Maj Kerstin Andersson was born in
Visby, on the Swedish island of
Gotland, on 21 March 1931. At the age of 12, the family moved to
Värmland where she stayed. She completed her studies to be a primary school teacher, and then worked in that profession until 1961. The first books she wrote were
textbooks in history and religion, when she, as a teacher, found that there were no good books for children in these subjects. Over the years, she also wrote books for children and young people as well as adults. Her authorship has a clear historical mark. She is translated into Danish, English, Finnish, Faroese, Dutch, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Sami, Turkish, and German. Bylock also contributed a
hymn, No. 524,
Är dagen fylld av oro och bekymmer, in the Swedish hymn book, music by
Anfinn Øien. Her award-winning
Solstenen, became a musical. In later years, in addition to her own writing, Bylock recounted a number of notable classics in
world literature. The intention was to make them accessible to a greater number of readers and to contribute to a rich, international cultural heritage being passed on. Bylock was awarded the
Astrid Lindgren Prize in 1990. She received an honorary doctor from
Karlstad University in 2006. Bylock died in
Karlstad on 18 August 2019. ==Awards and honors==