186 Norwegian book titles for children and youth were sold abroad in 2012, which made it a record year for number of exported titles.
Several Norwegian publishers report a high increase in sales the past few years, and say that Norwegian children's books have become popular exports.
Although classics such as Karius and Baktus by Torbjørn Egner are still on the top of the list, new titles are also making themselves known on the international market.
Several Norwegian picture books have also won prestigious international awards, such as Garmanns sommer by Stian Hole, which received the Children's Book of the Year award in the U.S. in 2009.
"Most of our sales are to the Nordic countries, but Germany, France and South-Korea are also important markets to us," says Kristin Weholt from Cappelen Damm publishing house.
Hakon Kolmannskog, publishing chief at Samlaget publishing house, says that quality is what sells abroad. "Norwegian books for children and youth have a very high quality. We can see that we have been rewarded for investing in good books for children and youth over a long period of time," Kolmannskog explains.
(NRK)
Julie Ryland
