Vera Ferra-Mikura (February 14, 1923 – March 9, 1997) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n writer best known for her children's stories. She was born Vera Ferra in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. After completing her schooling, she worked in her family's bird shop and then in a Vienna

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ferra-Mikura worked as a stenographer for an architect; after the war, she worked for a publishing house. In 1948, she married Ludwig Mikura. In the same year, she became a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

writer. Her stories, inspired by

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

s, are characterized by magic realism. In 1951, she received a . She received an award from the

International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

in 1976. In 1988, she received the Gold award of the for youth literature. Ferra-Mikura was also awarded the

Theodor Körner Prize The Theodor Körner Prize ( German: ''Theodor-Körner-Preis'') is a set of annual Austrian awards bestowed by the Theodor Körner Fund in recognition of cultural and/or scientific advances. The prize is awarded at the University of Vienna. The pri ...

. Ferra-Mikura died in Vienna at the age of 74.

Selected works

* '' Melodie am Morgen'', poetry (1946) * '' Melodie am Morgen'', novel (1947) * '' Zaubermeister Opequeh'', children's literature (1956) * '' Unsere drei Stanisläuse'', children's literature (1963), received the * '' Die zehn kleinen Negerlein'' (1958) * '' Das Luftschloß des Herrn Wuschelkopf'' (1965) * ' (1975), co-author * '' Update on Rumpelstiltskin and other Fairy Tales by 43 Authors'' (1976), Illustrated by

Willi Glasauer Willi Glasauer (born 9 December 1938 in Stříbro) is a German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German languag ...

* '' Die Oma gibt dem Meer die Hand'' (1982) * '' Horoskop für den Löwen'' (1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferra-Mikura, Vera 1923 births 1997 deaths Austrian children's writers Austrian women writers Austrian women children's writers