Handbuch der österreichischen Kinder- und Jugendbuchautorinnen: A-K : Band 1: A–K

Abstract

This handbook is based on the project "Österreichische Kinder- und Jugendbuchautorinnen" (Austrian Women Writers of children's literature), which was defined as part of the project "biografiA. datenbank und lexikon österreichischer frauen" (database of austrian women, http://www.biografia.at), localised on the Institute for Science and Art in Vienna. In the years 1999 to 2002 more than 800 women writers could be described biographically. Among them are many women, who wrote only one single book for children, there are some illustrators who decided to write also the text for their books and there are also some wellknown writers for Children's books, like Christine Nöstlinger, Renate Welsh, Friederike Mayröcker and many others. There ist no time-limitation, so we have a good overlook of the whole production of children's literature in Austria. Austria means by that way to be born in this land or to live here for more than 10 years. Many of the living authors sendt their curriculum vitae and also many experts on this field helped to fill up the entries. But there are great differences between the portraits of the women, differences in the length of the articles, in the presenting details of the lifes and also differences in their way to live, in their political behaviour and so on. Many of the authors had to flee from austria during the time of nationalsocialism because of their jewish origin or their political background. Some of them are nearly forgotten. They were murdered or had to emigrate in a land with another language, the chance to be able to continue the writing career was very small. But we know some women who had the luck to continue the career. Alex Wedding is one of them, she founded with some other writers like Auguste Lazar the proletarian children's literature. Hertha Pauli is one of the women whose career began in her exile, she began to write books for children in the USA. The biographs can be read as a part of austrian culture, as a piece of our own history. It is the intention of this handbook to encourage scientists to study more about the austrian women-writers of children's books and to discuss their publications.