- Date:
- 04.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:00 - 19:00
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Opening of LitFestBergen 2026 (sold out)
with Vónbjørt Vang, Eduardo Halfon, John Olav Nilsen, Magnus Thomassen, Christine Hope, Trude Storheim and Teresa Grøtan
2026
Wednesday 4 February 2026
- Date:
- 04.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:00 - 19:00
- Location:
- Alver
Live transmission of Opening of LitFestBergen 2026
with Vónbjørt Vang, Eduardo Halfon, John Olav Nilsen, Magnus Thomassen, Christine Hope and Teresa Grøtan
- Date:
- 04.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:15 - 20:45
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Meet this Year’s Winner of the Ossietzky Prize
with Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Sidsel Wold, Amund Bakke Foss, Gard Steiro, Morten Rostrup, Maja Gudim Burheim and Sami Abu Salem
- Date:
- 04.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:15 - 20:00
- Location:
- Alver
Reading: New Texts on Betrayal
with Eduardo Halfon, Wanjiru Koinange and Afua Hirsch
- Date:
- 04.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:15 - 21:00
- Location:
- Alver
Conversation: New Texts on Betrayal
with Eduardo Halfon, Afua Hirsch, Wanjiru Koinange and Priya Bains
- Date:
- 04.02.2026
- Time:
- 21:15 - 22:15
- Location:
- Auditoriet
System Failure 95. Original Performance. Concert with John Olav Nilsen (SOLD OUT)
with John Olav Nilsen
Thursday 5 February 2026
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:00 - 11:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
Reading Banned Books Aloud
with LitFestBergen's International Book Club
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:00 - 11:45
- Location:
- Alver
Critics’ seminar: The Deceptive Nature of Literary Criticism
with Tue Andersen Nexø
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:00 - 12:30
- Location:
- Alver
Critics’ Seminar: On Betraying Oneself, Time and Time Again. Must the Literary Critic Choose One or the Other?
with Mari Grydeland
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 13:30 - 14:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Presentation of the Gullkroken Literature Prize
with Årstad vidaregåande skule
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:00 - 15:30
- Location:
- Alver
Critics’ Seminar: Deceptive Critics
with Frode Helmich Pedersen
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:45 - 16:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Can Norwegians not be bothered to build the country any more?
with Martin Bech Holte and Frederick Studemann
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:45 - 16:15
- Location:
- Alver
Critics' seminar: Experimenting with your heart in your hand. Camilla Collett as a literary critic.
with Tone Selboe
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:45 - 17:45
- Location:
- Alver
Literary Festivals on Life and Death
with Yuliia Kozlovets, Wanjiru Koinange, Cristina Fuentes la Roche and Teresa Grøtan
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:00 - 17:45
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Witches, Gypsy Girls, Runaways and Other Fallen Women
with Aina Basso and Jan H. Landro
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:00 - 17:45
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Fifteen Years Later
with Gaute Børstad Skjervø and Marte Michelet
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:00 - 19:00
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Ludvig Holberg and Niels Klim’s Fantastic World
with Jørgen Sejersted, Tue Andersen Nexø, Silja Leifsdottir and Gunnstein Akselberg
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:00 - 18:45
- Location:
- Alver
Against Contemporary Western Beauty Standards
with Afua Hirsch and Kari Jegerstedt
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:15 - 19:00
- Location:
- Auditoriet
When Norway Fails Us Poor People
with Anna-Sabina Soggiu and Marte Michelet
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:15 - 19:45
- Location:
- Alver
Treacherous Literary Characters: God
with Olaug Nilssen
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:30 - 20:15
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Knut Hamsun and the Right-Wing Radicals
with Hedvig Moe, Carline Tromp and Eirik Vassenden
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:45 - 20:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Life, Literature and Betrayal – Betanien Hospital
with Hilde Kvalvaag
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:00 - 20:30
- Location:
- Alver
The Novel as Poetry
with Hanne Ørstavik
- Date:
- 05.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:45 - 21:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Betrayal, Butterflies, and the Metabolism
with Mette Moestrup, Eira Søyseth and Amanda Torsteinsdatter Hersvik
Friday 6 February 2026
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:00 - 11:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
Reading Banned Books Aloud
with LitFestBergen's International Book Club
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:00 - 13:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
City Walk: In the Footsteps of Karl Ove Knausgård
with Frode Helmich Pedersen
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:30 - 13:00
- Location:
- Alver
Infidelity!
with Selma Lønning Aarø
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 13:15 - 14:00
- Location:
- Alver
The literary journal and the writer
with Esther King, Ignacia Godoy and Priya Bains
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 14:15 - 14:45
- Location:
- Alver
Listening Post 1: Dyondzo Kwinika, Song Byeok, Amanda Marton
with Dyondza Kwinika, Song Byeok and Amanda Marton
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:00 - 17:00
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
PEN Postcard Campaign - Friday
Norwegian PEN Vestland and LitFestBergen invite you to write a message to imprisoned and persecuted authors, journalists and bloggers worldwide. The cards are made by PEN members and ICORN writers in Norway. Opening hours for the post card campaign: Friday 6 February 15.00–17.00 Saturday 7…
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:00 - 15:45
- Location:
- Auditoriet
DN Interview: Christian Ringnes’s Rich Life
with Christian Ringnes and Jorun Sofie Fallmo Aartun
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:00 - 15:45
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
What is home?
with Yohan Shanmugaratnam and Rima Iraki
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:15 - 17:15
- Location:
- Auditoriet
DN interview: The spies among us
with Shaun Walker and Simen Ekern
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:15 - 17:00
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Translators’ Seminar: Translating a Messiah
with Jan Henrik Swahn, Julia Aagenæs Wiedlocha and Agnes Banach
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:30 - 17:15
- Location:
- Alver
Life, Literature and Betrayal – Bergen Prison
with Eivind Riise Hauge
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:30 - 18:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Literary date
with Christian Ringnes, Erna Solberg and Solveig Kloppen
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:45 - 18:30
- Location:
- Alver
Couples Therapy: North / South Korea
with Song Byeok, Bora Chung and Morten Traavik
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:45 - 18:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
DN Interview: In Her Father’s Shadow
with Marte Michelet and Simen Ekern
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:00 - 20:00
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Decolonizing Literature
with Tsitsi Dangarembga, Wanjiru Koinange and Afua Hirsch
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:00 - 20:00
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Palestine – History, Fleeing, Land
with Rima Iraki and Frode Bjerkestrand
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:15 - 20:00
- Location:
- Alver
Writing from a Country in the Shadows
with Gunel Movlud and Amund Trellevik
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:15 - 21:00
- Location:
- Alver
Trauma Game: Jewish Children at Summer Camp
with Eduardo Halfon and Daniel Medin
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:15 - 21:00
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
The Authors of the Future
with Sivert Nesbø
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:30 - 21:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
The Story of Dad
with Kjartan Brügger Bjånesøy, Marte Michelet, Hildegunn Dale and Hjørdis Losnedal
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 21:15 - 22:00
- Location:
- Alver
Translators’ Seminar: Taube in Translation
with Johannes Refsdal
- Date:
- 06.02.2026
- Time:
- 21:30 - 23:00
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Norwegian Slam Poetry Championship
with Henrikke Meidell
Saturday 7 February 2026
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:00 - 11:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
Reading Banned Books Aloud (Saturday)
with LitFestBergen's International Book Club
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:30 - 12:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Eve, the First Betrayer?
with Pedro Carmona-Alvarez, Anne Katrine Bang and Preben Jordal
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:30 - 12:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
How is a Literary Prize Decided?
with Fred Studemann, Daniel Medin, Cristina Fuentes la Roche and Kjersti Løken Stavrum.
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:00 - 15:00
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
PEN Postcard Campaign - Saturday
Norwegian PEN Vestland and LitFestBergen invite you to write a message to imprisoned and persecuted authors, journalists and bloggers worldwide. The cards are made by PEN members and ICORN writers in Norway. Opening hours for the post card campaign: Friday 6 February 15.00–17.00 Saturday 7…
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:00 - 13:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
City Walk: In the Footsteps of Jon Fosse
with Margunn Vikingstad
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:00 - 12:45
- Location:
- Alver
Listen in: Young Voices on the Freedom to Read
Schools and libraries across the United States have faced a wave of book bans, affecting hundreds of titles about race, gender, sexuality, and identity – stories in which young people see themselves and others. This evening, students from United World College (UWC) and members of Norsk PEN’s Young…
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:30 - 12:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
How to win a literary prize
with Vónbjørt Vang, Dyondzo Kwinika and Kjersti Løken Stavrum
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 13:00 - 13:30
- Location:
- Alver
Treacherous Literary Characters: “The Spotless One”
with Jan H. Landro
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 13:45 - 14:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
A Betrayal of the Welfare State?
with Tue Andersen Nexø, Christine Hamm, Ola Morris Innset and Eirik Vassenden
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 14:00 - 14:30
- Location:
- Alver
Korean Feminism
with Bora Chung
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 14:15 - 15:15
- Location:
- Auditoriet
The World on Saturday: Is Norway Ready for War?
with Eirik Kristoffersen, Unni Eikeseth and Kjersti Løken Stavrum
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:00 - 15:45
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Espionage, Betrayal, and Family Secrets
with Shaun Walker
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:30 - 16:00
- Location:
- Alver
From Writing to Content Creation: Integrity at Stake?
with Silje Bekeng-Flemmen
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 15:45 - 17:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
How to Build a Library (documentary film)
In 2017, Wanjiru Koinange and Angela Wachuka decided to restore and restock the dilapidated McMillan Memorial Library, once a whites-only library built by the British colonizers in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. Publisher Angela Wachuka and author Wanjiru Koinange face the task with great energy and…
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:15 - 17:15
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Satire Under Pressure
with Song Byeok, Siri Dokken and Ignacia Godoy
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:30 - 17:15
- Location:
- Alver
Murder and Mystery in Láŋtdievvá
with Sigbjørn Skåden and Katarina Dorothea Isaksen
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:30 - 18:15
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
What Does it Mean to Be Good? (SOLD OUT)
with Vigdis Hjorth and Olaug Nilssen
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:30 - 18:15
- Location:
- Alver
Prosalong: Is Weapons’ Research Unethical?
with Unni Eikeseth and Hege Cathrine Finholt
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:45 - 18:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Whose Stories Should We Tell?
with Wanjiru Koinange and James Lamont
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:45 - 19:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
A Special Kind of Love
with Hanne Ørstavik and Margunn Vikingstad
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 18:45 - 19:30
- Location:
- Alver
The Liberation of a Woman and a Country
with Tsitsi Dangarembga and Kari Jegerstedt
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:00 - 19:45
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Novels: Distortions of History and the Present (CANCELLED)
with Christian Kracht and Wolfgang Hottner
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 19:45 - 20:45
- Location:
- Alver
“Save the Whale, Screw the Shrimp”: A Conversation with Joy Williams
with Joy Williams, Gunnhild Øyehaug and Julia Aagenæs Wiedlocha
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:15 - 21:45
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Poetic Punkgala
with Eira Søyseth, Vónbjørt Vang, Gunel Movlud, Thalente Ndlovu, Mette Moestrup, Abduweli Ayup, Mirigul Mosa, Hildegunn Dale and Michael Opara
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 20:30 - 21:30
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Death – a Betrayal?
with Solveig Kloppen, Kjartan Brügger Bjånesøy and Eduardo "Doddo" Andersen
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 21:00 - 21:45
- Location:
- Alver
Feminist Horror
with Bora Chung and Vibeke Koehler
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 22:00 - 23:00
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Writing Desire
with April Alexandersdottir, Vigdis Hjorth and Selma Lønning Aarø
- Date:
- 07.02.2026
- Time:
- 22:00 - 22:30
- Location:
- Alver
Treacherous Literary Characters: Victor Frankenstein
with Vónbjørt Vang
Sunday 8 February 2026
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 10:00 - 11:00
- Location:
- Alver
LitFestMini/Little Sunday: Magic Wand Workshop
with Silje Bekeng-Flemmen
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:00 - 11:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
Reading Banned Books Aloud (Sunday)
with LitFestBergen's International Book Club
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:15 - 11:45
- Location:
- Alver
LitFestMini/Little Sunday: Children’s World History
with Erna Osland and Victoria Sandøy
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:00 - 13:30
- Location:
- Boksalongen/Fossestova
City Walk Through Literary Bergen
with Henning Bergsvåg
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:30 - 14:00
- Location:
- Auditoriet
The Librarians (documentary film)
with Andreas Hatlevik and Norwegian PEN
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 12:30 - 13:15
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Care, Betrayal and What Shapes Us
with Sandra Lillebø and Olaug Nilssen
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 13:30 - 14:15
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Life, Literature and Betrayal – Kirkens Bymisjon
with Vibeke Koehler
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 13:45 - 14:15
- Location:
- Alver
Listening Post 2: Joy Williams
with Joy Williams
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 14:30 - 15:15
- Location:
- Auditoriet
Banned Books in the United States and Norway
with Siv Christine Bjørang Jørstad, school librarian, Julie Andersland, library manager at Bergen Public Library, Ine Marie Kørra, Andreas Hatlevik,and Norwegian PEN
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 14:45 - 15:30
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Translators’ Seminar: The Second Life of Books
with Lea Ypi, Joy Williams and Julia Aagenæs Wiedlocha
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:15 - 17:00
- Location:
- Auditoriet
When Fact Meets Fiction. Conversation With Lea Ypi
with Lea Ypi and Frøy Gudbrandsen
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 16:15 - 16:45
- Location:
- Olav H. Hauge
Treacherous Literary Characters: Brutus, Cassius, Iago and Peer Gynt
with Frode Helmich Pedersen
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 17:30 - 19:00
- Location:
Closing Event for LitFestBergen 2026: Dylan’s Many Betrayals
with Pedro Carmona-Alvarez
LitFest MINI
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 11:15 - 11:45
- Location:
- Alver
LitFestMini/Little Sunday: Children’s World History
with Erna Osland and Victoria Sandøy
- Date:
- 08.02.2026
- Time:
- 10:00 - 11:00
- Location:
- Alver
LitFestMini/Little Sunday: Magic Wand Workshop
with Silje Bekeng-Flemmen