1996 Johannes Møllehave

When the Hans Christian Andersen Award Committee named the vicar and author Johannes Møllehave first award winner of the Fairy tale of my Life award, it was no random choice. His writings were very comprehensive and varied, and when not specifically dealing with Hans Christian Andersen, they were interwoven with references to him – as well as to Shakespeare, ­Robert Storm Petersen and Kierkegaard. To the Danish reading public, the book H.C. Andersens salt – om humoren i H.C. Andersens eventyr was a highly entertaining eye opener.

But the reason for awarding Møllehave the prize is not only his writings, but also the abundance of articles, sermons and the hundreds of lectures all over the country. In these, Hans Christian Andersen has frequently been promoted with a hitherto unseen dedication, passionate conviction and degree ­of identification.