Willi Fährmann

Willi Fährmann was born in Duisburg, Germany in 1929. After completing an apprenticeship as a bricklayer he completed secondary school at evening school and studied at the teachers colleges in Oberhausen and Münster and worked as a teacher, principal and school administrator as of 1953. He has been working exclusively as a writer since 1988.
His first book for young readers, "Kraniche – Kurs Süd" (Cranes – heading south) was published in 1956. His breakthrough came in 1962 with the novel for young adults, "Das Jahr der Wölfe" (The Year of the Wolves). Since then he has published a large number of books for children and young adults. His works have been translated for international readers and have won numerous literary awards. He received the Grand Prize of the German Academy for Literature for Children and Young Adults in 1978 for his complete works. He now lives in Xanten in the Lower Rhine region.