Daniel Löcker

In the 1990s, the image of Dutch literature in Austria changed. With translations of works by Willem Jan Otten, Nelleke Noordervliet, Guido Van Heulendonk and Koos van Zomeren, fiction from the Netherlands and Flanders got more attention, but the focus of interest among Austrian publishers continued to be children's and youth literature. The Picus-Verlag, which had a special interest in picture books with artistic pretensions, ventured a completely new beginning with translations from the Dutch at that time. The most active translator for Dutch literature of this publishing house was Daniel Löcker (°1967 in Munich). Daniel Löcker studied history, communication and media at Vienna University and also holds a Master degree in Political Management. In a few years he became the most important translator of Rindert Kromhout and Paul van Loon in the German-speaking world. (#Translators)

The series opens with Wer hat schon Angst vor Vampiren! [Who’s Afraid of Vampires!] (1996) immediately followed by Der Vampirklub [The Vampire Club] and Die Vampirschule [The Vampire School], both published in 1997. Van Loon's story Du bist genau wie ich! [You Are Just Like Me!] from the same series, about the small, black Fleda with sail ears and pointed teeth who is on a quest to find another animal that wants to be related to her until Dracu the vampire confesses that bats can become vampires too, attracted special attention in the Wiener Zeitung:

"As in all his vampire stories, Paul van Loon manages to impress with the little black night creature in an endearingly sympathetic way" (Ertl, 2000). 

The first works by Rindert Kromhout were already published in Austria at the end of the 1980s by Annette Betz-Verlag (then still based in Berlin, now part of G&G-Verlag in Vienna). When the first translation by Dutch author Rindert Kromhout was published by Picus, Kromhout was already very well known in the German-speaking world. Kromhout, whose work has been translated into many languages and won various prizes, had made his debut in the German-speaking world together with Veronica Hazelhoff, who was also widely translated, with the anthology Oma, Punk & Warenhaus. This publication was soon followed by the stories of Merel and her toy dog Alexander. The stories of the bandit Bert and the adventures of Olaf the Robber were also quite successful in Germany, the latter in translation by Mirjam Pressler, also known as the translator of The Diary of Anne Frank. 

"In just a few words, Kromhout very sensitively sketches small problems and big feelings that every child is sure to have. These are, for example, the fear of being alone, the joy of seeing loved ones again, friendships. With a lot of humour and very appealing pictures, his books have thrilled me and I have heard the same from many parents." (Daniel Löcker).

Kromhout's first two books at Picus-Verlag were published under licence by Fischer Taschenbuch-Verlag. They are Katzen fangen [Catching Cats] - about Lies whose mother keeps cats in the barn - and Oskars sonderbare Gäste [Oskar's Strange Guests], a story about unemployment and about Oskar who would like to collect and keep as many animals as he can at home. Daniel Löcker's first translation of Kromhout was published in 1999. Das große Fest [The Great Feast] tells the story of Bill who falls ill during the New Year festivities and is cared for and comforted by his friend Will. In the same year, another story of Bill and Will (Was will der Dieb in unserem Haus? [What Does the Thief Want in Our House?]) was published, again translated by Daniel Löcker but this time in cooperation with Picus’ publisher Dorothea Löcker. In 2001 the publication of Was für eine Geschichte! [What a Story!] followed. Daniel Löcker really attracted attention with his translations of the stories of a little donkey that wants to be big. In 2003 Löcker's Der kleine Esel und sein Geschenk für Jaki [The Little Donkey and His Present for Jaki] (2002) was crowned with the Austrian Children's and Youth Book Prize - a prize awarded annually for the most successful children's and young people's book of a production year.

In addition to Van Loon and Kromhout, Daniel Löcker has made a whole series of works by other authors of children's and youth literature from the Dutch-speaking world known in Austria. In most cases, he presented individual titles by authors already known in German-speaking countries. This applies, for example, to the work of Henk Hokke as well as to the Dutch author Trude de Jong, whose Lola der Bär [Lola the Bear] was a great success in the German-speaking world. From the works of Trude de Jong, Daniel Löcker also translated Ein Kätzchen für Daniel [A Kitten for Daniel], the story of a somewhat different boy who loves kittens rather than motorbikes. From the works of the very successful Anke de Vries, Daniel Löcker translated for Austrian readers Trau dich doch [Do you dare?] and Mein Hund Flip [My dog Flip], about Flip the dog that never barked. Daniel Löcker translated Rätselhafte E-mails für Tim [Mysterious Emails for Tim] the exciting story of Tim, who receives emails intended for another person and therefore sets out to find them by Martine Letterie, who is well-known in Germany for her stories about Robin, the brave son of a knight.
Several times Daniel Löcker gave important impulses with his translations. The first translation of Liesbeth van der Jagt and Anton van der Kolk in the German-speaking world was done by Daniel Löcker, as was the first translation of Lian de Kat. In 1999, he translated the story of Lili who doesn't get a dog and therefore invents one (Der unsichtbare Hund [The Invisible Dog]). Daniel Löcker also successfully introduced Roswitha Wiedijk to the German-speaking world with Ein echter Vampirfilm [A Real Vampire Film] (1998). Löcker also achieved comparable success with the stories about Flora, who wants to make her own decisions, by Marjon Hoffman (2004,2005).

Daniel Löcker also set important accents with the Flemish author of children's books, plays and screenplays, Brigitte Minne, who has won many awards and been translated into many languages. Brigitte Minne was introduced to the German-speaking world with her Antwortbuch der Sexualität [Response Book of Sexuality] (1994), but as a children's author she was introduced by Daniel Löcker. With Florian und die Salamimänner [Florian and the Salami Men] (1997) Löcker laid the foundation for her success in the German-speaking world. Picus obviously did not succeed in binding the author to the publishing house. Brigitte Minne's other works were published by various publishers, two of them in Austria (Residenz, St. Gabriel).

Ertl, Sabine: Du bist genau wie ich. In: Wiener Zeitung, 1.12.2000).
Thuswald, Marion: Gender-sensitive political children's books. Bm:uk, Zentrum polis, Vienna, 2007.