Swedish author, journalist, and illustrator (1942–2021)
Gunilla Elisabet Dukure Bergström (3 July 1942 – 23 August 2021) was a Swedish author, journalist, and illustrator. She is best known for her series of children's books about the character Alfie Atkins (Swedish: "Alfons Åberg"), which she wrote and illustrated. Books about her character were translated into many languages, and some were adapted into film, television and theatre plays. She received several awards, including the royal Litteris et Artibus.
Life and career.
Born in Gothenburg, Bergström moved to Stockholm in 1966 to begin her career as a journalist. She worked for Swedish newspapers such as "Aftonbladet" and "Dagens Nyheter". Bergström debuted as a children's book author in 1971, and released her first Alfie Atkins book in 1972. The character is a boy who lives with his single father. She has been a children's book author ever since, having released twenty-five Alfie books as of 2007. These books have been translated into 35 languages and have sold over eight million copies worldwide. Four million copies have been sold in Sweden alone. In 2006, her book "Alfons och soldatpappan" was released simultaneously in seven different languages; this had never happened before for a Swedish children's book.
Bergström has also written children's books about characters such as Milla, Bill, and Bolla. Bergström said she received the inspiration for her stories from everyday life. She was also interested in psychology and human behavior, and incorporated this into some of her books. Bergström described herself as a nit-picky person when it comes to writing. She illustrated her own books and often worked with collage.
Bergström ran her own company, Bok-Makaren (English: "Book-Maker"), which handles the licenses to the "Alfie Atkins" series, which have been granted for theatre productions and Alfie dolls, puzzles, and computer games. Bergström has commented that there is "nothing wrong with making commerce of famous things, but we are careful about who we sell licenses to."
As of 2007, Bergström was living in Stockholm with her West African husband. They spent their winters together in West Africa. Bergström was a grandmother. In 2012, she was awarded Illis Quorum by the Swedish Government.
Bergström died on 23 August 2021, almost two months after her 79th birthday.
Awards.
Her many awards have included:
Books.
Bergström's books were published by Rabén &amp; Sjögren, including:
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References.
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