Eoin Colfer was
born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1965, one of five brothers. Teaching has been the
profession of both his parents, and Eoin attended the primary school at which his
father taught. Eoin first started writing at school, and also illustrated his
stories as he went along. He decided to become a teacher like his parents, and
was trained at Carysfort College in Dublin. In the early 90s, he and his wife
worked abroad, in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. It was life in Tunisia that
influenced Eoin Colfer’s 1st novel, “Benny and
Omar” (1998). The novel was so successful that the sequel – “Benny and
Babe” was published in 1999. His publishers, the O’Brien Press, then
commissioned him to write 3 titles in their “flyers” series – “Going
Potty”, “Ed’s Funny
Feet”, and “Ed’s Bed”.
His next novel, “The Wish
List”, was published in 2000, and won the 2001 Bisto Merit Award.
Eoin decided to change literary agent after this, and hit
the big time with “Artemis Fowl” (2001). The success of the book allowed Eoin
to give up teaching and concentrate on writing full time. “Artemis
Fowl: The Artic Incident” was published in 2002, “Artemis
Fowl: The Eternity Code” in 2003, and “Artemis
Fowl: The Opal Deception” in 2005. Miramax and Tribeca have bought the film
rights to “Artemis Fowl”. Eoin has recently published 2 non Artemis Fowl titles
– “The
Legend of Spud Murphy” and “The
Supernaturalist” (both 2004), and “Half-Moon
Investigations” was published in 2006. Eoin Colfer apparently does not like comparison of his
Artemis Fowl books to Harry Potter, but his publishers were no doubt eager to
share in the Potter gold. We’re not huge fans of Artemis Fowl here at
Authortrek, but then we’re not in Eoin Colfer’s target audience. “Artemis Fowl”
won Children’s Book of the Year in 2001. The next book in the series, “Artemis
Fowl: The Last Colony” was released in 2006. According to Eoin Colfer it’s
about “an eighth family of fairies who, when humans drove the fairies
underground, they decided they didn’t want to go, so they lifted their island
out of time…And now the spell is wearing off, and they’re coming back. They’re
popping up all over the world for a few seconds”. Apparently, Artemis Fowl is
the only person who can predict when they will appear. It’s rumoured that
Artemis may be getting a sibling in this book, and that the hidden island may
be responsible for the Bermuda Triangle.
Heroes
& Villains: Eoin Colfer on Freddie Mercury – Eoin Colfer likes Freddie
Mercury, so he can’t be that bad. This is a very funny piece. I never dared
take my love of Queen this far
Open Book
– Eoin
Colfer’s audio interview with BBC Radio 4
As
to Artemis Fowl & his criminal ways – in this interview with Tracy
Grant, Eoin reveals that Artemis Fowl was originally going to a minor character
in the first book, but Eoin enjoyed writing about him so much that he became
the lead character. Eoin’s favourite book is Harper Lee’s “To Kill a
Mockingbird”
Eoin
Colfer interview – Eoin talks to Amanda Craig
BookLoons
– their interview with Eoin Colfer
Star Chats –
Eoin answers questions from his readers
Interview
with Eoin Colfer – Judith Ridge talks to Eoin
The Author Speaks
– Eoin Colfer reveals that he never really throws away any of his work
A
way with the Fairies – Eoin Colfer talks to Fran Atkinson
Childhood
nostalgia underpins new show – Claire Hill talks to Eoin Colfer about his
current tour
Cries of foul over ‘new Harry Potter’
– a lot
of UK booksellers didn’t like WH Smith’s exclusive deal to sell a paperback
edition of “Artemis Fowl” before other booksellers
Chasing
Harry Potter -
Deirdre Donahue's comparison of Artemis Fowl with
Harry Potter. She's particularly disturbed by the level of violence in
Artemis Fowl
A Case of Fowl Play -
Paul Gray of Time is not particularly impressed by Artemis Fowl
Artemis
Fowl plans to make movie debut – a report from “The Sunday Times” about Jim
Sheridan’s attempt to make an Artemis Fowl movie
Artemis Fowl:Trolls!! Operation Round-Up
Win
Tickets to Eoin Colfer Live! – Eoin’s tour of 2006
Buy Artemis Fowl stuff from Amazon.co.uk
Buy Artemis Fowl stuff from Amazon.com
Buy
Artemis Fowl stuff from Amazon.ca
