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  • Eoin ColferIreland ★ Author
  • Samantha Christensen

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was inspired to write while he was still in primary school when he learned about Viking history. He was born in 1965 in Wexford in the South-East coast of Ireland, a town founded by the Vikings. His mother was a drama teacher and his father a primary school teacher, historian, and artist, so it is perhaps not surprising that he grew up with a love for the arts, an interest in history and a desire to teach. In Dublin, Colfer earned his Bachelor of Education Degree and after graduation returned to Wexford to be a primary school teacher. From 1992 to 1996, Colfer and his wife worked in Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Tunisia, where he got his inspiration for his first novel, Benny and Omar, which was published in 1998 and won the White Raven Award. The following year Colfer wrote a sequel, Benny and Babe, which was the first of three of his books that have been shortlisted for the 2000 Bisto Book of the Year Award, signaling the beginning of Colfer’s career as a critically acclaimed author.

Colfer has gone on to write 26 books, published in languages and countries from all over the world. He has won numerous awards, including the WH Smith People’s Choice Award, the Irish World Literature Award, and the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year, among others. In 2009 he was honored to be commissioned to write the sixth installment of Douglas Adam’s world famous The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy saga, And Another Thing…

Artemis Fowl is probably the most famous of Eoin Colfer’s books and characters, and has played a huge part of his launch to literary superstardom. It is being developed into a film by Miramax, an obvious transition as the novels’ engaging plot and the fast-paced tenor of the book are perfectly suited for the film industry. Moreover, these fast and funny plots are matched by Colfer’s humorous and witty style of writing. He deals with difficult topics such as death, morality, poverty, and cultural differences in a way that is not overbearing, but accessible and palateable. It is this appeal that makes Eoin Colfer one of the forefront writers in his field, and one of Ireland’s bestselling children’s authors.

Selected Publications

Benny and Omar. Dublin: O’Brien Press, 1998.
The Wish List. Dublin: O’Brien Press, 2000.
Artemis Fowl. New York: Viking, 2001.
The Legend of Spud Murphy. London: Puffin, 2004.
Airman. London: Puffin, 2008. [End Page 31]
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