Yuri Iosifovich Koval was born on February, 9th 1938 in Moscow. His father was a high-ranking officer of the criminal investigation department and his mother was a psychiatrist.

In 1960 Yuri Koval graduated from the Moscow State Teacher Training Institute as a certified teacher of the Russian language and literature, history and drawing. He was appointed to work as a teacher of Russian language and literature, history, and drawing at a village school in Tataria. Then already he composed poetic texts for dictations himself. After the three-year term of obligatory work there was over, Yuri Koval returned to Moscow.

 

Till 1966 he taught the Russian language and literature at a school for working youth, and then shortly worked in the journal “Children's literature”. His stories and verses were published in children's magazines.

Gradually Yuri Koval started specializing more and more as a professional artist and writer.

About 30 of his books were published in his lifetime. These were mainly children’s books, or books like “Listoboi” (1972) and “The lightest boat in the world” (1984) intended for both kids and grown-ups.

Most known of his works are “Adventures of Vasya Kurolesov”(1974), “Cap with Crucians” (1974), “Nedopesok” (1975), “Five Stolen Monks” (1977), and “Wormwood Fairy Tales” (1987). The writer became the prize-winner of Arkady Gaidar's Diploma (1983) and All-Union Competition for Best Children’s Book (1987).

Except literary career Yuri Koval was a script writer for cartoon films and children's films, an artist and a sculptor, singer and songwriter.

After the death of Yuri Koval his novel "Suer-Vyer" (1996) that he worked on during the last years of his life came out. In 1996 the novel won the "Wanderer" award of the International Congress of Science Fiction Writers.

Yuri Koval’s works have been translated into all European, as well as Japanese and Chinese languages.

The writer died in Moscow on August, 2nd 1995.