Maria Angelidou was born in Athens in 1957. She studied literature in Athens and Zurich. She works as a literary translator and has translated over 500 books, half of which are for children. She has written children’s versions of works by Shakespeare, Moliere, Dante, Cervantes, Melville, Goldoni and others. She has received awards three times for her translations from the Greek Society of Literary Translators and IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People). She also writes children’s books.
Metaichmio has published her books Stories that War Told You (Prize of the Circle of the Greek Children’s Book); Stories that the Sea Told You (State Literary Award for Best Knowledge Book for Children); Stories that the Road Told You (Prize of the Circle of the Greek Children’s Book); Stories that the Market Told You; Stories that Light Told You; Stories that Rock Told You; The Third Witch. Other books include: Greek Mythology: How the World Began, Papadopoulos Editions (State Literary Award for Best Knowledge Book for Children); Greek Mythology: From Gods to Men, Papadopoulos Editions; Greek Mythology: From Men to Heroes, Papadopoulos Editions; The Tree of Lies, Papadopoulos Editions; The Exercise Book with the Coincidences: A Chapter from the Autobiography of Ilias Makris, Papadopoulos Editions; The Exercise Book with the Definitions: A Chapter from the Autobiography of Ilias Makris, Papadopoulos Editions; The People Who Had No Dreams, Patakis Publishers (Commendation from the Circle of the Greek Children’s Book); The People Who Stole Writing from the Gods, Patakis Publishers; The People Who Didn’t Mean To Die, Patakis Publishers; The Book of Emperors, Livanis Publishing; The Book of Pirates, Livanis Publishing; Myrtis: Her Lives, Papadopoulos Editions; The Odyssey: The Crafty Story, Vivliofono Publishing; Boats That Made Imagination Travel, Ikaros Publishing; Boats That Were Not Afraid, Ikaros Publishing.
Many of her books have been translated into English, French, Spanish and German.