Dilani Vamapahan joins Northern Stories
Northern Stories has hired Dilani Vamapahan as a literary agent. She was chosen from a pool of 175 applicants.
Northern Stories increased its revenue from NOK 10.2 million to NOK 15.8 million in 2024 – and was simultaneously named a Gazelle Company by Dagens Næringsliv.
“We continue to grow in markets that remain challenging,” says founder Astrid Dalaker.
After eight years in operation, Northern Stories has solidified its position as Norway’s largest independent literary agency. 2024 was a record year with growth exceeding 50 percent.
“Being named a Gazelle Company is an important recognition. It shows that it’s possible to build both growth and profitability in the cultural sector, and that our way of working with our authors really works,” says Dalaker.
From Cannes to Netflix
Northern Stories takes a comprehensive approach to developing authorships across formats and platforms. In 2024, 62 new film and TV rights were sold, in addition to a wide range of book and theatre deals – both in Norway and internationally.
Dalaker and her colleague Mira Mack Omdahl are celebrating several hits and prestigious awards in the TV and film script arena: Most recently, A better man by Thomas Seeberg Torjussen won the Best TV Drama Award in Cannes. Harald Rosenløw Eeg is currently writing a medical drama for Netflix. Christopher Pahle has worked for several years on Kompani Lauritzen’s TV productions. Line Fougner Christensen and Terje Solli have written the script for NRK’s Hjerte til Hjerte.
Jørgen Jæger’s crime series about Ole Vik and Cecilie Hopen is being adapted for television in collaboration with Nordisk Film and TV 2. Filming begins this autumn.
New Powerful Names
On the literary side, 2024 has seen both major breakthroughs and new releases:
“Jørgen Jæger will launch Narrespill in September, and can simultaneously celebrate over 60 international rights sales. Thomas Reinertsen Berg will release a new book this fall, this time about space. Gaute Heivoll and Therese Tungen both have new novels coming out. Terje Bjøranger is following up his Riverton-nominated thriller series about Charlie Robertsen. Anne Elvedal, also a Riverton nominee, is releasing a brand-new book in a new genre,” says Mira Mack Omdahl.
Northern Stories currently represents 39 book authors and 17 screenwriters. During 2024, several new names have joined the agency, including screenwriters Mads Løken, Ingrid Haukelidsæter, Thomas Seeberg Torjussen, and Karianne Lund, as well as authors Connie Barr, Gaute Heivoll, Runa Sommerfelt, Une Cecilie Oksvold, Jacob Weinreich, and Kristin Gjesdal.
On Their Own Terms
“It’s a tremendous strength to work with so many distinct and established voices – while simultaneously building long-term authorship,” says Dalaker.
With growth from NOK 4.5 million in 2021 to NOK 15.8 million in 2024, and Gazelle status as a mark of sound operations, Northern Stories looks to the future with optimism.
“Even though we’ve made new investments and expanded to two full-time positions, we’re still able to deliver a small profit. We’re very pleased with that in such challenging times for the industry. We’re growing – but we’re doing it on our own terms: closely alongside the authors and with a focus on the great stories that deserve to travel far,” says Astrid Dalaker.
