A NORTH-EAST author’s tales of oil rig workers and a friendly seal are to be heard in Norway thanks to a European networking organisation.

Teesside University is the lead partner in the Enterprise Europe Network North East and was able to use its network of contacts to find a Norwegian translator and publisher for Peter Brunton’s series of children’s stories about Sally the Oil Rig Seal.

Peter a former oil rig worker, originally wrote the stories in the early Nineties about a seal which regularly visited the rig he was stationed on based in the North Sea off Aberdeen.

When he retired from working on the oil rigs in 2009 he decided to publish the two books, ‘Sally the Oil Rig Seal’ and ‘Sally to the Rescue’, which quickly became extremely popular in Middlesbrough and the surrounding area, selling out quickly.

Peter thought that the books would also be popular in Norway, particularly in Stavanger, and so turned to EEN for help.

“It struck me that there was probably a market for the stories in Norway as so many of the experiences would be the same.”

Michael Gilkes, Project Manager for EEN North East, contacted his EEN colleague Kristiane Lindland, a business advisor based at the International Research Institute of Stavanger, who, in turn, was able to recommend Elizabeth Bogstad, a translator.

The books have now been translated into Norwegian with Sally being recast as ‘Plattformselen Selma’.

In addition, Peter is also in talks with a Norwegian publisher about getting the books distributed in Norway.

He has just finished writing a third book, ‘Sally and her Pups’, which he also plans to get translated into Norwegian.

Enterprise Europe Network is co-financed through a European Union funding initiative.