Solberg thanked Samlaget for good reads

books SamlagetBooks. Photo: pixabay.com

Solberg thanked Samlaget for good reading experiences

Prime Minister Erna Solberg congratulated and thanked the publishing house Samlaget when they celebrated 150 years with a party at the Norwegian Theater (Det Norske Teatret) in Oslo on Saturday evening.

 

– Those who think that Nynorsk is stout and boring have not read the books by Ragnar Hovland or Olaug Nilssen, said Erna Solberg in a speech to authors, publishers and politicians prepared to party.

In her address, the Prime Minister emphasized that Nynorsk is an outsider who has come in position and that Samlaget was one of the reasons for that to be the case.

– The instinct they show is the reason that it is Samlaget, and nobody else, who provides us with writers like Agnes Ravatn, the Prime Minister went on to say.

Around 400 guests had taken the trip to Det Norske Teatret to celebrate the fact that Samlaget has been publishing for 150 years. And it’s a 150-year-old alive who is alive and kicking, says one of the publishers’ successful authors.

– It’s a 150 year old who is up and about that we’re celebrating. Things are looking bright for Samlaget. Had this not been an anniversary, we would have celebrated anyway, says Agnes Ravatn to Nynorsk press office.

The Norwegian Crown Princess, Mette-Marit, was also present at the festivities. The audience listened to poems by authors such as Brit Bildøen, Einar Økland and Ragnar Hovland. The theme of the day throughout the séance was twelve poems by Jon Fosse accompanied by music composed by Sandra Kolstad.

About “Det Norske Samlaget” (Wikipedia)

Samlaget is a Norwegian publishing house that publishes books and journals in Nynorsk (new Norwegian) and dialects. The company’s purpose is to develop, manage and spread nynorsk literature. The publishing house has released more than 6000 titles since 1868.

The Norwegian Samla is now divided into two institutions: the literature company, a cultural policy interest organization, and the publishing house, which since 1978 is a self-governing foundation and is responsible for business operations. The “Litteraturselskapet Norske Samlaget” is a cultural policy interest organization that wish to provide the framework for Nynorsk book publishing, and is also responsible for several legacies and awards, such as the Melsom Prize and Emma and Elias Blix’s legacy. “Det Norske Samlaget” was split from the publishing house as of 1978 as a self-governed business foundation. The publisher publishes the journal Syn og Segn, books, historical, biographical and literary works, children’s and youth books, books for higher education, dictionaries, scientific and popular science books in the Nynorsk language. The publishing house  publishes between 200 and 250 new titles annually and has promoted 65 literary debutants since the year 2000.

The publisher sold books for NOK 55 million in 2011, of which about 17 million was fiction and 7 million case litterature. The company received NOK 14 million in state aid that year alone. Two thirds of the publisher’s turnover was formerly from school textbooks, but turnover from this this market was rapidly declining after the introduction of the Knowledge Promise. This led to the Educational branch being sold to Fagbokforlaget in 2012.

Edmund Austigard is director of publications, and Håkon Kolmannskog responsible publisher.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today