Dutch author
Guus Kuijer (Dutch pronunciation: [ɣys ˈkœyər]; born 1 August 1942) is a Dutch author.[1] He wrote books for children and adults, and is best known for the Madelief series of children's books.[2] For his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" he won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2012, the biggest prize in children's literature.[3][4] As a children's writer he was one of five finalists for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2008.[5]
Early life
Guus Kuijer is born on 1 August 1942 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[6] His parents were members of the Catholic Apostolic Church, but in 2006 Kuijer explained that he doesn't remember ever believing in God.[7]
He studied at the kweekschool in Doetinchem to become a teacher. From 1967 to 1973 he was a primary school teacher.[6]
Writing career
In 1968 he started writing short stories for the magazine Hollands Maandblad and in 1971 he published a collection of his short stories. In 1973 he stopped teaching in order to become a full-time writer and this year he published his first novel Het dochtertje van de wasvrouw.[6]
In 1975 he published his first children's book Met de poppen gooien, for which he received a Gouden Griffel in 1976. This book was the first of five books about a girl named Madelief (lit. Daisy).[6]
Stage & screen adaptations
Years later, a television series Madelief (1994) and movie Scratches in the Table (1998) were made of his book series about Madelief (1975–1979). Of his book series Polleke (1999–2001) a movie Polleke (2003) and a television series Polleke (2005) were made.
In 2011 Australian Richard Tulloch translated The Book of Everything into English and adapted it into a very successful play produced in 2013 by the Melbourne Theatre Company.
List of Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winners
Authority control databases
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