Schwarz, (Silvia Tessa) Viviane 1977-

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SCHWARZ, (Silvia Tessa) Viviane 1977-

PERSONAL: Born April 7, 1977, in Hannover, Germany; daughter of Wolfgang (a professor of medicine) and Ursula (a teacher and writer) Schwarz; companion of Joel Stewart (an illustrator). Education: Attended University of Bonn; Falmouth College of Arts, B.A. (with first class honors), 2002, M.A., 2003. Hobbies and other interests: Toymaking, bookbinding, running a small press.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Candlewick Press, 2067 Massachusetts Ave., 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02140. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and illustrator. Moonsheep Studio, Falmouth, Cornwall, England, cofounder.

AWARDS, HONORS: Parent's Choice selection, Silver Honor Award, 2002, for The Adventures of a Nose.

WRITINGS:

The Adventures of a Nose (picture book), illustrated by Joel Stewart, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Contributor of illustrations to Der Bunte Hund. Schwarz's book has been translated into seven languages.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Picture books; a novel; research for a master's degree in "authorial illustration."

SIDELIGHTS: Viviane Schwarz told CA: "I began writing before I could read. The main reason for learning to read was to try and find out what I was writing all the time. These days I am writing stories because I want to read them.

"I see myself not quite as a writer or illustrator, but rather as a cartographer of places that don't exist, and a collector of all sorts of things. Still, I believe that stories should be more than just collected bits and bobs; I want them to be going somewhere, whether limping, ticking like clockwork, crawling, or rushing. So, I'm someone who herds a collection of all sorts of things through a place that never existed while scribbling down a map of it all.

"I am writing in my second language. This should be a problem, but it doesn't seem to be. It is actually a relief to get out of a language that I know too well—like moving out of my parents' house, out into the world, stumbling through it, being a bit rubbish, but free.

"My first book was a picture book, now translated into seven languages or so (including German—not by me, oddly), featuring a nose with legs, which seems a good start in many ways. The next years should show if my English skills get me through writing a whole novel. I think they will.

"Eventually, I am planning an epic work on pigeons—some time in the far future, I feel. Right now I am doing a master's degree in authorial illustration, which takes up most of my time. My main influences are Tove Jansson, Bruno Schulz, Edward Gorey, and Mervyn Peake.

"In my spare time, I like to sew sheep, restore parasols, make pinhole cameras, and generally fiddle about with silly things. The only thing I am sure about in this world is that it runs on silliness, which isn't always funny."