"The Traitor's Guide" sold to Germany

Traitor's guide to North Korea

Morten Traavik’s The Traitor’s Guide to North Korea has been sold in an hefty auction to Suhrkamp in Germany.

Dec 12, 2018

The editor at Suhrkamp, Franziska Berninger, had this to say about the book:

“I was instantly intrigued by the premise of the book: A man spending ten years of his life in North Korea, having a close, friendly relationship with his guide, then receiving a death threat – this is a unique story to be told by an extraordinary author.
Traavik is an author who writes about a timely, pressing topic from a unique point of view, he adresses a younger readership as well as older readers and his writing his informative, to the point, at times brilliantly funny and heartbreakingly sad. He walkes on the thin line – as an artist in North Korea as well as in his writing – of portraying the absolute absurd and endangering his own life.
The combination of his pictures (images we all haven’t seen before in this insight and quality), historical, cultural and political facts, personal anecdotes but most of all his letter to Mr. Win make Forræderens guide til Nord-Korea a book we all could not put down, a book that unites a unique combination of features that makes it appealing to a very wide, broad audience: It is insightful, it is edgy, highly important and deeply original. In short, we are all convinced that Forræderens guide til Nord-Korea is the perfect addition for Suhrkamp.”

Huge congratulations to Morten and Suhrkamp!

News

Northern Stories named a Gazelle Company for the second year in a row

Nov 5, 2025

Norway’s largest independent literary agency, Northern Stories, has been named a Gazelle Company by Dagens Næringsliv for the second consecutive year. In 2024, the agency grew its turnover from NOK 10.2 to 15.8 million – an increase of more than 50 percent, marking yet another record year.

Agnes Ravatn’s Doggerland nominated for the 2025 Booksellers’ Award

Oct 29, 2025

We’re delighted to share that Agnes Ravatn has been nominated for the Booksellers’ Award 2025 for her brilliant new novel Doggerland. Her novel is also already sold to Poland, and in World English.

Frode Helland nominated for the Brage Prize 2025

Oct 29, 2025

We’re proud to announce that Frode Helland has been nominated for this year’s Brage Prize for Nonfiction, Norway’s most prestigious literary award, for his extraordinary book Holocaust – A history told by the victims. This is a deeply moving and illuminating contribution to our understanding of one of history’s darkest chapters.

Dilani Vamapahan joins Northern Stories

Sep 4, 2025

Northern Stories has hired Dilani Vamapahan as a literary agent. She was chosen from a pool of 175 applicants.

Kristofer Hivju Lands Leading role in Sogn Murders

Aug 13, 2025

“A great honour,” says Kristofer Hivju about playing police investigator Ole Vik in the crime series Sogn Murders. The TV2 series is based on Jørgen Jæger’s bestselling books, and filming started this week in Sogn.