Erik Haugaard was born in Denmark and has traveled extensively in the United States, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Called "a writer gifted in the art of the storyteller" by the BOSTON GLOBE, he is internationally known for his accomplishments as a playwright, poet, and translator.
Haugaard has written a number of acclaimed works for young adults that transport readers back to a time and place in history that placed upon children burdens nearly unimaginable to the contemporary North American adolescent. Religious strife, World War II, and feudal Japan are just some of the settings Haugaard has explored in his books, which usually feature a child whose hardships are made all the worse due to the loss of parents or other guardians.