Literary programme

The literary programme is the beating heart of the Norwegian Guest of Honour project. Over 250 titles by authors from Norway will be translated into German over the course of 2018 and 2019.

The Norwegian author Mona Høvring visits the Leipzig Book Fair at ARTE. Photo: Sunniva Adam.

The literary programme will bring these authors and their titles to a German-speaking audience. The dream we carry is that books from Norway will open hearts and bring readers to places they have not been before: ‘into a cove we didn’t know’, as Olav H. Hauge’s poem says.

We have reached an important milestone: at the time of writing, there are 266 Norwegian titles that will be translated into German in 2018 and 2019. We are incredibly proud of the authors, their agents, the translators, and the German-language publishing houses. The literary programme will evolve around these authors and their works, but other important writers will also be included. Many Norwegian authors have experienced great international success. Maja Lunde is one example: The History of Bees is an international bestseller and was the bestselling novel in Germany in 2017. The literary programme will build on our international success stories, renewing Norwegian literature’s foothold in Germany, while at the same time bringing new voices to the German-speaking book market.

New Voices: ‘Our time will open’

Our designated project for cultivating new literary voices internationally is NORLA’s talent development programme, ‘New Voices’, established in collaboration with Talent Norway (Talent Norge) and the Norwegian Publishers Association. The programme started in 2017, and by 2019 a number of writers will have had the opportunity to develop as part of a scheme focusing on the international dimensions of the writing profession. Several of these ‘New Voices’ are already available for German readers – including Nina Lykke, Monica Isakstuen, and Andreas Tjernshaugen – with more coming soon to a bookshop near you.

Dialogue: ‘Doors shall open’

Literature is a unique starting point for dialogue, and for the exchange of ideas and knowledge. So we value the literary programme as a platform to raise questions and discuss topics important to Norway. Our extensive coastline and our relationship to and knowledge of the sea, our positioning on the outskirts of Europe, our mountains separating the valleys we live in, as well as the growing cities and our need for green energy are all topics we want to address. As our writers travel and take part in events, they become part of an international dialogue concerning the arts, our future and freedom of speech, for which the book fair has always been an important platform.

Experience: ‘That something wonderful will happen’

Literary festivals, houses of literature, bookshops, and book fairs. In 2019, Norwegian literature will be widely available. Audiences will have unique artistic experiences and stimulating encounters with our authors through novels, poetry, Sámi-language literary expression, drama, classics, documentary books, educational literature, and literature for children and young adults.

Authors from Norway, both well-known and unknown, look forward to meeting, sharing moments and having fruitful discussions with readers. The Norwegian Guest of Honour project will bring both authors and readers ‘into a cove we didn’t know’.