Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), born Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson, was a well-known Swedish writer whose works renewed children's literature in Sweden and Scandinavia. Her best-known characters are independent and unconventional, including the untidy Pippi Longstocking, Karlsson, and Emil and his entertaining pranks.

Her books for children received many awards, including the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for Pippi Longstocking in 1973; the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1958; and the International Book Award from UNESCO in 1993. Astrid Lindgren's success as an author brought her into the public eye and she became involved in national debates on issues including taxation policies, nuclear power and the treatment of children, refugees and animals. She continued in public life until the age of ninety-one, when she suffered a stroke and stopped appearing in public. Astrid Lindgren passed away at her home in Dalagatan.