The American author Marilynne Robinson has been invited to give the Fosse Lecture, and the Dutch translator Paula Stevens is the winner of the 2026 Fosse Prize for Translators.
The Fosse Lecture and the awarding of the Fosse Prize will take place at the Royal Palace on Thursday, 23 April 2026. The public will also be able to follow the lecture and award ceremony via livestream.
The Fosse Lecture explores literature as an art form, presenting perspectives to inspire and engage the international literary community today. Alongside it, the Fosse Prize for Translators celebrates those who bring Norwegian literature to readers around the world. These initiatives aim to build a lasting cultural tradition and an intellectual meeting point in Norway and beyond.
The Fosse Lecture 2026
Marilynne Robinson (b. 1943) is an American author and essayist, best known for the award-winning Gilead quartet. She holds a PhD in English literature and has taught creative writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Robinson has been translated into 36 languages and is regarded as one of the foremost literary thinkers of our time, with essays and novels revolving around faith, grace, and human dignity. She has received numerous major literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and is frequently mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The Fosse Prize 2026
Paula Stevens (b. 1955) is a leading Dutch translator and a central ambassador for Norwegian literature to Dutch-speaking audiences. Since 1982, she has translated nearly 90 books from Norwegian, including works by Karl Ove Knausgård, Lars Mytting, Roy Jacobsen, Johan Harstad and Åsne Seierstad. Over four decades, Stevens has played a decisive role in the spread and understanding of Norwegian literature in the Netherlands, and she has also been key in recruiting and training new translators. She has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes.
Press release from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality
Contact
Martine Jonsrud
Head of the Fosse Lecture and Fosse Prize for Translators
martine.jonsrud@nb.no
(+47) 45 11 16 35
Nina Bræin
Head of Press | National Library of Norway
nina.brain@nb.no
(+47) 95 15 09 12
An annual tribute to Jon Fosse
In December 2023, it was announced that the Norwegian government would honour the Nobel Prize in Literature winner Jon Fosse by establishing an annual Fosse Lecture and a Fosse Prize for translators, organized by the National Library of Norway. The first Fosse lecture was held in April 2025 by French philosopher and theologian, Jean-Luc Marion, with the Royal Palace in Oslo serving as host. The first winner of the Fosse Prize for Translators was German translator Hinrich-Schmidt Henkel.
In line with Fosse’s work, the Fosse Lecture aims to bring literature as an art form to the foreground of public discourse around the world. The lecture is held every April by an international author, playwright, academic, or intellectual who has made a significant contribution to the understanding or dissemination of literature in their country and beyond.
The Fosse Prize for Translators, awarded in collaboration with NORLA, recognizes a translator who has made an outstanding contribution to bringing Norwegian literature into other languages. With a prize sum of NOK 500,000, it is the largest award of its kind, celebrating those who dedicate their work to the Norwegian language and make Norwegian literature accessible to readers worldwide.
The Fosse Advisory Board
The National Library and Jon Fosse have established a Fosse Advisory Board, whose members serve two-year terms. The Fosse Advisory Board provides guidance, insights and suggestions throughout the speaker selection process. The current Fosse Advisory Board is Scandinavian and consists of: Live Lundh (NO), Eirik Vassenden (NO), Aris Fioretos (SE), Sara Abdollahi (SE), and Mads Rosendahl Thomsen (DK).
The Fosse Lecture and Fosse Prize for Translators 2025
On Thursday, 24 April 2025, the inaugural Fosse Lecture took place at the Royal Palace in Oslo. The French philosopher Jean-Luc Marion delivered the newly written lecture Creation, before Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit together with Margit Walsø, Director of NORLA, presented the newly established Fosse Prize for Translators to the German translator Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel.
The Norwegian musician and composer Anja Lauvdal performed a new work inspired by Marion’s text, and National Librarian Aslak Sira Myhre guided the proceedings.
Jon Fosse on the Speaker and Prize Winner 2025
Nobel Prize winner in literature Jon Fosse was very pleased with both the speaker and the prize winner for 2025. Speaker Jean-Luc Marion (b. 1946) has devoted his career to the study of, among other things, phenomenology and theology. Marion spoke about literature from his own perspective during the Fosse Lecture 2025.
«He creates a very solid space for literature when it comes to understanding and experiencing life, or learning something – about love, for example, and about God, for that matter,» Jon Fosse said about Marion.
The Fosse Prize for Translators aims to honour the art of translation and highlight the important role translators play in bringing Norwegian literature to the world. Prize winner Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel has since 1987 translated literature from Norwegian, Danish, French, and Italian into German, including works by Jon Fosse, Tarjei Vesaas, Henrik Ibsen, Cecilie Løveid, and Ruth Lillegraven.
«Germany has traditionally been the most important country for translated Norwegian literature, and for many years Hinrich has been the most important German translator, so I think this is a completely obvious choice,» Fosse said.
Subtitles available in Norwegian and English.
Subtitles available in Norwegian, German and English.
Subtitles available in Norwegian and English.
Watch last year’s event and other related programs here:
Read the speech of Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit from 2025
Read the speech of Lubna Jaffery, the Minister of Culture and Equality from 2025
Read the acceptance speech of Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel, the recipient of the Fosse Prize 2025
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