NordLit meeting in Reykjavík, January 16th to 18th, 2018

This year, the annual NordLit meeting, where staff members at the Nordic Literature Centers meet and confer, took place at Harpa Concert Hall and was hosted by the Icelandic Literature Center

30. January, 2018

What is NordLit?

NordLit is an organisation of the Literature Centers in the Nordic countries. Alongside the Icelandic Literature Center, members are Norla in Norway, Fili in Finland, FarLit in the Faroese Islands, Statens Kulturråd/Swedish Arts Council in Sweden and Slots-og kulturstyrelsen/The Danish Arts Council in Denmark, Greenland and Sápmi.

Annual working meetings 

In January every year, the staff at these Nordic Literature Centers meet and confer and work together in one of the capital cities of the Nordic countries. This year, it was Reykjavik´s turn and the Icelandic Literature Center was in charge of organizing and preparing for the meeting, which took place on January 16th to 18th. 27 members of staff and administrators came to Reykjavik, representing seven centers. The meetings took place at Harpa and on the agenda were various topics relevant to the work at the literature centers, as well as brainstorming and exchanging ideas on how to strengthen, broaden and increase the relevance of literature promotion, in every sense of the word. Icelandic publishers interested in publishing Nordic literature in Icelandic got a chance to attend discussions, meet the Nordic delegates and discuss the possibilities of applying for translation grants in the respective countries. This opportunity was welcomed with enthusiasm by all parties. In between meetings, the participants visited Gljúfrasteinn, the home of Nobel Laureate Halldór Laxness, The Nordic House and Veröld – the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages. They also went swimming in open-air swimming pools, visited museums and attended concerts and declared the visit to Iceland a wonderful experience.

Co-operation across multiple levels

One of the co-operative projects of NordLit is the joint display stand for all the Nordic countries at the London and Bologna book fairs. NordLit also organises various other joint projects, such as a translators ‘ conference and the publication of anthologies. NordLit also jointly facilitates grants for translating into the Nordic languages, with the Danish Literature Center - Statens Kunstråd (Kunst.dk) – acting as administrating agent for Nordic translation grants, on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Statens Kunstråd distributes the grant money to the other „affiliates“, who in turn award the grants within their respective countries.

It has been decided that the next NordLit meeting will take place in Helsinki on January 15th to 18th, 2019.