Cressida Cowell

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

(born 15 April 1966) is a British children's author, popularly known for the book series, '' How to Train Your Dragon'', which has subsequently become an award-winning franchise as adapted for the screen by

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a divisio ...

. As of 2015, the series has sold more than seven million copies around the world. In addition to her other publications, Cowell works with illustrator Neal Layton in the ongoing series of Emily Brown stories. The first in the series, ''

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown ''That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown'' is a children's picture book written by Cressida Cowell and illustrated by Neal Layton, published in 2006. It won the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Gold Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Booktrus ...

'', won a Nestlé Children’s Book Award.

Personal life

The Hon. Cressida Cowell was born on 15 April 1966 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She is the daughter of Michael Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham. Her uncle, by marriage, is U.S Supreme Court justice

Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and rep ...

. As a child, Cowell states she "grew up in

and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland," and that it was during summers spent on the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whi ...

, where she first began to develop her writing and drawing skills: :"I spent a great deal of time as a child on a tiny, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland...By the time I was eight, my family had built a small stone house on the island, and with the boat, we could nearly fish for enough food to feed the family for the whole summer. "From then on, every year we spent four weeks of the summer and two weeks of the spring on the island. The house was lit by candle-light, and there was no telephone or television, so I spent a lot of time drawing and writing stories." Cowell attended

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

where she studied English, and she also attended

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of ...

and

Brighton University The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...

where she learned illustration. Cressida Cowell presently resides in

with her husband Simon, a former director and interim CEO of the

International Save the Children Alliance Save the Children International, formerly known as the International Save The Children Alliance, is a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to improve the living of children. There are 30 Save the Children member organizations around the wo ...

; daughters Maisie and Clementine; and son Alexander.

List of works

''How to Train Your Dragon'' books

* ''How to Train Your Dragon'' (2003) * ''How to Be a Pirate'' (2004) * ''How to Speak Dragonese'' (2005) * ''How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse'' (2006) * ''How to Twist a Dragon's Tale'' (2007) * ''A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons'' (2008) * ''How to Ride a Dragon's Storm'' (2008) * ''How to Break a Dragon's Heart'' (2009) * ''How to Steal a Dragon's Sword'' (2011) * ''How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel'' (2012) * ''How to Betray a Dragon's Hero'' (2013) * ''How to Fight a Dragon's Fury'' (2015)

Related books

*''How to Train Your Viking, by Toothless the Dragon'' (2006) *''The Day of the Dreader'' (2012) *''The Incomplete Book of Dragons'' (2014) * ''A Journal for Heroes'' (2015)

''Emily Brown'' books

* ''

'' (2007) * ''Emily Brown and the Thing'' (2007) * ''Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency'' (2010) * ''Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown!'' (2011) * ''Emily Brown and Father Christmas'' (2018)

''The Wizards of Once'' books

* ''The Wizards of Once'' (2017) * ''The Wizards of Once: Twice Magic'' (2018) * ''The Wizards of Once: Knock Three Times'' (2019) * ''The Wizards of Once: Never and Forever'' (2020)

''The Treetop Twins Adventures'' books

* ''The Twins Take on T. Rex'' (2019) * ''The Twins Discover a Diplodocus'' (2019) * ''The Twins Meet a Massospondylus'' (2019) * ''The Twins Climb a Camarasaurus'' (2019) * ''The Twins Play with a Plesiosaur'' (2019) * ''The Twins Help a Hadrosaur'' (2019) * ''The Twins Have a Picnic with a Spinosaurus'' (2019) * ''The Twins Track Down a Triceratops'' (2019) * ''The Twins Meet a Mystery Dinosaur'' (2019) * ''The Twins Save a Stegosaurus'' (2019) * ''The Twins Meet a Hatzegopteryx'' (2019) * ''The Twins Meet Two Tyrannosaurs'' (2019)

''The Treetop Twins: Wilderness Adventures'' books

* ''The Twins Follow a Polar Bear'' (2020) * ''The Twins Meet a Quagga'' (2020) * ''The Twins Help a Pink Dolphin'' (2020) * ''The Twins Discover a Dodo'' (2020) * ''The Twins Walk With a Woolly Mammoth'' (2020) * ''The Twins Track a Tiger'' (2021) * ''The Twins Meet a Monkey'' (2021) * ''The Twins Greet a Great Auk'' (2021) * ''The Twins Pursue a Penguin'' (2021) * ''The Twins Run After a Rhino'' (2021) * ''The Twins Watch a Whale'' (2021) * ''The Twins Seek a Saola'' (2021)

''The Tiny Detectives'' books

* ''Can Trees Talk?'' (2021) * ''Do Fish Glow in the Dark?'' (2021) * ''Do Spiders Have Pets?'' (2021) * ''Do Koalas Have Fingerprints?'' (2021) * ''Why Do Stars Twinkle? (2021)'' * ''Can Animals Walk on Water?'' (2021) * ''Is the Middle of the Earth Hot?'' (2021) * ''Why is the Sky Blue?'' (2021) * ''Can Wolves See in the Dark?'' (2022) * ''Can it Snow in the Desert?'' (2022) * ''Is There Life at the Bottom of the Deepest Ocean?'' (2022) * ''Can Butterflies Taste With Their Feet?'' (2022)

Other books

* ''Little Wonder'' (1998) * ''Little Bo Peep's Library Book'' (1999) * ''Don’t Do That Kitty, Kilroy'' (1999) * ''What Shall We Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby'' (2001) * ''Hiccup the Viking Who Was Seasick'' (2001) * ''One Too Many Tigers'' (2001) * ''Claydon Was a Clingy Child'' (2002) * ''Super Sue'' (2003) * ''Daddy on the Moon'' (2005) * ''Super Sue at Super School'' (2005) * ''There's No Such Thing as a Ghostie'' (2005) * ''Little Bo Peep’s Troublesome Sheep'' (2009) * ''The Story of Tantrum O'Furrily'' (2018) * ''Which Way to Anywhere'' (2022)

Awards

* 2006 Nestlé Children’s Book Prize, Gold Award, 0–5 years category: ''That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown'' by Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton (Orchard Books) * 2018

Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme ''Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...

, Best Story category: ''The Wizards of Once'' (Hodder Children's Books) * 2019

Children’s Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the 'Waterstones Children's Laureate' is a prestigious position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their fie ...

Cowell was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to children's literature. In 2021, she was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...

(FRSL).

References

External links

Cressida Cowell
(official site)
How To Train Your Dragon novel series
(official site) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowell, Cressida British children's writers Writers from London Living people Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art Alumni of the University of Brighton Daughters of viscounts 1966 births British women novelists 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers DreamWorks Animation people Members of the Order of the British Empire Women science fiction and fantasy writers English fantasy writers How to Train Your Dragon Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature