Michael Ende was born in 1929 as the son of the surrealist painter Edgar Ende in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and died in August 1995 in Stuttgart. In a sober, soulless time, he reclaimed the nearly lost realms of the fantastic and dreams for children and adults, becoming world-famous with books like "The Neverending Story" and "Momo." Today, he is considered one of the most well-known German writers and was always an exceptionally versatile author. In addition to children's and youth books, he wrote poetic picture book texts and books for adults, as well as plays, opera librettos, and poems. Many of his books have been adapted into films or for radio and television. For his literary work, he received numerous German and international awards. His books have so far achieved a total worldwide circulation of over 20 million copies and have been translated into nearly 40 languages.