Miep Diekmann

For more than thirty years, from the mid nineteen fifties onwards, Miep Diekmann (1925-2017) played a prominent role in the world of children’s books. She stimulated the developments within Dutch youth literature through reviews, interviews and readings. She was also a translator and coached budding children’s authors. Her own works number some fifty titles in various genres, for differing age groups. The five years of her youth she spent in Curaçao inspired her gripping West Indian tales. Typical of Diekmann’s work are her impressive choice of subjects, her social involvement, the convincing characterisations of the figures in her stories and her confidence in the capacities of the reader both cognitively and emotionally.