thumb|right|The place in Hindenburg at which the house of Janosch's birth used to stand (now demolished)

Janosch (, born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931) is a German children's author and illustrator.

Biography

Janosch was born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931 in what was then Hindenburg (now Zabrze, Poland) in Upper Silesia to a family of mixed German and Polish origin, though he identifies his nationality as "Silesian". His mother was a pious Catholic, and his father a violent alcoholic. In 1953, he went to Munich, where he studied for some terms at the Academy of Arts, but broke off his studies eventually. Afterwards, he worked as a freelance artist. In 1960, his first book for children was published with George Lentz, a friend of his, and then relocated to the island of Tenerife, where he currently resides.

Awards

Among others, he has received the following awards:

  • 1975: Literaturpreis der Stadt München
  • 1993: Bundesverdienstkreuz
  • 1996: Morenhovener Lupe
  • 1999: Kulturpreis Schlesien des Landes Niedersachsen
  • 1999: Orden de Manuel Amador Guerrero
  • 2002: Bayerischer Poetentaler

Works

In German, Janosch published until today about 150 books which in part were translated into 30 languages.

  • Die Geschichte von Valek dem Pferd. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960.

References

  • Official Homepage
  • About Janosch

<!-- This should probably be in multiple subcategories of "German writers" rather than in the parent and one subcategory, but it's unclear from the article (as of 3 February 2006) which ones are appropriate. -->