Kim Fupz Aakeson

Kim Fupz Aakeson, born in Copenhagen in 1958, works as an illustrator and author for a wide variety of genres. After graduating from high school in 1977, he traveled through Pakistan and Afghanistan with Tvinds Rejsende Højskole, a school that seeks to provide life experiences in developing countries. Once back in Copenhagen, he earned a living through various creative jobs: he played music, worked for a local radio station, and worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for Danish newspapers such as »Ugeavisen København« and »Politisk Revy«. In 1982, he published his first independent work: the comic strip »Gå løs på livet« (tr: Get Loose with Life). Two years later, he released his first children’s book, »Hvem vover at vække guderne?« (1984; tr: Who Dares to Wake the Gods?). The book tells the story of a community whose initial desire for a wall around their village seems to have been misplaced. Since then, Aakeson has published a number of other books in collaboration with internationally well-known Danish and Swedish illustrators who are known for their honesty and humor when it comes to addressing the big issues for children and young adults. He has earned much acclaim for his children’s book series about young Vitello and his adventures (e.g. »Vitello vil have en far« 2008; Eng. »Vitello Wants a Dad«, 2013). Notable Germanlanguage translations include »Ulla und Alles« (2000), which was nominated for the German Youth Literature Prize, »Radieschen von unten« (2011), in which a dead color is brought back to life as an undertaker, »Das Löwenmädchen« (2014), a story about childhood friendships, and most recently »Hugo und Hassan« (2020), about two inseparable boys who don’t hold back with each other or anyone else. In 1996, Aakeson completed an apprenticeship as a screenwriter at Danske Filmskole in Copenhagen and has since written numerous scripts for feature films, short films, radio shows, and plays. His greatest successes include the screenplays for the Danish films »Den eneste ene« (1999), »Okay« (2002), »Prague« (2006), and most recently »Astrid«, a Danish-Swedish film about Astrid Lindgren’s early years. The world premiere of the film was at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival in 2018. Aakeson’s numerous scripts and hundreds of children’s and young adult books make him one of the most productive and well-known writers in Denmark. He has received numerous awards for his literary and cinematic work, including the Bookstore Assistant Association children’s book award (1992), Gyldendal’s great children’s book award (2010), the Orla award (2014), and the children’s book award from the Danish Ministry of Culture (1990/2011). The author lives in Østerbro.