A new prize for literary translators from the National Library of Norway (NLN) has been awarded to German translator Hinrich Schmidt-Henkel, who has translated around 120 titles by a range of Norwegian authors. Called the Fosse Prize in honor of Norwegian author and translator Jon Fosse — who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature — the award is the largest for literary translation in Europe, according to the Sweden Herald.

“The award feels like a kind of Nobel prize for translators, thanks to the attention it brings to our contributions to world literature,” Schmidt-Henkel told The Guardian.

To be eligible for the prize, linguists must translate Norwegian literature — written in either Bokmål or Nynorsk, the two official written standards of the Norwegian language — into any other language. While Schmidt-Henkel’s work includes translations of Fosse himself, the prize organizers clarified that translating Fosse’s work is not a prerequisite for eligibility.

Fosse commented in a video on YouTube that Schmidt-Henkel “is a perfectly obvious choice” for the prize. “Germany has been the most important country for translated Norwegian literature, and Hinrich has been the most important German translator for many years,” he said.

According to the NLN website, the prize aims to recognize translators as key contributors to making Norwegian literature accessible to an international audience.

“With this initiative, we hope to establish a new cultural forum that inspires literary conversations, both in Norway and abroad,” Lubna Jaffery, Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality, told Publishers Weekly. “We want to showcase the power and role of literature in society and strengthen Norway’s position in the international world of literature.”

NLN Director Aslak Sira Myhre elaborated, telling The Guardian, “For a small language like Norwegian, the work of dedicated translators is crucial. It is a strenuous, creative, and partly invisible work that brings literature to people and cultures closer together.”