Christine Nöstlinger
Encyclopedia
Christine Nöstlinger is an Austria
n writer.
By her own admission, Nöstlinger was a wild and angry child. After finishing high school, she wanted to become an art
ist, and studied graphic arts
at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. She worked as a graphic artist for a few years, before marrying a journalist
, Ernst Nöstlinger, with whom she had two daughters. Today she alternates between her home in Vienna and a country house in Lower Austria
.
The majority of Nöstlinger's production is literature for children
and for young people, and she also writes for television
, radio
and newspaper
s. She centres on the needs of children in her work, with an anti-authoritarian bent. She does not shy away from tackling difficult subjects like racism
, discrimination
and self-isolation.
Her first book was Die feuerrote Friederike, published in 1970, which she illustrated herself. The book was published in English
in 1975 as Fiery Frederica.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n writer.
By her own admission, Nöstlinger was a wild and angry child. After finishing high school, she wanted to become an art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
ist, and studied graphic arts
Graphic arts
A type of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of art forms. Graphic art is typically two-dimensional and includes calligraphy, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, lithography, typography, serigraphy , and bindery. Graphic art also consists of drawn plans and layouts for interior...
at the Academy of Applied Arts in Vienna. She worked as a graphic artist for a few years, before marrying a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, Ernst Nöstlinger, with whom she had two daughters. Today she alternates between her home in Vienna and a country house in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
.
The majority of Nöstlinger's production is literature for children
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and for young people, and she also writes for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s. She centres on the needs of children in her work, with an anti-authoritarian bent. She does not shy away from tackling difficult subjects like racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
and self-isolation.
Her first book was Die feuerrote Friederike, published in 1970, which she illustrated herself. The book was published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in 1975 as Fiery Frederica.
Awards and recognition
- Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
(German Youth Literature Prize) 1973, 1988 - Friedrich Bödecker Prize 1972
- Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis der Stadt Wien (Viennese Youth Literature Prize) (five-time winner)
- Österreichischer Staatspreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur (Austrian Youth Literature Prize) 1974, 1979
- Hans Christian Andersen AwardHans Christian Andersen AwardThe Hans Christian Andersen Award, sometimes known as the "Nobel Prize for children's literature", is an international award given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature"...
1984 - Tolereis des österreichischen Buchhandels für Toleranz in Denken und Handeln 1998
- Zürcher Kinderbuchpreis "La vache qui lit" (Zurich Youth Literature Prize) 1990
- Erster Preis der Stiftung Buchkunst 1993
- The inaugural Marsh Award for Children's Literature in TranslationMarsh Award for Children's Literature in TranslationThe Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation is a literary prize awarded in the United Kingdom since 1996 to the translator of an outstanding work of fiction for young readers translated into English....
for Der Hund kommt! (English: A Dog's Life, translated by Anthea BellAnthea BellAnthea Bell OBE is a British translator who has translated numerous literary works, especially children's literature, from French, German, Danish and Polish to English...
) 1996 - Wildweibchenpreis 2002
- Astrid Lindgren Memorial AwardAstrid Lindgren Memorial AwardThe Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an international children's literature award, established by the Swedish government in 2002 in honour of the Swedish children's books writer Astrid Lindgren...
2003
External links
- Christine Nöstlinger (in GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
)