Sven Nordqvist (b. April 30, 1946) is a Swedish writer and illustrator of children's books and is known best for his series Pettson and Findus, about old farmer Pettson and Findus, his talented cat. Nordqvist was born in Helsingborg and grew up in Halmstad, Sweden. He originally wanted to be an illustrator but was rejected by several art schools, so he studied architecture at Lund Institute of Technology and worked for a while there, lecturing on architecture. Meanwhile, he continued to look for work as an illustrator of advertisements, posters, and picture books. In 1983, he won first prize in a children's book competition and since then has worked exclusively as an author and illustrator of children's books. During his career, Nordqvist has received awards in Sweden and Germany. His Pettson and Findus books are especially popular in Germany, where the characters are known as Pettersson and Findus. In Danish they are named Peddersen and Findus. In Finnish they are Pesonen and Viiru, and in a few English translations, Festus and Mercury. In 2007, Sven Nordqvist won the Augustpriset literary award in the children's books category, for his book Var är min syster? (Where is my sister?). In 1992, he won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize). He is married and has two adult sons.