“[…]Where better to fight for our existence than in an umbrella organisation with international clout like EWC“

Read more about the new EWC member Norsk Oversetterforening. 

NO stands for “Norsk Oversetterforening”. When abroad, however, NO refers to themselves as the Norwegian Association of Literary Translators, which is more intelligible to those who don’t speak Norwegian.

The Norsk Oversetterforening / Norwegian Association of Literary Translators – a brief description

NO has 350 members, all of whom translate fiction in to – or in some cases out of –  Norwegian. NO was established in 1948. In other words, we have been around for a while.

What challenges, current and future, do you consider more important?

Literary translators face a number of challenges, some of which have been more or less constant all the way, such as

• the struggle for fair remuneraton,
• social benefits and
• professional visibility.

Others of more recent origin, such as the influx of English language literature in Norwegian bookshops and, of course:

the onslaught of large language models in the book industry.

Why did you join the EWC and what are your expectations?

The rapid and threatening development of generative AI is what led NO to reapply for EWC membership.

If there was ever a time when it felt crucial for writers and translators to pool forces and fight for each others’ interests, that time would be now.

Economic hardship is hard enough, but at stake now is the sheer existence of our profession. That applies to translators today, and tomorrow it will apply to writers. But

where better to fight for our existence than in an umbrella organisation with international clout like EWC?

oversetterforeningen.no

 

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Three new members were welcomed by the General Annual Assembly of the European Writers’ Council (EWC) in Oslo 2025:

The European Writers’ Council is delighted to announce the ratification of five new members and welcomed the colleagues warmly by the Assembly in May 2025:

• ASOS Association of Slovak Writers’ –Slovak Writers’ Association, Slovakia
• FUIS Federazione Unitaria Italiana Scrittori, Italy
• NO Norsk Oversetterforening – Norwegian Associaton of Literary Translators, Norway

Learn more about them in the section: OUR MEMBERS

The EWC continues to expand its diversity, competence, collegiality and cohesion through this strong enrichment of its new members and colleagues. The European Writers’ Council represents 250,000 professional writers and translators in the book and text sector in all genres, from 53 European national organisations of professional writers and translators in 34 countries including the EU, the EEA countries Iceland and Norway, as well as Belarus, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, altogether writing in 37 languages.