Walter Moers

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-27

Walter Moers was born on May 24, 1957, in Monchengladbach, West Germany, and has lived in Hamburg since 1992. He left school early and taught himself drawing rather than pursuing formal art training, supporting himself with odd jobs and illustration work, including early bedtime-story artwork for German television, before beginning a commercial apprenticeship he did not complete. He first became known in Germany for satirical comic strips featuring the irreverent child character Das kleine Arschloch and the seafaring Captain Bluebear, before turning to the fantasy novels for which he is best known internationally: the Zamonia series, which by 2025 numbered eleven books, five translated into English, including The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (1999), Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures (2003), The City of Dreaming Books (2004), The Alchemaster's Apprentice (2007), and The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books (2011). His work has been translated into more than 20 languages. Moers is notably publicity-shy, avoiding public appearances and photographs, and is often described as a phantom figure in German publishing.

Universe(s)

Books

• The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (1999) · Zamonia Core Canon
• Ensel und Krete (2000) · Zamonia Expanded Canon
• Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures (2003) · Zamonia Core Canon
• The City of Dreaming Books (2004) · Zamonia Core Canon
• The Alchemaster's Apprentice (2007) · Zamonia Core Canon
• The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books (2011) · Zamonia Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 5 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 0 (None recorded)

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