Here, Jon Fosse publisher Håkon Kolmannskog receives the news about the Nobel Prize. Afterwards, he drove to the publisher in Oslo with a puking child in the back seat. Now the Fosse books are flying out of the shops.
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Year after year, he has sat at the publisher Samlaget and followed the Nobel Prize announcement – in the hope that it would be Jon Fosse’s turn.
But this time Fosse’s publisher Håkon Kolmannskog had gone on autumn holiday.
The family was in the car on the way home from Trondheim when the Swedish Academy’s permanent secretary Mats Malm opened the large white gold-edged door:
– Fortunately, the wife had made the decision to drive into the side before the broadcast started. Yes, and then she filmed the moment.
– You got a shock?
– I understood it when he said “the Norwegian author”. It couldn’t be anyone else, it had to be Jon Fosse.
– We have been waiting for this for a while. For ten years, we in Samlaget have followed the distribution, we have prepared with press releases and plans – and had great confidence in it. We knew it would happen, but we couldn’t know when.
Read the interview with Fosse: – Knew it could come
WINNER: For the first time in 95 years, a Norwegian author won the Nobel Prize in Literature. From before, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Knut Hamsun and Sigrid Undset have won. Photo: Gunn Berit Wiik / Strilen / NTB
When it was finally Jon Fosse’s turn, the publisher sat in the car in hiking clothes.
– I simply felt an intense joy when the name was read out. A euphoric joy and enormous pride – on behalf of Jon Fosse.
Printing several new editions
In the video of the publisher’s reaction, he hushes the children – while his wife exclaims: “We have to go to Oslo!”
And thus the family drives the straight road.
– We drove as fast as we could, and I’m not kidding: the kids literally spewed out of the window. We had to get to work, says Kolmannskog.
And work it has become: From the announcement of the Nobel Prize to Fosse’s arrival, there has been an influx of congratulations, but also book orders.
– There has been an outpouring of books. It’s absolutely wild!
– So now we have started several new editions in swing. We have today printed new editions of “The Septology” and “The Trilogy” in several editions – and then we see that the entire backlist is decreasing. On Monday, we will start several reprints of the older book titles, says marketing manager Anne Liv Tresselt in Samlaget to VG.
She says it seems that the Norwegian people now want to read Fosse.
– We get so many touching messages from booksellers all over the country that they are sold out, and of a great interest in Fosse, says Tresselt.
– Tremendous sales
NOBEL EFFECT: Booksellers report formidable sales over the weekend. Photo: TOM LITTLE / Reuters / NTB
The booksellers confirm that they experienced a major Nobel Prize effect from the moment Jon Fosse was announced as the winner.
– We always see that demand increases when the Nobel Prize winner is announced, but have not experienced anything that can compare with the response to Thursday’s news. The orders came in immediately after the announcement, and sales have been formidable throughout the weekend, says category manager for fiction in Ark, Linda Eriksen.
Formidable is also the word Norli uses to describe the Fosse sale in recent days.
– The majority of what we had out in our stores has been sold, and now we are waiting for the delivery of more books – and not least new editions of what is empty, Camilla Tvedt, category manager in Norli, tells VG.
The most sold is the collection edition of the entire “Septology” – and here new editions are on their way into the shops.
Fosse’s literary agent, Gina Winje, can also report great interest from abroad.
– The power of the Nobel Prize in literature is overwhelming, and we receive inquiries from all over the world, Winje tells VG.
Publisher Håkon Kolmannskog says that not many people are lucky enough to experience what Samlaget is now experiencing.
– Imagine being able to take part in this. We have long said that it is a privilege to work at Samlaget at a time when Jon Fosse is writing.
JUBILEE: There was full jubilation at Samlaget on Thursday. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VG
– Then I must also add that Jon Fosse has been clear throughout that this is also a prize for the Nynorsk language. I think there are many people who straighten their backs a little extra today – and feel that there is a price for Nynorsk, says Kolmannskog.
– But our main focus now is primarily to ensure that there are enough Fosse books out in the bookshops.
The Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded in Stockholm on 10 December.
Published:
Published: 09.10.23 at 12:34 p.m
Updated: 09.10.23 at 12:57 p.m
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2023-10-09 10:34:56
#Fosses #publisher #receives #Nobel #notice #Råkørte #Oslo
