On November 30, 2024, Swedish publisher Johannes Holmqvist returns to Stockholm with around a hundred Quebec books in his suitcases, following his visit to the Montreal Book Fair. His publishing house, Tranan, whose name means “crane bird” in Swedish, specializes in the translation of literary fiction from around the world. He is one of ten editorial rights representatives invited to Montreal to do prospecting for the Gothenburg Book Fair. In 2026, this second city in Sweden, which is characterized by its granite rocks and Dutch-style canals, will receive a delegation of Quebec writers.
If language appears to be a barrier to networking between Quebec and Sweden, the two cultures nevertheless have a lot in common, notes Johannes Holmqvist: “The vast landscape, the climate, the Nordicness, the small remote villages are common themes in literature Quebec and Swedish. There is also the relationship with the natives which brings together the two cultures. In our country, there is an indigenous people called the Sami, who are at the heart of our literature. » Of the hundred books he brings back with him, the publisher will have to make the difficult choice of retaining only one or two likely to be translated into Swedish. A selection all the more difficult, he adds, as “Quebec literature seems to be in a very good period”.
To prepare for a fair like the one in Gothenburg, steps are taken almost four years in advance. Élodie Comtois, president of Québec édition, explains that the objective was to have as many local books translated into Swedish in preparation for this event. His travels and discussions with Scandinavian citizens allow him to identify several similarities between the two cultures: “Of course, Nordicity and the relationship with the First Nations, but also social and political values, notably feminism. Another parallel to make: the importance of libraries and early childhood. »
Among the few writers who have been able to penetrate the Scandinavian market are Lise Tremblay, Christian Guay-Poliquin, Biz and Kim Thúy, whose works have been translated into Swedish. In an interview, the general director of La Peuplade editions, Simon Philippe Turcot, explains that it is not easy for local authors to break into this market. However, he observes that relations between the two regions are slowly being established. La Peuplade has published several fictions from the North since 2017, as many works that the house discovered thanks to exploration trips financed by fellowships and invitations from Sweden, Iceland and Denmark.
A precious ambassador
It happens that individuals alone do a colossal job of promoting Quebec culture abroad. Françoise Sule is one of these ambassadors who promote local writers in northern Europe. The translator of French origin, who has lived in Sweden for around forty years, has devoted a large part of her career to developing Quebec studies networks around the world, in parallel with her teaching activities: “We We invited around forty Quebec authors, she explains. To teachers and students of French in Sweden, Finland and Estonia, we offered training sessions based on the book series Do you know Quebec? (Robert Laliberté and Aleksandra Grzybowska, PUQ, 2014). In 2013, we established the AIEQ Sweden/Estonia/Catalonia High School Students’ Literary Prize, an extension outside Quebec of the College Students’ Literary Prize. »
At the invitation of the professor, the poet Andréane Frenette-Vallières (You will choose the mountainsLe Noroît, 2022) went to Stockholm to give a conference on Nordicity, while Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay (The daughter of herselfMarchand de Feuilles, 2021) was received at the Canadian Embassy in Sweden. Larry Tremblay participated in story time by videoconference with his children’s album Snowblower (D’Eux, 2023). Françoise Sule is delighted with the enthusiasm surrounding Quebec literature, but is saddened by the difficulty in obtaining books: “Quebec literature seduces, interests, captivates the Swedish reader by its anchoring in the imagination of the North, its openness to the world, and the way in which she questions it. It is perceived as a less navel-gazing literature. Migrant literature is fascinating, as Sweden reflects on the evolution of its society. A practical problem: how to obtain books easily without paying a fortune in taxes? »
During her career, Françoise Sule worked closely with the International Association of Quebec Studies (AIEQ), an organization essential to the influence of Quebec culture internationally. The same goes for the Quebec Edition committee of the National Association of Book Publishers, which also plays a crucial role in building relations between Sweden and Canada. This committee notably manages the Rendez-vous program as part of the Montreal Book Fair, which welcomes foreign publishing houses wishing to meet their Quebec and Franco-Canadian counterparts.
Tours and residencies
If the 2026 Gothenburg Book Fair heralds a turning point in the Canada-Sweden relationship, the links between the two countries are not new. The anthropologist and poet Roseline Lambert, who has made numerous research trips to Scandinavia, remembers a tour of Quebec poets organized in 2015 by Gaston Bellemare. The Quebec delegation brought together many authors, she says, such as “Carole David, Véronique Cyr, Jean-Marc Desgent and Jean-Sébastien Larouche. They were accompanied by all Quebec diplomacy.”
Let us also mention the partnership between UNESCO creative cities, which allows authors residing in Quebec City to compete for writing residencies in several countries, notably in Sweden. Thanks to this program, author Vanessa Bell was able to stay last November at Scenstudion Gerlesborg, located in the city of Hamburgsund, Sweden, to begin writing her fifth book. The writer, who has been holding writing residencies for ten years, observes the benefits generated by such a stay, which provokes “very fruitful encounters”, while “decentralizing meeting networks”. A work created in partnership with other international artists will travel around the world, notably to London and Quebec, before returning to the Gothenburg Fair.
After several collections of poetry, Vanessa Bell is working on writing her first novel. She observes that it is more difficult for poets to be translated abroad. However, she is delighted to have met two translators during her residency who were interested in the novel project she is currently completing — clear proof, to say the least, that these stays are useful for the development of a network. In addition to offering writers a room of their own, these residencies also act as an incubator for professional and friendly relationships.
