Christine Nöstlinger
Her books are bestsellers across continental Europe. Sabine Fuchs explains why Christine Nöstlinger deserved to win the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize and what English-language readers are missing out on.

In June this year, the inaugural Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize was awarded jointly to American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak (Where the wild things are) and Christine Nöstlinger, Austria's best-loved writer of children's books. On awarding Christine Nöstlinger her share of the five million kroner (£370 500) prize, the jury remarked that she was a 'truly anti-authoritarian children's writer of the calibre of Astrid Lindgren', praising her for her 'diversified and highly committed authorship' characterised by 'disrespectful humour, clear-sighted solemnity and quiet warmth'. From stories about the everyday lives of children to fantastic tales about flying cats and talking cucumbers, Christine Nöstlinger's books are loved by children (and adults) the world over. But her stories can also be found beyond the printed page, on radio and television.

Christine Nöstlinger was born on 13 October 1936 in Vienna. The author's success story began with her sketches of a plump little girl with flame-coloured hair. Soon Christine Nöstlinger came up with an imaginative story for her character, in which the illustrator-turned-author speaks up for the redheaded outsider. Die feuerrote Friederike ('Fiery Frederica') was published in 1970 by Jugend und Volk Verlag, and was immediately praised for its fresh themes and unsentimental tone. The book's illustrations met with rather less enthusiasm, leading Nöstlinger to focus on writing. She went on to become a bestselling author, but stresses that she never 'set out' to become a writer. Instead she emphasises the pleasure that she derives from the 'handicraft' of writing - a pleasure that is evident in her neat turns of phrase, expressive neologisms and rich use of language. In describing herself as a 'hack' and her writing as 'handicraft', she modestly implies that her books are not worthy of academic or critical attention. She claims that she's a lazy person who could happily live without writing, but this seems hard to believe: in the past thirty years she has published well over one hundred books and countless newspaper articles. Her output includes picture books, novels for children and young people, poems for adults and children, cookbooks, self-help books and collections of photography. But she must have filled at least as many pages again with her weekly columns and daily articles, not to mention the scripts she writes for TV dramas and series, and the literary reviews she pens for the radio.

As a 'one-woman word-factory' Christine Nöstlinger sticks to her winning formula, continuing to keep her readers entertained with humorous stories about unusual characters. Yet, remarkably, each new book meets the same high standards, and it is this that has won her a devoted readership and critical acclaim. Some of her books such as Wir pfeifen auf den Gurkenkönig (published in English as The Cucumber King) now number among the classics of children's literature. But Nöstlinger's extraordinary success is also demonstrated by the numerous adaptations and translations of her work. Her books have been turned into films, plays, TV-dramas and audio-cassettes, and some of her titles have been published in ten or more languages. The foreign-language version of her books include award-winning editions, such as Anthea Bell's translations of Der Hund kommt! (A Dog's Life) and Konrad oder das Kind aus der Konservenbüchse (Conrad the Factory-Made Boy).

But Christine Nöstlinger's success originates in the power of her stories, which are closely observed, linguistically playful and wonderfully imaginative. She writes about the things she knows, which is why her characters are always recognisably Austrian, whether they are imaginary beings or real-life heroes. Her books feature mothers struggling to emancipate themselves, fathers adjusting to their new roles, young people protesting against authority, and articulate and persuasive children. She writes about the real world, and her social concern is apparent. As she explains, her stories are 'stories to make you laugh or cry, to help you get to know the world you live in'. They express 'something that you're already feeling, but can't put into words'. Nöstlinger tells of women and girls trying to break out of their traditional roles and of children struggling to make their needs heard. In Sowieso und überhaupt ('Obviously and Anyway') she explains with warm humour how divorce can sometimes be a good thing, if it extends your family circle. And in Bonsai she uses literary allusions and great wit to explore the difficulties experienced by boys in finding out what it means to be male.

In her fantasy stories, Christine Nöstlinger skilfully caricatures the society we live in, pushing situations to extremes and making them amusing for both adults and children. In The Cucumber King she satirises the authoritarianism of some fathers, while in Conrad the Factory-made Boy she pokes fun at the desire to raise perfect children. In fact, Christine Nöstlinger has much in common with the British writer Edith Nesbit, who also described the realities of childhood in imaginative and humorous ways. In Nöstlinger's stories there is no sign of the escapism that generally characterises fantasy literature. Her social concern is particularly apparent in Hugo, das Kind in den besten Jahren ('Hugo: A Child in the Prime of Life'). In this multilayered story, the author speaks up for children, defending their rights and condemning discrimination, while all the time letting her imagination run riot. Christine Nöstlinger and Hugo call for action: '"You're just being lazy', yelled Hugo. 'You don't really want to change anything! You have to take action whenever you can! Dreaming won't get you anywhere!"'

Christine Nöstlinger is determined to change things wherever she can, using her texts to champion the rights of children. She has a wonderful sense of humour and a gift for unusual wordplay. Her anti-authoritarian stories are read and loved by children all over the world and would surely appeal to English-language readers. But the few stories that were published in English are mostly out of print, and much of her recent work hasn't been translated.

Dr. Sabine Fuchs is a member of the steering committee of the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendliteraturforschung (Austrian Society for the Study of Children's Literature). She is the author of a monograph on Christine Nöstlinger (Dachs Verlag, 2001) and has recently co-edited a volume of essays about Nöstlinger's work.