Hannelore Valencak (23 January 1929 – 9 April 2004) was an Austrian physicist, novelist, poet and children's writer.

Biography

Born in

Leoben Leoben () is a Styrian city in central Austria, located on the Mur river. With a population of about 25,000 it is a local industrial centre and hosts the University of Leoben, which specialises in mining. The Peace of Leoben, an armistice betwee ...

, Styria, Valencak studied physics at

Graz University The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

, graduating in 1955. She then worked as a metalurigist for Felten und Guilleaume in

Kapfenberg Kapfenberg , with around 22,609 inhabitants, is the third largest city in Styria, Austria, near Bruck an der Mur. The town's landmark is Burg Oberkapfenberg. Its main employer is the steel manufacturer Böhler. The town has a swimming complex, ...

. Her first husband, Oskar Kofler, died in a road accident in 1959. In 1962, she married Viktor Mayer and moved to Vienna, where she worked as a patent expert. From 1975, she devoted herself entirely to her writing. Valencak first started to publish her work in 1951, initially in poetry and literary journals. Her most fruitful period of writing was from 1961 to 1981 when she published her first and last novels. In later life she withdrew from public attention with the result that her works were largely forgotten when she died in 2004. Interest was however revived in 2006 when her third novel ''Zuflucht hinter der Zeit'' was republished as ''Das Fenster zum Sommer'' (The Window to Summer) attracting considerable acclaim.

Selected works

Among Valencak's many publications are the following: *1961: ''Morgen werden wir es wissen'', short stories *1961: ''Die Höhlen Noahs'', novel *1964: ''Ein fremder Garten'' novel *1966: ''Nur dieses eine Leben'', poetry *1967: ''Zuflucht hinter der Zeit'' novel (republished as ''Das Fenster zum Sommer'', 2006) *1970: ''Montag früh ist nicht das Leben'', for children *1972: ''Vorhof der Wirklichkeit'', novel *1974: ''Icb bin Barbara'', for children, translated into English as ''When Half-Gods Go'' (1976) *1975: ''Meine schwererziehbare Tante'', youth novel *1976: ''Regenzauber'', youth novel, translated into English as ''A Tangled Web'' (1978) *1978: ''Das Treueversprechen'', youth novel *1981: ''Das magische Tagebuch'' novel *1983: ''Mein Tag - mein Jahr'', poetry, written jointly with

Doris Mühringer Doris Mühringer (18 September 1920 – 26 May 2009) was an Austrian poet, short story writer, and children's writer. She has received a number of awards, and her contributions to Austrian poetry, which both are considered particularly significant. ...

*1898: ''Bettina und das eiserne Versprechen'', youth novel *2008: ''Ausgewählte Gedichte'', poetry collection

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencak, Hannelore 1981 births 2004 deaths People from Leoben Austrian physicists Austrian women novelists Austrian women poets 20th-century women writers Austrian children's writers Austrian women children's writers 20th-century poets 20th-century Austrian novelists