Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (born Ericsson) 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for children's book series featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil i Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children (Children of Noisy Village in the US), as well as the children's fantasy novels Mio min Mio, Ronia the Robber's Daughter, and The Brothers Lionheart.

As of January 2017, she is the world's 18th most translated author and the fourth most-translated children's writer after Enid Blyton, H. C. Andersen and the Brothers Grimm. Lindgren has sold roughly 144 million books worldwide.

Astrid Lindgren grew up in Näs, near Vimmerby, Småland, Sweden, and many of her books are based on her family and childhood memories and landscapes.

Lindgren was the daughter of Samuel August Ericsson and Hanna Jonsson. She had two sisters, Stina  and Ingegerd, and a brother, Gunnar Ericsson, who eventually became a member of the Swedish parliament.

Upon finishing school, Lindgren took a job with a local newspaper in Vimmerby. She had a relationship with the chief editor, who was married and a father and eventually proposed marriage in 1926 after she became pregnant. She declined and moved to the capital city of Stockholm, learning to become a typist and stenographer (she would later write most of her drafts in stenography). In due time, she gave birth to her son, Lars, in Copenhagen and left him in the care of a foster family.

Although poorly paid, she saved whatever she could and travelled as often as possible to Copenhagen to be with Lars, often just over a weekend, spending most of her time on the train back and forth. Eventually, she managed to bring Lars home, leaving him in the care of her parents until she could afford to raise him in Stockholm.

In 1931 she married her employer, Sture Lindgren (1898–1952). Three years later, in 1934, Lindgren gave birth to her second child, Karin, who would become a translator. The character Pippi Longstocking was invented for her daughter to amuse her while she was ill in bed. Lindgren later related that Karin had suddenly said to her, "Tell me a story about Pippi Longstocking," and the tale was created in response to that request.

The family moved in 1941 to an apartment on Dalagatan, with a view over Vasaparken, where Lindgren remained until her death on 28 January 2002 at the age of 94, having already become blind.

Astrid Lindgren died in her home in central Stockholm. Her funeral took place in the Storkyrkan (Great Church) in Gamla stan. Among those attending were King Carl XVI Gustaf with Queen Silvia and others of the royal family, and Prime Minister Göran Persson. The ceremony was described as "the closest you can get to a state funeral". 

Lindgren worked as a journalist and secretary before becoming a full-time author. She served as a secretary for the 1933 Swedish Summer Grand Prix.

In 1944 Lindgren won second prize in a competition held by Rabén & Sjögren, a new publishing house, with the novel Britt-Marie lättar sitt hjärta (Britt-Marie Unburdens Her Heart). A year later she won first prize in the same competition with the chapter book Pippi Långstrump (Pippi Longstocking), which had been rejected by Bonniers. (Rabén & Sjögren published it with illustrations by Ingrid Vang Nyman, the latter's debut in Sweden.) Since then it has become one of the most beloved children's books in the world and has been translated into 60 languages. 

In 1958 Lindgren received the second Hans Christian Andersen Medal for the Rasmus på luffen (Rasmus and the Vagabond), a 1956 novel developed from her screenplay and filmed in 1955. The biennial International Board on Books for Young People, now considered the highest lifetime recognition available to creators of children's books, soon came to be called the Little Nobel Prize. Prior to 1962 it cited a single book published during the preceding two years.

By 2012 Astrid Lindgren's books had been translated into 95 different languages and language variants. Further, the first chapter of Ronja the Robber's Daughter has been translated into Latin. Up until 1997 a total of 3,000 editions of her books had been issued internationally, and globally her books had sold a total of 150 million copies.  Many of her books have been translated into English by the translator Joan Tate.

Lindgren receives the Right Livelihood Award in the Swedish parliament, 1994

Lindgren was well known both for her support for children's and animal rights and for her opposition to corporal punishment. In 1994 she received the Right Livelihood Award, "For her commitment to justice, non-violence and understanding of minorities as well as her love and caring for nature."

Best-known books

‘Pippi Longstocking series (Pippi Långstrump)

• Karlsson-on-the-Roof series (Karlsson på taket)
• Emil of Lönneberga series (Emil i Lönneberga)
• Bill Bergson series (Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist)
• Madicken series
• Ronia the Robber's Daughter (Ronja rövardotter)
• Seacrow Island (Vi på Saltkråkan)
• The Six Bullerby Children / The Children of Noisy Village series (Barnen i Bullerbyn)
• Mio, My Son / Mio, My Mio (Mio, min Mio)
• The Brothers Lionheart (Bröderna Lejonhjärta)