NORLA

NORLA NORLA − Norwegian Literature Abroad, promotes the export of Norwegian literature.

NORLA disseminates knowledge about Norwegian books and authors abroad, and operations are financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. NORLA was founded in 1978 and so far has contributed to translations of Norwegian books into 69 languages. NORLA offers a range of funding schemes, all of which are aimed at promoting the translation of Norwegian books. NORLA was responsible for the project: Norway as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse 2019.

One of Norway’s biggest literary exports is back! 🔫Today, Aschehoug publishes Nådeskudd, Jo Nesbø’s long-awaited 14th Ha...
19/08/2026

One of Norway’s biggest literary exports is back! 🔫

Today, Aschehoug publishes Nådeskudd, Jo Nesbø’s long-awaited 14th Harry Hole novel, with an impressive first print run of 70,000 copies. This time, Harry hunts a serial killer recreating iconic murder scenes from film classics.

The Harry Hole thrillers have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide.

The first reviews of Nådeskudd are already strong, including several “terningkast 5” — 5 out of 6 on Norway’s traditional dice rating scale 🎲.

„Kill Shot“ (German & English title) arrives in German in October, translated by Günther Frauenlob, in the UK in November, translated by Seán Kinsella, and in North America in February 2027, translated by Robert Ferguson.

Welcome back, Harry Hole 😎!

Norwegian Embassy in London Norwegische Botschaft in BerlinThe Royal Norwegian Consulate General

🧡 Congratulations to Maria Parr and her Latvian translator Jolanta Pētersone!They have been awarded the 2026 Internation...
10/08/2026

🧡 Congratulations to Maria Parr and her Latvian translator Jolanta Pētersone!

They have been awarded the 2026 International Jānis Baltvilks Prize for Children’s Literature and Book Art for Parr’s „Oskar og eg“, illustrated by Åshild Irgens, translated into Latvian by Pētersone and published by Liels un mazs in 2025.

Latvia’s most prestigious award for children’s and young adult literature celebrates outstanding authors, illustrators and translators. „Oskar og eg“ was praised for its warm, humorous and insightful portrayal of childhood.

A wonderful recognition of Maria Parr’s authorship and of Jolanta Pētersone’s important work bringing Norwegian literature to Latvian readers.

Warm congratulations to them both! 🇳🇴📚🇱🇻

Norwegian Embassy in Riga Det Norske Samlaget Åshild Irgens liels un mazs

Photo Maria Parr: Julia Marie Naglestad

Welcome to “Reading Norway” 📚🇳🇴 Part 4: LonelinessWhat does it mean to be alone and when does solitude turn into lonelin...
07/08/2026

Welcome to “Reading Norway” 📚🇳🇴 Part 4: Loneliness

What does it mean to be alone and when does solitude turn into loneliness?

Loneliness is a recurring theme in Norwegian literature, often closely connected to landscape, silence and the tension between the individual and the community. But being alone does not necessarily mean being lonely. Solitude can be painful, liberating, comforting or all of these things at once.

In Part 4 of our summer series Reading Norway, we recommend three very different books that explore loneliness, solitude and our longing for connection.

📖 Tarjei Vesaas – The Ice Palace, translated by Elizabeth Rokkan

A haunting Norwegian classic about two young girls, an intense friendship and a disappearance in the frozen landscape. A poetic story about loss, grief and isolation.

https://agency.gyldendal.no/classics/is-slottet/p-10000191/

https://norla.no/en/news/news-from-norla/classic-of-the-month-tarjei-vesaas-the-birds-and-the-ice-palace

📖 Lars Fr. H. Svendsen – A Philosophy of Loneliness, translated by Kerri Pierce

What is loneliness, and is being alone necessarily a bad thing? Svendsen combines philosophy, psychology and social science to explore our need for connection – and the value of solitude.

https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/a-philosophy-of-loneliness

📖 Rune Christiansen – The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman’s Life, translated by Kari Dickson

Lydia, a veterinarian in rural Norway, finds meaning in animals, nature and a quiet, solitary life. A subtle and poetic novel about the difference between being alone and being lonely.

https://osloliteraryagency.no/book/the-loneliness-in-lydia-ernemans-life/

Penguin Classics Gyldendal Agency Norwegian Embassy in London The Royal Norwegian Consulate General Visit Norway Reaktion Books Rune Christiansen Book*hug Press Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa

Photo: Carlos Torres / Unsplash

07/08/2026

NORLA is back after the long summer break ☀️ Our colleague Tanja has been busy unpacking a mountain of freshly translated Norwegian books that arrived at our doors over the summer 🏔️

Good to be back!

We are happy and proud to introduce our Translator of the Month: Lucy Moffatt 👏She has been translating professionally s...
03/08/2026

We are happy and proud to introduce our Translator of the Month: Lucy Moffatt 👏
She has been translating professionally since the mid-1990s, first from Spanish, later from Norwegian.

Since 2017, Lucy has translated nearly twenty Norwegian fiction and non-fiction titles for publishers in the UK and Canada. Authors she’s worked with include Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Andreas Tjernshaugen, Are Kalvø, Bjørn Berge, Dag O. Hessen, Hilde Østby, Nina Brochmann and Ellen Støkken Dahl.
She has received several awards for her work, and Lucy's latest translation, Bj​ø​rn Berge​’​s "Smell: The Tale of A Fading Sense", was recently published by Reaktion Books.​​

Read our interview with Lucy here:
https://norla.info/August2026

Or read the interview in Norwegian here:
https://norla.info/August26

(Photo: Ole Brodersen)

Lucy Moffatt | Norwegian Embassy in London | Reaktion Books

READING NORWAY 🇳🇴 Part 3: FamilyFamily has always been one of the great themes of Norwegian literature. Whether explorin...
24/07/2026

READING NORWAY 🇳🇴 Part 3: Family

Family has always been one of the great themes of Norwegian literature. Whether exploring the bonds between parents and children, the complexities of marriage, the ways we inherit love and trauma, or the many forms a family can take, Norwegian writers have a remarkable gift for portraying intimate relationships with honesty, tenderness, and emotional depth.

A Modern Family – Helga Flatland, translated by Rosie Hedger
When adult children gather to celebrate their parents’ anniversary, an unexpected announcement forces everyone to reconsider what family really means. A nuanced, compassionate novel about love, loyalty, and changing relationships.

Unquiet – Linn Ullmann, translated by Thilo Reinhard
Part memoir, part novel, this extraordinary book reflects on memory, ageing, and the relationship between a daughter and her parents. An intimate and beautifully crafted meditation on family, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves.

Brightly Shining – Ingvild Rishøi (US & UK), translated by Caroline Waight
A luminous and deeply moving Christmas novella about two sisters trying to hold their small family together. Filled with resilience, hope, and quiet acts of love, it’s a story that lingers long after the final page.

How Do You Make a Baby? – Anna Fiske, translated by Don Bartlett
Curious, inclusive, and refreshingly honest, this award-winning children’s book answers big questions about where babies come from. With warmth, humour, and playful illustrations, it celebrates the many different ways families are created.

40 Weeks – Anna Blix, translated by Nichola Smalley
A fascinating and beautifully written journey through pregnancy across the animal kingdom. Combining science, storytelling, and wonder, Anna Blix reminds us that becoming a parent is one of nature’s most extraordinary shared experiences.

Rosie Hedger Orenda Books Oslo Literary Agency Women in Translation Norwegian Embassy in London Visit Norway W. W. Norton & Company Grove Atlantic grovepressuk Gecko Press Anna Fiske Anna Blix. Biolog, feminist, forfatter. Hachette UK Cappelen Damm Agency

Photo: Unsplash

Welcome back to Reading Norway 🇳🇴, our summer series exploring Norwegian literature through some of its defining themes....
09/07/2026

Welcome back to Reading Norway 🇳🇴, our summer series exploring Norwegian literature through some of its defining themes. This time, we’re stepping inside one of Norway’s most cherished places: the cabin 🌳🛖!

For many Norwegians, the cabin is much more than a holiday home. It is a place to slow down, reconnect with nature, spend time with family and friends or simply enjoy solitude.
Whether by the sea, in the mountains or deep in the forest, cabins are woven into Norwegian culture. It’s no surprise that they also appear again and again in Norwegian literature, where they become places of memory, conflict, freedom and self-discovery.

📖 Vigdis Hjorth – Will and Testament, translated by Charlotte Barslund
The family’s mountain cabin lies at the heart of a long-standing inheritance dispute. More than a holiday retreat, it becomes a symbol of belonging, family history and painful memories, revealing how a cabin can hold both cherished and deeply contested emotions.

📖 Are Kalvø – The Hiking Book from Hell, translated by Lucy Moffatt
With wit and self-irony, Kalvø pokes fun at Norway’s obsession with hiking, outdoor life and, of course, cabins. The book offers a hilarious take on the country’s cabin culture and the sometimes overwhelming expectations of spending every free weekend in nature.

📖 Per Petterson – Out Stealing Horses, translated by Anne Born
A secluded cabin in the forest offers the protagonist a chance to retreat from the world and reflect on his life. Here, the cabin is a place of silence, memory and reconciliation, perfectly capturing the special role these simple dwellings often play in Norwegian literature.

Verso Books Norwegian Embassy in London The Royal Norwegian Consulate General Visit Norway Lucy Moffatt Oslo Literary Agency Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa Graywolf Press Penguin Books

Photo: Vidar Nordli Mathisen / Unsplash

We are happy and proud to introduce our Translator of the Month: Nichola Smalley 👏Swedish was her Scandinavian languages...
01/07/2026

We are happy and proud to introduce our Translator of the Month: Nichola Smalley 👏

Swedish was her Scandinavian languages gateway drug, but she spent a fair bit of time in Norway in her early twentites and discovered a real love of Norwegian literature when she started reading Hanne ​Ø​rstavik, Vigdis Hjorth, Jon Fosse and Kjersti Rorgemoen.

Read our interview with Nichola in full here:
https://norla.info/July2026

Or read the interview in Norwegian here:
https://norla.info/juli2026

(Photo: Robin Howells)

Norwegian Embassy in London

Welcome to Reading Norway 🇳🇴, our summer series celebrating Norwegian literature through some of its defining themes. We...
29/06/2026

Welcome to Reading Norway 🇳🇴, our summer series celebrating Norwegian literature through some of its defining themes.

We begin where so many Norwegian stories begin: by the sea 🌊.

Few countries are as closely connected to the sea as Norway. With its long coastline, deep fjords and countless islands, the sea has shaped people’s lives for centuries. It is a source of livelihood, a place of longing, and a force of nature that demands both respect and resilience. It is no surprise, that the sea is one of the defining themes of Norwegian literature: as a landscape, a destiny, and a reflection of the human condition.
Here are four remarable books from Norway, in which the sea 🛶🌊 plays an important role:

📖 Roy Jacobsen: The Unseen, translated by
Don Bartlett and Don Shaw
On a tiny island off the Helgeland coast, the sea governs every aspect of life. It provides food and opportunity, but also hardship and loss. In Jacobsen’s novel, the sea is not merely a setting. It is the force that shapes the lives of the Barrøy family.
https://www.cappelendammagency.no/_de-usynlige-roy-jacobsen-9788202423025
https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-unseen

📖 Agnes Ravatn: Bird Tribunal, translated by Rosie Hedger
Set by a remote fjord, this psychological novel uses the sea to heighten its atmosphere of isolation and unease. Calm on the surface yet full of hidden depths, the surrounding waters mirror the tension and unspoken secrets between the two main characters.
https://northernstories.no/books/10-agnes-ravatn-the-bird-tribunal
https://orendabooks.co.uk/product/the-bird-tribunal

📖 Jon Fosse: Morning and Evening, translated by Damion Searls
The fisherman Johannes spends his entire life by the sea. It accompanies him from birth to death, becoming a quiet symbol of life’s cycle. In Fosse’s lyrical prose, the sea evokes memory, transience and the mystery of human existence.
https://winjeagency.com/books/10-Jon-Fosse-Morning-and-evening
https://booksfromnorway.com/books/564-morning-and-evening
https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/morning-and-evening/

📖 Morten Strøksnes: Shark Drunk, translated by Tiina Nunally
Two friends set out to catch the elusive Greenland shark in the waters of northern Norway. The result is much more than an adventure story: the sea becomes a gateway to reflections on nature, history, science and the enduring bond between people and the ocean.
https://booksfromnorway.com/books/130-shark-drunk
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/541264/shark-drunk-by-morten-stroksnes/

Cappelen Damm Agency Quercus Books Norwegian Embassy in London Visit Norway Penguin Random House Rosie Hedger Orenda Books Northern Stories Women in Translation Winje Agency Det Norske Samlaget Norway in New York

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