for translators of Nordic literature in the Czech Republic: Překladatelé Severu (Czech Translators of the North).

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.