Eoin Colfer

Owen Colfer was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1965 and is a teacher. His first novel, "Benny and Omar," was published in 1998 and immediately became a bestseller in Ireland. His second book, "Benny and Babe," was nominated for the Bisto Book of the Year Award in 2000. Colfer continued to write for both young and adult readers. However, nothing foreshadowed the sensation that "Artemis Fowl" would create even before its release. Colfer received the largest advance ever given to a new author, while the film rights were purchased by the film company Miramax. "Artemis Fowl" was even described as "Die Hard with fairies," drawing a parallel to the protagonist of the movie "Die Hard," Bruce Willis. Following this success, Colfer decided to take a break from teaching to focus on the second part of the "Artemis Fowl" trilogy. "I don't know which I prefer, teaching or writing," he says, "because for me, they are directly related. I draw ideas from the children I teach and teach the children with the books I read to them."