Reiselitteraturfestivalen

– a festival for everyone who loves travelling and reading

Welcome to Norway’s first travel literature festival! There are festivals dedicated to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, crime writing, and literature for children and young adults. But until now, there has been no festival putting travel writing centre stage. We want to change that.

Why a travel literature festival?

Firstly, several of our finest writers have written travel books. Nobel laureates such as Knut Hamsun and Sigrid Undset are among those who have explored the genre. In our own time, writers such as Åsne Seierstad and Erika Fatland have shown that engaging accounts of foreign lands can reach a wide readership.

Secondly, the world is changing rapidly. New mental and physical walls are going up. There is talk of a new world order. That is why we are especially keen to champion books and writers that seek to open up the world and help us make sense of it. At our small but borderless festival, you will meet several writers doing just that. Our programme ranges from encounters with the compelling African travel writers Noo Saro-Wiwa and Tété-Michel Kpomassie to onstage conversations with Norwegian newcomers to the genre.

You will also meet Britain’s Karl Bushby, who has recently gone viral with a story that began long before social media. In 1998, he set off from Chile to walk all the way home to England. Almost three decades later, his journey has taken him across continents, through closed borders, harsh winters and years of delays. Now the adventurer and author is coming to Cosmopolite for an exclusive interview with Christian Kjelstrup.

Alongside the literary programme, there will also be:

• A book oasis with books for sale and author signings
• Food from around the world
• Short musical performances
• A rare reunion with Sigrid Undset and Knut Hamsun
• A DJ and an afterparty

The Travel Literature Festival is a collaboration between Christian Kjelstrup and Cosmopolite Scene. Kjelstrup is Programme Director of the Norwegian Festival of Literature in Lillehammer and is known for his pop-up bookshops and numerous literary events. For 35 years, Cosmopolite has brought music from every corner of the world to Oslo. Now we are doing the same with literature!

We hope you will make the journey to Cosmopolite on 21 November and join us in celebrating our diverse world – with books as our guide.

PROGRAMME

On Saturday, November 21, we welcome you to the Travel Literature Festival at Cosmopolite! The full programme is now ready, and we look forward to a day filled with fascinating conversations, stories from around the world, and live musical performances.

Doors open at 13:00, and the programme begins at 14:00. Here is the full schedule for the day.

13:00 – DOORS OPEN

Guests can find their seats, explore the book oasis in the smaller hall, and enjoy food from various vendors and drinks from the bar.

14:00 – OPENING

Cosmopolite and Christian Kjelstrup welcome everyone to the festival.

14:10 – NEW DIRECTIONS IN TRAVEL LITERATURE?

A conversation with Arne Melberg and Asbjørn Øverås. Melberg is a professor of literary studies and the author of Å reise og skrive (To Travel and Write), a book exploring travel writing as a literary genre. Øverås was for many years the editor of Aschehoug's series of international travel narratives, SPOR. Together, they will discuss the future directions of travel literature, a genre that exists at the intersection of non-fiction and fiction.

14:40 – A MEETING OF NORWEGIAN LITERARY GIANTS

Åsne Seierstad, Erika Fatland, and Morten Strøksnes are three of Norway's most prominent contemporary authors and travel writers. In 2025, Seierstad published her major work on Russia, Ufred, for which she received several literary awards. This year, Fatland has published Ukraina. En vinterreise (Ukraine: A Winter Journey), while Strøksnes has released Elementærpartikler. Vest for Kola, øst for Varanger (Elementary Particles: West of Kola, East of Varanger).

The three authors come together for a rare conversation to share their experiences. Why do they write travel literature? How do they approach their books? And why are all three so strongly drawn to the former Soviet Union?

15:40 – Musical performance

15:45 – BREAK

16:10 – IN THE SHADOW OF THE THREE GIANTS

What is happening beyond the biggest names in Norwegian travel literature? Karen Røise Kielland and Torolf E. Kroglund have each, in their own way, reinvented the genre of travel writing in recent years.

In books such as Reise med ål. En omvei hjem (Travelling with Eels: A Detour Home) and Eplet. En reise i Edens hager (The Apple: A Journey Through the Gardens of Eden), Kroglund places a single natural or cultural phenomenon at the centre of his journeys.

Kielland, meanwhile, has written a highly experimental travel narrative with Å gå med Kølle (Walking with Kølle), a work that approaches literary fiction and is supplemented by encyclopaedic articles and illustrations by British visual artist Tom Mason.

16:50 – EXTREME ADVENTURES AND FROZEN EXPLORERS

A conversation with Jørgen Alnæs and Erling Kagge.

Alnæs is the author of I eventyret (Into Adventure), a book about Norwegian polar explorers and adventurers, including Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Thor Heyerdahl, and Erling Kagge himself.

Kagge, an adventurer, publisher, and author, has written several books about his expeditions to the South and North Poles.

How have Norway's extraordinary accounts of polar exploration shaped the country's national identity and understanding of itself?

17:20 – BREAK

17:40 – TWO REFUGEES SHARE THEIR STORIES

Travel writers often seek out dramatic experiences. Others find themselves forced into journeys they wish had been far less dramatic.

In this session, we meet two Norwegians with refugee backgrounds from different parts of the world. They will share their experiences of incredibly challenging journeys across land and sea, through deserts and war zones, and what it means to arrive in a new country and make it home.

More information to follow.

18:15 – THE WORLD'S MOST EXTREME JOURNEY?

In 1998, British adventurer Karl Bushby left his home to embark on an extraordinary journey on foot.

He has travelled from Chile in South America to Alaska, crossed the Bering Strait, and continued westward across Eurasia. In October this year, he returned to England after swimming across the English Channel from France.

Bushby's story has gone viral, and he now joins us at the Travel Literature Festival to share the remarkable story of his expedition.

What does such a journey do to a person? And is there something we can all learn from Karl Bushby?

19:00 – BREAK

19:25 – Musical performance

19:30 – A MEETING OF AFRICAN LITERARY GIANTS

At the age of sixteen, Tété-Michel Kpomassie left his childhood home in Togo with one destination in mind: Greenland. His journey resulted in the remarkable and award-winning book An African in Greenland.

Nigerian author Noo Saro-Wiwa belongs to a younger generation of African travel writers. Her books, exploring journeys through her home country and the lives of Africans in China, have been praised as groundbreaking. Condé Nast Traveller has named her one of the "30 most influential female travellers of all time."

We conclude the main programme with a fascinating conversation: What defines travel writing from an African perspective?

20:15 – BREAK AND PREPARATIONS FOR GLOBE BINGO

20:30 – GUNNAR'S GLOBE

Gunnar Garfors is a travel writer and host of the podcast Globusrulett. He is also the first person to have visited all 198 countries in the world – twice!

This evening features a conversation and a mini quiz, as Gunnar shares stories from his extraordinary travels. There will also be exciting prizes for the winners!

21:30 – DJ SIMON ALEJANDRO AND AFTERPARTY AT BAR SOUK

Simon Alejandro is a Bergen-based DJ who takes audiences on musical journeys through Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Blending genres such as baile funk, kwaito, raï, and champeta, he creates energetic, boundary-crossing DJ sets. He is also the founder of the cultural organisation Jungelen and the Jungelfest festival.

We look forward to welcoming you to Cosmopolite on November 21!

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The Travel Literature Festival has partnered with Fotefar Temareiser:

Fotefar Temareiser organises trips for people with an interest in history, literature and culture. Together with some of Norway’s leading experts and storytellers, who truly know their subjects, we take travellers to the countries and cities where great stories have unfolded.

Our expert guides include Erika Fatland, Terje Tvedt, Harald Stanghelle and Tore Skeie. They make every journey more than just a trip, ensuring that you return home with a fresh understanding and deeper knowledge of what you have experienced.

For us, a destination is never just a place on the map, but a doorway into a story. That makes a partnership with the Travel Literature Festival a natural fit for Fotefar. We share the same conviction: the best journeys begin with curiosity, and a good story can change the way we see the world.

https://www.fotefartemareiser.no/