Galician writer who made children worldwide dream dies at 69

Agustín Fernández Díaz was one of contemporary Galician literature's key figures · His books were translated into 14 languages

12.07.201613.15h

Agustín Fernández Paz. Author: Santos Díez.

Writer and professor Agustín Fernández Paz, one of the most important authors of contemporary Galician literature, died tonight at 69. Fernández Paz wrote many works for children and youth, a genre to which he was a great renewer in the Galician language. The quality of his work led it to be translated into over a dozen languages.

Fernández Paz's more than 50 books can be read in Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Asturian, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, Italian, English, Bulgarian, Slovenian and Breton. He is thus one of the most translated Galician writers.

Born in Vilalba in 1947, Fernández Paz was a teacher of primary and secondary education for more than 30 years, a job he combined with his career as a writer. He was noted for his work for educational reform and the promotion of the Galician language, for which he developed teaching materials.

His literary work earned him numerous awards in Galicia -writer of the year in 2004 and 2007-, in Spain -National Prize for Children's Literature in 2008 and in Mexico -Latin American Prize for Children's Literature in 2011.