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In 2024, the Norwegian Guest of Honour project for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2026 was in the works. Here you will find more information about events in 2024 related to the Guest of Honour initiative.

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 also available for production subsidies for illustrated books. The maximum grant amount is NOK 20,000 (approx. EUR 1,650).

The guarantee applies to the following application rounds:
June 1, 2025, October 1, 2025 and February 1, 2026.

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.

We are proud to present the slogan and visual profile for Norway as Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2026.

What if up was were down

What if the outside were the inside

What if I were you

The government is investing in Norwegian children’s literature and is making a major contribution to Norway’s Guest of Honour appearance in Italy this coming spring.

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.

Sofie Maertens is a Belgian translator of approximately thirty Norwegian books spanning a range of genres into her native Dutch. She lives in Ename, a village in the Flemish Ardennes. Upon completion of her degree in translation studies in Ghent in 2003, where she specialised in German and Spanish, she and her partner and fellow student, Michiel Vanhee, moved to Germany. She enrolled at the University of Greifswald and began her studies in Norwegian and Polish Philology.

Sofie fell in love with Norway and the Norwegian language and culture following a summer spent working in Geiranger as a multilingual tour guide, and a few years later, she and her partner Michiel both moved to Lofoten in Northern Norway to work as tour guides. Following their time in Lofoten, they returned to Belgium and started a family, but the nostalgia they felt for Norway prompted them to choose Norwegian names for their children (Sindre and Lasse) and they started translating Norwegian novels into Dutch. Her partner Michiel became her husband Michiel, and eventually her partner in translation, too!

Agents and publishers in Norway and abroad can apply to NORLA for subsidies for sample translations.

Please submit the application via NORLA’s digital application portal.

Norway is the guest country at the world’s largest children’s and young adult book fair

Norway will be Guest of Honour at the world’s largest children’s and young adult book fair, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, in 2026.

Norwegian literature for children and young adults is rich in both expression and genre, and explores a wide range of themes that engage readers of all ages.

The Guest of Honour programme offers a unique opportunity to showcase this diversity and bring stories from Norway to the world. The fair is an international meeting place for the children’s book industry, with a strong focus on illustration art. Each year it welcomes around 30,000 visitors and 1,500 exhibitors from 90 countries.

We look forward to presenting the full breadth of Norwegian literature for children and young people in Bologna.

More about the Norwegian Guest of Honour project here