Nordic literature and culture in focus at the Helsinki Book Fair 2016
Thirty Nordic programs including nominees for the Nordic Council Literature Prize
Kulturkontakt Nord together with Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland embassies in Helsinki, Hanasaari Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre, Finnish Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture and the Pohjola-Norden had a collective Nordic booth at the festival. Together they organized a Nordic program of thirty readings, panels and interviews.
This year's Helsinki Book Fair, which took place 27-30 October, focused on Nordic literature and culture as well as current themes such as migration and development. Kulturkontakt Nord together with Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland embassies in Helsinki, Hanasaari Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre, Finnish Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture and the Pohjola-Norden had a collective Nordic booth at the festival. Together they organized a Nordic program of thirty readings, panels and interviews.
Among guests at the fair were the Icelandic writers nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2016, Guðbergur Bergsson for Þrír sneru aftur and Elísabet Jökulsdóttir for Ástin ein taugahrúga. Enginn dans við Ufsaklett. They participated in a panel with other nominees, Linn Ullman, Sara Margrethe Oskal, Sirpa Kähkönen, Sabine Forsblom, Carina Karlsson and Sørine Steenholdt lead by Oscar Rossi.
The Icelandic writer and cartoonist Hugleikur Dagsson took part in two programs at the fair. He is very popular in Finland and more than 70 thousand of his books have been sold there, published by Atena.
The writer and publisher Kári Tulinius was interviewed by the Finnish poet Vilja-Tuulia Huotarinen about Icelandic contemporary literature at the Nordic stand on Saturday.
A program on Icelandic contemporary poetry was scheduled on the last day of the fair. Readings of a selection of texts in Finnish by the contemporary poets Gerður Kristný, Sigurður Pálsson, Ingunn Snædal, Þórdís Gísladóttir and Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl translated by Tapio Koivukari.
The Helsinki Book Fair 2016 was successful and the Nordic program was considered interesting and was well received by guests and participants.
Helsinki Book Fair website: http://kirjamessut.messukeskushelsinki.fi/?lang=en
Program: https://boknorden.fi/
|
|
 Kári Tulinius |
 Hugleikur Dagsson |
 |
|---|
