Dag Solstad in Germany, New Protagonists in Nordic Crime, Nature and Literature og Mytting, Norwegian legends and German fascination for Stave churches. Dette er navnene på fire av i alt 15 programposter Norsk Litteraturfestival har gleden av å ha på det offisielle programmet på bokmessa i Frankfurt. I samarbeid med NORLA lages en minifestival som pågår fra morgen til kveld den 19. oktober på gjestelandspaviljongen. Det spennende programmet kan leses i sin helhet under.

– Ved å fokusere på de tingene som gjør Norsk Litteraturfestival en av verdens beste; de nøye utviklede og planlagte forfattermøtene, på tvers av språkgrenser, med samtaleledere som har stått for noen av de beste arrangementene på vår festival, er vi trygge på at det tyske publikumet vil få en fantastisk opplevelse av norsk litteratur alene og i møte med internasjonale stemmer, sier kunstnerisk rådgiver ved Norsk Litteraturfestival Mathias R. Samuelsen.

Han trekker spesielt frem møtet mellom norske Merethe Lindstrøm og tysk-argentinske Samanta Schweblin og den unike samtalen mellom forfatterparet Linn Ullmann og Niels Fredrik Dahl. Norsk Litteraturfestival i Frankfurt går fra morgen til kveld på bokmessas store publikumsdag, lørdag 19. oktober. Programmet består av 15 arrangementer, omfatter litteratur og andre kunstuttrykk og retter seg mot et allment tysk publikum.

Program, 19. oktober:

10.00-10.25: The old Kings
With his book Hvitekrist (White Christ), historian Tore Skeie, have single handedly revitalized the public interest in the Norwegian Viking kings. The book became the talk of Norway soon after its release. Meet Tore Skeie in conversation with Aslak Sira Myhre.

10.30-10.55: Short stories after Askildsen
Kjell Askildsen is the undisputed star of the Norwegian short story, known for his minimalistic style and unique tone. But what came after Askildsen? Meet the Norwegian short story authors Roskva Koritzinsky and Tomas Espedal in conversation with John Freeman.

11.00-11.25: Borders
Erika Fatland
and Stephan Orth are travelers, and through their travels they chronical something larger than the movement of one person across borders. Meet Erika Fatland and Stephan Orth in conversation with Thomas Böhm.

11.30-11.55: Solstad in Germany
Dag Solstad
is one of, if not the most important living author in Norway. Every new book is an event, and the conversation about the work starts immediately. Meet Dag Solstad in conversation with Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel.

12.00-12.25: New Protagonists in Nordic Crime
Unni Lindell
is a seasoned veteran of Scandinavian Noir, but her last to books have introduced a new protagonist. Ruth Lillegraven the author of Sickle is a poet that decided to write a thriller. Meet Unni Lindell and Ruth Lillegraven in conversation with Ellen Sofie Lauritzen.

12.30-12.55: Nature and Literature
Few Norwegian authors have reached an international audience like Maja Lunde.  She has undoubtedly hit a nerve. Two of the books in her “Climate Quartet” is published in German already, so how will the story continue? Maja Lunde in conversation with John Freeman.

13.00-13.25: Freedom of Expression series
Censorship and Self-Censorship in the Western World, with Lars Svendsen in conversation with Kjersti Løken Stavrum.

13.30-13.55: In the mind of a writer
Some writers manage to reach the depth of the readers mind, to take us on a journey where we end up seeing the literature mirroring ourselves. Though the Norwegian writer Merethe Lindstrøm and the German-Argentinian writer Samanta Schweblin are from different corners of the world, they have a lot in common and excel in just this. Meet Merethe Lindstrøm and Samanta Schweblin in conversation with John Freeman.

14.00-14.25: A personal story
Linn Ullmann
and Niels Fredrik Dahl are important Norwegian writers. They are also wife and husband. In a relationship like theirs, how does the writing process work? Do they influence each other’s books? Meet Linn Ullmann author of Die Unruhigen and Niels Fredrik Dahl the author of Mother by Night, in conversation with Thomas Böhm.

14.30-14.55: The possible Novel
Gunnhild Øyehaug
and Johan Harstad are two of our most imaginative and daring writers in Norway at this moment. With humor, pop culture and fantastic narratives they match the best writers in contemporary literature. Meet Johan Harstad and Gunnhild Øyehaug in conversation with John Freeman.   

15.00-15.25: Inside the outsider
The literary outsider is nothing new. The Norwegian writers Thure Erik Lund and Carl Frode Tiller delves into the deep of loneliness like few others and describes chronical pain, anger and sorrow in unique ways. One might even say there’s more than a little Ibsen in their books. Meet Thure Erik Lund and Carl Frode Tiller in conversation with Ellen Sofie Lauritzen.

15.30-15.55: The struggles of man. Ibsen from Brand to Peer Gynt
Ibsen’s scenes and characters are universal and timeless, he demands hard choices of them all. The righteous Brand and the adaptable and callous Peer Gynt stand as polar opposites that challenge and entertain audiences across the world. Meet Ellen Horn, artistic adviser of the Peer Gynt Festival, and Roger Vontobel, theater director, in conversation about Norway’s most famous author Henrik Ibsen, Brand and Peer Gynt. With a monologue from Brand by actor Heiko Raulin (Schauspiel Frankfurt). Moderator: Olav Brostrup Müller, Director Lillehammer UNESCO City of Literature.

16.00-16.25: Just Right. A Brief Story of Almost Everything
Whenever Jostein Gaarder publishes a book, his audience knows that it will concern the larger questions of life and our existence. His latest, Just Right. A Brief Story of Almost Everything, deals with sorrow, love and long-lasting consequences. Jostein Gaarder in conversation with Thomas Böhm.

16.30-16.55: Mytting, Norwegian legends and German fascination for Stave churches
There are 28 Stave churches in Norway and they don’t pop up that often in contemporary literature, but in Lars Mytting latest book, Die glocke im see, they do! Meet Lars Mytting in conversation with Olav Brostrup Müller, Director Lillehammer UNESCO City of Literature.

17.00-17.30: Guitar and Literature
Two poets, two prose writers. A collection of the finest authors in Norway right now, Ruth Lillegraven, Øyvind Rimbereid, Tomas Espedal and Ida Hegazi Høyer, are reading with the leading Norwegian jazz guitarist Hedvig Mollestad. This is going to be a fantastic ending to a fantastic day!

17.30-19.00: Happy hour

Norsk Litteraturfestival lager i samarbeid med NORLA (
Senter for norsk litteratur i utlandet
) minifestival i på bokmessen i Frankfurt i forbindelse med at Norge er offisielt gjesteland.

Sted: Hovedscenen i den norske gjestelandspaviljongen ved bokmessen i Frankfurt, Forum, Level 1
Tid: 19. oktober kl 10.00 – kl 17.30