Stark, Ulf

Ulf Gottfrid Stark grew up in Stureby, Stockholm. He often based his settings and characters on his own childhood in the 1950s. This is best illustrated in the three books about Ulf and Percy: My Friend Percy's Magical Gym Shoes (1991, Min vän Percys magiska gymnastikskor), My Friend Percy and the Sheik (1995, Min vän shejken i Stureby) (1995) and My Friend Percy and Buffalo Bill (2004, Min vän Percy, Buffalo Bill och jag). While attending upper-secondary school at Södra Latin, he came into contact with the authors Peter Curman and Lars Gustafsson, both of whom encouraged him to write. His first published work was the poetry collection Ett hål till livet (1964). It was followed in 1966 by Sophämtarna. The young adult novel Petter och de upproriska grisarna came in 1976. Stark read psychology and pedagogy at university and worked for a number of years as a director at the National Labour Market Board. Later he devoted himself full-time to writing. He lived on the outskirts of Stockholm.