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Brigitte Schär grew up in Meilen on Lake Zurich (the daughter of a Swiss father and a German mother) and now lives in Zurich. She studied German Language and Literature, European Folk Literature and French Literature at the University of Zurich, graduating with a Master’s degree. At the same time, she trained in voice and speech. After completing her studies, Brigitte Schär worked for four years as a German teacher and as a studio narrator for an audio library for the blind. During this time, she began writing stories and increasingly performing in public as a singer and performer. Since 1988, she has worked as a freelance writer, singer and performer.
Brigitte Schär writes books for both adults and children and has received numerous awards. As a singer, she has performed in many countries and worked with international musicians. In Beirut in 1996, she recorded her CD Vocal Flight to Beirut, a work that crosses the boundaries between jazz, vocal improvisation, world music, chanson and pop.
As a performer, Brigitte Schär has been involved in numerous multimedia projects in theatre, dance, film and video. Since the 1990s, she has combined her different artistic disciplines, developing her own distinctive form of literary and musical performance. This has resulted in theatrical readings and concert readings for both adults and children.
Brigitte Schär has toured extensively with her literary and musical performances, appearing in many European countries and on four other continents, including the USA, Canada, Sudan, Lebanon, Ecuador, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Belarus, Taiwan, Egypt, Chile, Uruguay, Indonesia and Mexico. And many others.
Photo-documentation Indonesia-tour and UBUD Writer and Reader Festival 2017 in Bali here
Now!Jakarta – about the performance of Brigitte Schär here
Awards
Swiss Children’s and Young Adult Book Award, winner 1993; Work Grant from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, 1995; Schnabelsteher Prize, 1997; Children’s Literature Award of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1997; Artist-in-Residence Grant at Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, Brandenburg, 1997; IBBY Honour List, 1998; Children’s and Young Adult Media Prize “Die rote Zora”, 1999; Cultural Award of the Canton of Zurich (Adult Literature), 1999; Invitation to compete for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in Klagenfurt, Austria, 2001; Nomination for the German Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, 2002; Luchs Award for Die Weihnachts-Show, 2005; Work Grants from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, 2005, and the UBS Culture Foundation, 2006; Swiss Children’s and Young Adult Book Award, shortlist nomination for Dinosaurier im Mond, 2011.
Books and CDs by Brigitte Schär
Book and CD Publications
For children and adults:
Das Schubladenkind (stories), Nagel & Kimche, Zurich 1988; dtv/Reihe Hanser, Munich 2003
Das geht doch nicht!, Hanser, 1995; dtv/Reihe Hanser, 2000
Monsterbesuch!, Hanser, 1996
Das Haus auf dem Hügel, Hanser, 1998
Die blinde Fee, Nord-Süd, 1998; English edition: The Blind Fairy, North-South Books Inc., 1998
Die Entführung der Welt (novel), Hanser, 2000
Mama ist gross wie ein Turm, Hanser, 2001
CD Rundherum, music CD and CD-ROM, Grenzland Produktion, 2002
Die Weihnachts-Show, illustrated by Jörg Müller, Sauerländer/Patmos, Düsseldorf 2005
Geschichten vom Roll und vom Ruh, illustrated by Verena Ballhaus, Bajazzo Verlag, Zurich 2006
Dinosaurier im Mond. Verrückte Geschichten, illustrated by Jacky Gleich, Sauerländer/Patmos, 2009
Das geht doch nicht!, new edition, illustrated by Jacky Gleich, SJW, 2011
Adieu, Goodbye, Auf Wiedersehen, illustrated by Babette Maeder, Lehrmittelverlag Zürich, 2011
CD Anker lichten, Segel setzen!, stories and songs, Grenzland Produktion, 2011
5 winzig kleine Zwerge, illustrated by Lika Nüssli, SJW, 2012
Spatz und Schwein, illustrated by Jacky Gleich, educational commentary by Ursina Gloor, Schulverlag Plus, 2012
Dominos Geheimnis, illustrated by Andrea Caprez, SJW (Schweizerisches Jugendschriftenwerk), 2015
Lisa, Paul und Frau Fisch, illustrated by Jens Rassmus, Peter Hammer Verlag, 2016
Hanna und Leo – Von einem anderen Stern (novel), Baeschlin, 2018
Biest auf der Spur – 2. Teil von Dominos Geheimnis, illustrated by Andrea Caprez, SJW, 2021
Im wilden Galopp, illustrated by Karin Hauser, SJW, 2022
Die Weihnachtsparty, illustrated by Heike Herold, Peter Hammer Verlag, 2022
For adults:
Auf dem hohen Seil (stories), eFeF, 1991
Liebesbriefe sind keine Rechnungen (stories), Hanser, 1998
Unwetter – unheilvolle Geschichten, foreword by Franz Hohler, illustrated by Ulrich Zwick, Knapp, 2016
CD Vocal Flight to Beirut, COD/HearWeGo, 1996
CD Vom Fliegen und Wildschweinjagen, literature and music, Grenzland Produktion, 2001
CD Liebe Frau Bär, short CD, Grenzland Produktion, 2006
Quotes from Newspaper Reviews
“Texts of rare literary quality and narrative power that masterfully draw on the tradition of the fairy tale, while their linguistic economy, vividness and musicality are unmistakably modern.”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
“The singer’s voice can do anything: fly, dance, cry, laugh, dream, pound. (…) An entrancing performance of speech, song and sound, full of wit and charm, in which a dialogue between death and life finds its place alongside a wild boar hunt and a children’s tango.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung
“One is reminded of C. G. Jung’s archetypes.”
Berliner Morgenpost
“Unadorned stories of breathtaking unpredictability, and yet rooted in ordinary, everyday life.”
Berner Zeitung
“With her grotesque picture stories and cleverly quirky fairy tales, Brigitte Schär has become a rising star on the Swiss children’s literature scene.”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
“Brigitte Schär is an amazingly talented artist. She reads, sings and stages her stories with charm and incomparable vitality and, like an oriental storyteller, casts a spell over her listening audience.”
Zürichsee-Zeitung
“Brigitte Schär masterfully plays with surreal fantasies. She is a modern storyteller who carries us off into a magical world between waking and sleeping, where one is never quite sure whether to long for it or fear it.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung
About the Individual Works
Dinosaurier im Mond (Dinosaurs on the Moon)
“What I like best is when we all stay around the table after supper and tell stories.” “All of us” means Lucy, the main character, together with her imaginary dog, Mum and Dad, and her two brothers. The stories tell of a dragon who puts Mum to flight; a teacher who turns into a rhino; socks that go missing; Granny, whom Lucy spirits away onto a trapeze and turns into a fairground attraction; Lucy suddenly learning to drive a car and getting through her mother’s daily workload in seconds; and, yes, a Sunday afternoon trip into outer space.
A book offering fun for the whole family. “Witty and wonderfully different, philosophical and wise.”
Frankfurter Rundschau
Die Weihnachts-Show (The Christmas Show)
One morning, the Easter Bunny turns up at the calendar maker’s door and explains that he would like to swap jobs with Baby Jesus. He doesn’t see why Baby Jesus should always get to have the best holiday of the year to himself … Shortly before Christmas, the Easter Bunny arrives in the big city. As every year, the great Christmas Show is to be broadcast live on TV. Everything is ready: the manger, the shepherds, the donkey and the ox. The star drifts across the studio sky and bathes the scene in an unearthly light. And then the worldwide audience gets a close-up view of Baby Jesus – with long ears. The audience is completely dumbfounded. No one has ever seen a Christmas show like this one!
Geschichten vom Roll und vom Ruh (The Stories of the Roll and the Rest)
The stories of the Roll and the Rest are about friendship, love and conflict between two strange, fantastical beings who are not human but act and feel very much like humans. The Roll is loud and exuberant; the Rest is gentle, dreamy and a little timid. Together they watch a thunderstorm, bake a cake, roll down a hill, go on journeys, cuddle, and experience happiness and unhappiness. In the end, they even decide to part ways. But they don’t succeed … Fifteen poetic stories about the joys and difficulties of being together.
Mama ist so gross wie ein Turm (Mum Is as Tall as a Tower)
Mum is gigantic, beloved and strong but, unfortunately, far away. When she finally arrives, she lifts up the whole school building and carries it from country to country … A picture story about a child’s love for and need of her mother.
Die Entführung der Welt (The Kidnapping of the World)
In a huge cave world, Lena becomes caught up in the struggle between one-eyed giants and magical cave dwellers. Whether she can resolve the conflict or even unravel the secret of the kidnapped globe remains to be seen …
Das geht doch nicht! (You Can’t Do That!)
The youngest member of the family has always been a little different from the others. And, of course, she has always had a mind of her own. Barricaded in the living room with a pile of wood, she works day and night on a present for the family. The result exceeds their wildest expectations.
Monsterbesuch! (A Visit from the Monsters!)
Twenty rude and boorish monsters invade the living room all at once. The only person able to keep the peace is the unflappable narrator, who also happens to be one of the youngest members of the family. She mediates between the monsters, the police, the fire brigade and her horrified family. A story about courage and tolerance.
Das Haus auf dem Hügel (The House on the Hill)
The same beginning, thirteen times: A ball rolls down a hill. A little girl runs after it, but the ball disappears. The search begins – and the little girl discovers the world. Magical stories about growing and growing up.
Das Schubladenkind (The Drawer Child)
A few examples from this collection: At the top of a tower, a curious little frog encounters a stork who answers all the frog’s pressing questions … There is no longer any room at home for an enormous child … A little toothpick tries to help a fickle friend, an arrogant pipe cleaner. In these short, concise stories, the logic of fairy tales prevails: they are imaginative and full of surprises.
Die blinde Fee (The Blind Fairy)
“Everything has been done just as you wanted,” say the dwarfs in disguised voices. They pretend to be good servants, but in reality the palace is falling apart. The fairy is the only one who notices nothing because she is blind. Only when she meets an old woman in the woods one day are her eyes opened. Armed with courage and confidence in her own strength, she returns to the palace and banishes the dwarf ghosts.
Rundherum (All Around)
Music CD and CD-ROM: an interactive journey through Brigitte Schär’s children’s books and cheeky songs. Created in collaboration with musician Manuela Keller and multimedia producer Kathrin Hug.
Auf dem hohen Seil (On the High Wire)
Strange things happen in these stories. Unusual events force the nameless characters to confront, above all, the difficulties of finding themselves and finding one another. Concise and precise, the stories consist of events that escalate quietly but steadily, reflected in language that changes almost imperceptibly but continuously.
Liebesbriefe sind keine Rechnungen (Love Letters Are Not Bills)
At breakfast, a rat is sitting in the breadbasket. This unpleasant encounter marks the beginning of a strange friendship. Elsewhere, a strange passion for music overwhelms a young man sitting in front of his closed piano, drives him into marriage and ultimately leads him to a bloody act of desperation. Stories from a magical realm between waking and sleeping, where one is never quite sure whether to long for it or fear it.
CD Vom Fliegen und Wildschweinjagen (Of Flying and Hunting Wild Boar)
Brigitte Schär sings her literary texts. Sixteen literary songs: now a lullaby, now rap, then the sound of a chorale, a melancholy prayer or a cry of joy. Created in collaboration with musician Manuela Keller.
CD Vocal Flight to Beirut
Eleven songs in the no-man’s-land between jazz, vocal improvisation, world music, chanson and pop. In 1996, Brigitte Schär spent a month in Beirut and recorded this CD in collaboration with Dutch musician Trudy Raymakers, Haissam Salah Eddine and other Arab musicians.
CD Liebe Frau Bär (Dear Mrs Baer)
Three songs about the business of literature. Who reads all the books published every year? The first song explores this question. Mrs Baer has written a book; now she writes to publishers and receives their replies – the subject of the second song. And in the third, bookseller Hans is a mysterious man. He wants to write a book for a woman he secretly admires and who passes his shop every day. If necessary, he would even force her to listen to him and read his book.
Lisa, Paul und Frau Fisch (Lisa, Paul and Mrs Fish)
Lisa is an only child. She has a good time with her mum and dad. But suddenly she begins to experience the most extraordinary things – and, after all, her mum is expecting another baby.
The strange events begin when Lisa’s teacher, Mrs Fish, seems to have a double. With this lookalike, Lisa goes on thrilling drives in a red sports car, visits places where puzzling things happen and even meets her brother Paul!
In this mysterious story, everything has a meaning: the red car, a shooting star, a mermaid, a competition, a modern pushchair, a brightly painted delivery van and a doll called Carola who turns into a child. While Lisa waits for her brother Paul to arrive, she gradually begins to understand how all these puzzling things are connected. And then, at last, Paul is born.
Brigitte Schär tells this turbulent story in such a compelling and powerful way that you believe every word! Jens Rassmus’s beautiful illustrations reveal its touching side: the immense love with which Lisa awaits her little brother.
Photo Gallery, Brigitte Schär live on stage
Bigger selection of download photos
Performance-tours through the whole world
