Søk etter “children's”

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.

See our pictures that prove it here!

Here you will find details on a l l of our upcoming events.

Today, NORLA had the pleasure of welcoming four new translators to Oslo for the ninth season of our translators hotel at Hotell Bondeheimen.
The four translators are:

The winners are:

Georg Grosz meets Mulysses at Slush Mountain
Modern illustration from Norway

2019 is Norway’s year as Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse, and the first event in this Guest of Honour year will be the touring exhibition "Georg Grosz meets Mulysses on Slush Mountain. Modern illustration from Norway.” The exhibition will open at Felleshuset, at the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin, on January 23rd.

Author and illustrator Kristin Roskifte took part in the children’s literature festival Bookaroo, in New Delhi, December 1st and 2nd, 2018.

We have been fortunate enough to get a postcard from her. Read it here:

The corona pandemic has seriously affected the international book industry. Therefore, it is extra gratifying to see that the there is still a strong interest in Norwegian books and also sales of foreign rights. NORLA has obtained an overview of foreign rights to the Norwegian books sold by agents and publishers in Norway during April and May. There are 150 rights sold or renewed!

Today, the Norwegian Minister of Culture, Trine Skei Grande, awarded the prestigious 2018 Ministry of Culture’s literary prizes for children and young adult literature published in 2018.
A total of NOK 415,000 were awarded in eight different categories for children’s and YA literature; Best Fiction Book, Best Picture Book, Best Non-fiction Book, First Book Award, Best graphic novel/Cartoon, The Illustration Award, The Translation Award and The Special Award.

Norwegian literature abroad is growing. In 2018, NORLA granted support for the translation of 639 books by Norwegian authors, into 45 languages. Making 2018 the best year there has ever been for Norwegian literature in translation.

– Never, in NORLA’s 40-year history, have so many titles been granted translation support, says Margit Walsø, NORLA’s director.

We look forward to all the meetings and experiences ahead!
There are many highlights ahead, both in Norway and abroad, in our Guest of Honour year at the Frankfurter Buchmesse.
Below we have listed some of the activites that will take place in the months to come.

Translator of the Month for March is Reiko Hidani who translates into Japanese. She’s in the news because her translation of Steffen Kverneland’s Munch has been nominated for Japan’s The Best Translation Award. She has also translated the recently published book What is Economy?, aimed at children and young people and written by Gunhild J. Ecklund.

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).

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.

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 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.

Every year the Norwegian Festival of Literature at Lillehammer is one of NORLA’s spring highlights, being the largest literary festival in the Nordic countries. As this year’s festival has gone digital so have NORLA’s two annual Lillehammer seminars for international publishers and translators of Norwegian literature. This year focusing on books for children and young adults. It has been a true pleasure getting to meet both familiar and new friends of literature, in our own living rooms.

We are pleased to share eight films made for the webinars. Here you will meet the authors and illustrators presenting their selected books for young readers. There are books in several genres, techniques, themes and for different age groups. We are confident there are new favorites in store for everyone.

This time of year we normally set off for Lillehammer to take part in the enjoyable spring adventure which is called the Norwegian festival of Literature. This year, however, the festival goes digital (May 29 – 31) and the events will therefore be available for everyone to enjoy, all around the world!

May’s Translator of the Month is Justė Nepaitė from Lithuania. She mainly translates fiction but also other genres, and her translation of Karl Ove Knausgård’s My Struggle 3 was released in January. Later this year, Jon Fosse’s Scenes from a Childhood / Morning and Evening will be available in her translation. Justė has also translated a number of Norwegian picture books for children, for use among Lithuanian children attending kindergartens in Norway.
In addition to being a translator, Juste has also been a tutor of Norwegian language and culture for a number of years.

In connection with Norway being Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2019, NORLA and Grafill collaborated on a touring exhibition with Norwegian book illustrations. As a finale, the exhibition is now coming to Norway, and Grafill’s premises in Oslo and will be on display January 9 – February 2.
The exhibition "Georg Grosz meets Mulysses on Slush Mountain. Modern illustration from Norway” includes work by eleven Norwegian illustrators, selected from a variety of new Norwegian picture books for both children and adults, all of which can be found in books that are translated and available in German.

During 2019, the exhibition has been shown in a number of cities in Germany and Switzerland: Berlin (2 times), Bremen, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Zofingen and Wohlen.