Shared Stories

What Shared Stories does

Shared Stories Rights Agency is a privately held Dutch literary rights agency founded in 2013 and headquartered at Herculesplein 96 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The company represents the translation, film, and stage rights of ten Dutch publishing houses — Alfabet, AnkhHermes, Atlas Contact, De Fontein, Houtekiet, KokBoekencentrum, Kosmos, Luitingh-Sijthoff, Ten Have, and Zwartjes & Labović — offering international publishers and film/stage producers a single point of access to a catalog of more than 350 titles spanning Children's & YA (175 titles across Children's Fiction, Children's Non-Fiction, and Young Adult), Non-Fiction (175 titles), and Fiction (42 titles). The catalog includes award-winning properties such as Tut's Shadow (Thea Beckman Prize 2023), Game On (2023 Young Jury Award), Pebble (Silver Slate Pencil Award), and Jealous Apes, Frightened Dogs and Empathetic Rats (Austrian Children's Science Book of the Year 2025), as well as commercial series including the Sara Paletti line, Blinker (over 11,000 copies sold, three film adaptations), and Floris and Mister Tortellini (over 16,000 copies sold).

The business operates a sales-led, relationship-driven model. Rights are negotiated on a per-title basis with no public pricing, and the agency generates revenue through licensing commissions and royalties on closed translation, film, and stage deals. Distribution is anchored by recurring participation in the three most consequential international book fairs — Frankfurt, Bologna, and London — supplemented by published Rights Guides (Children's & YA and Adult) hosted on the company website and direct publisher-to-publisher negotiations. The agency also maintains a North American contact channel via a New York address (1942 Amsterdam Ave), supporting English-language rights outreach. There is no proprietary technology, no API, no mobile app, and no disclosed technology stack; the value proposition rests on editorial curation, established buyer relationships, and the aggregation effect of representing multiple Dutch houses simultaneously.

Shared Stories has operated continuously since 2013 without disclosed external funding, no recorded mergers or acquisitions, no leadership changes, and no subsidiaries. Its presence has been confirmed in at least five non-Dutch markets through completed rights deals (Germany, Austria, Korea, Turkey, China, USA), and it has entered into at least one co-branded content partnership with WWF on the Nutty for Nature title. The agency is privately held and operates as an independent intermediary within the European rights trade.

Name

Shared Stories

Legal name

Shared Stories Rights Agency

Website

https://sharedstories.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shared Stories is a Dutch literary rights agency that has represented translation, film, and stage rights for ten Dutch publishing houses since 2013, connecting international publishers and producers to a 350+ title catalog of children's, YA, fiction, and non-fiction works.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Rights Agency

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Subscription & Book Club Publishing (MPAJAFAO), Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB), Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE), Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAAAI)

Keywords

• Translation rights licensing
• Literary rights agency
• Publishing rights representation
• International rights brokering
• Book fair rights sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Rights licensing: Licensing translation, film, and stage rights for Dutch publishing houses to international publishers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Shared Stories is a Dutch literary rights agency that represents the translation, film, and stage rights for ten Dutch publishing houses. It licenses these rights to international publishers and film/stage producers, primarily through participation in major book fairs (Frankfurt, Bologna, London) and direct publisher relationships. The agency curates a catalog of more than 350 titles spanning children's books, YA, fiction, and non-fiction.

Product overview

Shared Stories is a Dutch literary rights agency established in 2013 that represents the translation, film, and stage rights for ten Dutch publishing houses (Alfabet, AnkhHermes, Atlas Contact, De Fontein, Houtekiet, KokBoekencentrum, Kosmos, Luitingh-Sijthoff, Ten Have, and Zwartjes & Labović). The company operates as a catalog-based platform showcasing children's & YA titles (divided into Children's Fiction, Children's Non-Fiction, and Young Adult subcategories), adult fiction and non-fiction titles, organized through Rights Guides. Featured products include notable titles like Green Heroes of the Animal Kingdom, the Sara Paletti series, Game On (2023 Young Jury Award winner), Tut's Shadow (Thea Beckman Prize 2023), and the Pebble (Silver Slate Pencil Award winner). The platform serves international publishers and rights buyers seeking Dutch literary content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Translation, Film and Stage Rights Representation Core service through which Shared Stories represents ten Dutch publishing houses (Alfabet, AnkhHermes, Atlas Contact, De Fontein, Houtekiet, KokBoekencentrum, Kosmos, Luitingh-Sijthoff, Ten Have, Zwartjes & Labović) and licenses their translation, film, and stage rights to international publishers, film producers, and stage producers.
• Rights Guides - Children's & YA Curated catalog rights guide of children's and young adult books available for international rights licensing, covering fiction, non-fiction, and illustrated works from represented Dutch publishers.
• Rights Guides - Adult Rights catalog of adult fiction and non-fiction titles available for international rights sales, covering literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, and lifestyle titles from represented Dutch publishers.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AlfabetcoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• AnkhHermescoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• Atlas ContactcoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• De FonteincoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• HoutekietcoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• KokBoekencentrumcoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• KosmoscoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• Luitingh-SijthoffcoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• Ten HavecoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• Zwartjes & LabovićcoreOthersDutch publishing house whose rights are represented by Shared Stories for translation, film and stage rights
• WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with WWF for Nutty for Nature book - a fun nature book helping children learn about environmental conservation

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pontas Literary & Film Agency: Barcelona-based literary and film rights agency representing authors internationally. Comparable in representing translation and film rights across European publishing markets.
• Erlanger Agency: Independent literary agency representing Dutch and international authors for translation and film rights. Comparable scope of translation and subsidiary rights representation.
• Marianne Schönbach Literary Agency: Dutch literary agency specializing in translation rights for Dutch and Flemish authors. Direct competitor in the same Dutch-to-international rights representation niche.
• Susijn Agency: Dutch literary agency specializing in children's book translation rights. Direct overlap with Shared Stories' Children's & YA focus and target buyer base.
• Mo Literary Services: Amsterdam-based literary agency handling translation rights for Dutch authors and publishers. Comparable mid-sized Dutch rights agency operating in international book fairs.
• Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency: Amsterdam-based literary agency also representing Dutch authors and publishers' translation rights internationally. Highly comparable as a Dutch rights intermediary serving international publishers.

Broad incumbents

• Lannoo Publishers: Major Belgian/Dutch publisher with international rights sales capabilities. Comparable as an established Dutch-language publisher with rights representation functions competing in the same buyer markets.
• Andrew Nurnberg Associates: One of the largest international literary agencies with offices across Europe and Asia. Comparable in handling translation and rights sales for multiple publishers internationally.
• VBK Editors / VBK International: Largest Dutch publishing group (including Atlas Contact, one of Shared Stories' clients). Operates in-house rights sales and represents a major incumbent in the same Dutch publishing rights space.

Others

• Bologna Children's Book Fair: The leading global children's publishing rights fair where Shared Stories and peers transact. Included as a key ecosystem venue rather than a direct competitor; representative of the channel infrastructure both agencies depend on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SharedStoriesNL
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharedstories.nl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shared-stories

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shared Stories