Elfie Donnelly

Elfie Donnelly (born January 14, 1950 in London) is a British-Austrian author, who has written numerous books and radio dramas for children. Her major works are Bibi Blocksberg and Benjamin Blümchen. Donnelly spent her early childhood in Rugby in the English Midlands, and moved to Vienna in her later childhood. The daughter of an Irish father and an Austrian mother, she started a career in journalism already in her youth. In Vienna, she worked as a texter in the news agency APA, where her mother had also worked. In 1973 she moved to Berlin, married Peter Lustig and started writing Hörspiele (audio dramas) for children. She won the German prize for youth literature with her first book. In the 1980s, she became a disciple of Indian mystic Osho. At present she lives with her current husband, author Paul Arató, in Ibiza. Donnelly's two grown-up sons live in Austria and America.