Odhise Kristo Grillo (1932–2003) was an Albanian writer of children’s books.Grillo was born in 1932 in Vuno, where he went to elementary school. He completed middle school and high school in the capital Tirana. In 1962 he graduated in Faculty of Philology as well as Faculty of Law at the University of Tirana.

He started to work at the humor magazine, Hosteni, and later at the Naim Frashëri Publishing House as an editor for children’s publications until he retired, although he went back to editing and writing at the Publishing House “Toena”. He had publications in the magazines Drita, “November”, “Star”, “Youth’s voice”, Hosteni, Pioneer, “Fatosi”, “Little Stars”, and “Children’s world”. He was president of the International Association of Children’s Writers, also a professor at the University of Tirana and the Aleksandër Xhuvani University. He was a recipient of many national literary prizes in Albania. Internationally his works were translated into Greek, Macedonian, Italian, French, Dutch, and Arabic.

He published his first book of poems in 1954, titled “Seven Colors”.

Grillo wrote and published more than any other writer of this literature and in his work he used themes and fields based on popular motifs, especially his birthplace, Vunoi. He always tried to bring something new to literature and enriched it with innovations, experiences, elements and new artistic forms. He was born to write children’s literature, being a literal creator of it and devoted his whole life to it , with the talent, passion and creative skills he did possess.

The contemporary writer of children’s literature Odhise Grillo was awarded the “2000 Millennium” medal by the International Biographical Institute of America. This medal is given to people who rank alongside the most prominent people in the field of literature. Writer Grillo has published over 120 books for children in prose, poetry, critical studies and others. Grillo is included in the 16th edition, “International Authors and Writers Who’s Who” 1999/2000, a publication of the Biographical Center of Cambridge in England (IBC). He led the National Association of Writers for Children and Young People for more than ten years, as chairman and as president. Grillo has also been honored with the titles of Grand Master, Laureate of the Republic Award.

He also wrote”History of Scanderbeg”, according to the work of Naim Frashëri and this work of Grillo enters the fund of the best books of the last decade.

The writer Odhise Grllo has made outstanding contributions in all genres of children’s literature, even for the theater  with his translations. Odhise Grillo has also contributed with lyrics for both adults and children. From his collaboration with Agim Prodani, we can single out the songs “Student memories”, “Girl with a rose”, and “When leaves fall in autumn” with composer Leonard Deda. In essence, this author remained a prose writer with re-creations of fairy tales and novels, a poet who excelled in poems for children. He was well known for his works.

Grillo died on September 24, 2003 in Tirana, Albania.

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