Edelfeldt was born in Stockholm in 1956. Her father was an engineer and her mother was a house wife. Her father used to tell her stories before he went to work in the mornings. He also had depression and was treated with electrotherapy. The situation at home reflected on the young Edelfeldt, she was bullied at school which lead to self-harming behaviour. As an adult she tried several therapies and finally settled on Zen coaching and meditation.1
Edelfeldt made her debut in 1977 with the book Duktig pojke ("Good Boy").2 The novel is about the boy Jim who is lonely and asserts himself by excelling in school. The book was later reworked into a book for young adults and it is regarded as one of the first coming out novels in Sweden.3 She has written more than 30 books since then,4 most of which are novels, short stories, poetry books, comic books and books for children and young people.5 Edelfeldt's young adult novels often revolves around subjects like identity and efforts of liberation.6 Another common theme is mans double nature, the mirror image and the dark side of a good life.7 She writes in a multitude of styles such as satire, fable, drama and has been described as easy to read with a special sense of humor.8
"[Edelfeldt]...is a crossbreed between Astrid Lindgren and Franz Kafka."
Edelfeldt is a self-taught artist and she says that she has been inspired by the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Arthur Rackham and Maurice Sendak. She has worked as an illustrator since 1976. She made watercolour paintings for the 1985 edition of the Tolkien calendar in the United States and the United Kingdom.10
In 1995, the Swedish television the TV-series Nattens barn ("The Children of the night"),11 made after Edelfeldt's young adult novel Julliane och jag ("Juliane and me"). The series was directed by Lisa Ohlin.12
On 30 July 1990, Edelfeldt hosted the noted radio program Sommar I P1.13
Johansson, Astrid (3 January 2010). "Den litterära kameleonten har blivit zen-coach" [The literary chameleon has become a zen-coach]. www.dn.se. Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://www.dn.se/livsstil/intervjuer/den-litterara-kameleonten-har-blivit-zen-coach/ ↩
Johannesson, Hans-Erik; Littberger Caisou-Rousseau, Inger. "Inger Edelfeldt". www.ne.se. Nationalencyklopedin. Retrieved 18 September 2015. http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/lång/inger-edelfeldt ↩
Nordenstam, Anna (2010). "Recensioner av doktorsavhandlingar" [Reviews of PhD theses] (PDF). Samlaren (131): 421. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:439022/FULLTEXT01.pdf ↩
Qvarnström, Niklas (27 January 2014). "Dödens negativ" [Negative of death]. www.sydsvenskan.se. Sydsvenskan. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://www.sydsvenskan.se/kultur--nojen/dodens-negativ/ ↩
"Inger Edelfeldt". WorldCat.org. Retrieved 28 March 2010. http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Inger+Edelfeldt&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22edelfeldt%2C+inger%22&qt=facet_ap%3A ↩
Kjersén Edman, Lena. "Inger Edelfeldt". www.litteraturbanken.se. Swedish Literature Bank. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://litteraturbanken.se/#!/forfattare/EdelfeldtI/presentation ↩
Sarrina, Cristine. "Edelfeldt, Inger". www.nordicwomensliterature.net. KVINFO. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://nordicwomensliterature.net/writer/edelfeldt-inger ↩
"Sagan om ringen av Inger Edelfeldt". www.seriegalleriet.se. Seriegalleriet. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://www.seriegalleriet.se/main.php?exhibit=110 ↩
"Nattens barn". www.oppetarkiv.se. Sveriges Television. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 19 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150223230313/http://www.oppetarkiv.se/video/1560606/nattens-barn-avsnitt-1-av-4 ↩
"Nattens barn". www.sfi.se. Swedish Film Institute. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-filmdatabas/Item/?itemid=21904&type=MOVIE&iv=PdfGen ↩
"Sommar- och Vintervärdar, 1959–2015" [Summer and Winter hosts, 1959–2015] (PDF). www.sverigesradio.se. Sveriges Radio. p. 10. https://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/2071/14984.pdf ↩
"Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis". www.sbi.kb.se. The Swedish Institute for Children's Books. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924094651/http://www.sbi.kb.se/en/Resources/Priser-och-beloningar/Priser/Deutscher-Jugendliteraturpreis/ ↩
Hegerfors, Sture. "Adamson (afabetiskt)". www.hegerfors.se. Sture Hegerfors. Retrieved 19 September 2015. http://www.hegerfors.se/adamson_alfabetiskt.php ↩
"Nordic Authors". www.runeberg.org. Project Runeberg. Retrieved 19 September 2015. https://runeberg.org/authors/edelfing.html ↩
"Inger Edelfeldt". www.norstedts.se. Norstedts förlag. Archived from the original on 12 February 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160212000917/http://www.norstedts.se/forfattare/Alfabetiskt/E/Inger-Edelfeldt/ ↩
"Nya pristagare i februari". Samfundet De Nio. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231204163508/https://samfundetdenio.se/tag/pris-samfundet-de-nio/ ↩
"Tidigare pristagare" [Previous winners] (in Swedish). Stiftelsen Selma Lagerlöfs Litteraturpris. Retrieved 4 December 2023. https://www.kulturveckanisunne.se/tidigare-pristagare ↩