Alice Oseman

Alice May Oseman (born 16 October 1994)[1] is an English author of young adult fiction. She secured her first publishing deal at 17, and had her first novel, Solitaire, published in 2014.[2] She is also the author of Radio Silence, I Was Born For This, Loveless, and the web comic Heartstopper. Her novels focus on contemporary teenage life in the UK. Her novels received several awards – Inky Awards and United By Pop Awards.

Alice Oseman
BornAlice May Oseman
(1994-10-16) 16 October 1994
Chatham, Kent, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materDurham University
GenreYoung Adult Fiction
Website
aliceoseman.com

Early life and education

Oseman was born in Chatham, Kent. She grew up in village near Rochester with her younger brother, William, and attended Rochester Grammar School.[3][4] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Durham University in 2016.[5][6]

Career

Oseman's debut novel, Solitaire,[7] was published by HarperCollins in 2014 following a bidding war.[2] It follows the story of Tori Spring, a pessimistic teenager, who meets Michael, her polar opposite- an unbelievable optimist. They attempt to find out who is behind the pranks at their school, which get more serious as the novel progresses. Other characters include her brother Charlie, who has a severe eating disorder, and is explored more in Oseman's web comic Heartstopper. The novel explores themes such as friendship, mental health issues and LGBT+ relationships.

Oseman published two ebook novellas based on characters from Solitaire, titled Nick and Charlie (July 2015) and This Winter (November 2015). Both were published by Harper Collins Children's Books.[8]

In 2016 she published her second novel, Radio Silence.[9] The novel follows Frances, a high-achiever whose life revolves around her admission to Cambridge, who meets the shy creator behind her favourite podcast, Aled. Themes such as academic pressures and LGBT+ relationships and identities are central to the novel. Oseman has been open in interviews about how Frances' experience in Radio Silence was similar to her own school pressure and a later disillusionment with academia following her education at Durham.[10] This novel has been praised for representing characters of various ethnicities, genders and sexualities.[11] Oseman has often written about the importance of writing diversely on her blog and has spoken about the lack of diversity in Solitare in interviews.[12][13][14] The novel won the 2017 Silver Inky Award for young adult literature.[15]

Her third book, entitled I Was Born For This, was published in May 2018.[16] It follows the story of Fereshteh "Angel" Rahimi and Jimmy Kaga-Ricci. The story is about a band called The Ark and their fandom, with a particular focus on fandom among teenagers.[17] One reviewer said that a message in the book was that you can be a part of a fandom, but you have to make sure you don't lose yourself in it, and being an extreme fan can prevent those in the spotlight from feeling like they can be themselves.[18]

She is also the author/artist of the web comic Heartstopper,[19][20] which follows the romantic relationship between Charlie Spring (brother of Tori Spring) and Nick Nelson, both of whom are characters featured in Solitaire. The first four volumes of the comic have been acquired by Hachette Children's Group.[21] Volume one was published in February 2017, volume two in July 2019, volume three in February 2020.[22]

Oseman's novels have been praised for being "relatable"[23] and realistic in regards to their portrayal of contemporary teenage life. Her first book Solitaire was particularly praised due to her young age at the time of the publishing deal, which contributed to a BBC Breakfast interview on 22 July 2014.

In 2018, to celebrate the release of her third Young Adult novel, I Was Born For This, all of Alice's published books received new, matching covers.[24] The re-designed covers were released in May, along with the new book.

In July 2020, Oseman published her fourth novel Loveless, which is based on her own experiences in university.[25]

Adaptations

On 20 January 2021, it was revealed that a live-action television adaptation of Heartstopper was ordered to series at Netflix, with Oseman writing the script and Euros Lyn directing. The series will be produced by See-Saw Films.[26]

Personal life

While promoting Loveless, Oseman opened up about being aromantic asexual.[27]

Bibliography

Solitaire
  • Solitaire (HarperCollins young adult Books, 2014)

Novellas
  • Nick and Charlie (ebook, HarperCollins young adult Books, 2015)
  • This Winter (ebook, HarperCollins young adult Books, 2015)

Heartstopper
  • Heartstopper (2017)
  • Heartstopper graphic novel
    • Heartstopper: Volume 1 (Hodder young adult Books, 2019)
    • Heartstopper: Volume 2 (Hodder young adult Books, 2019)
    • Heartstopper: Volume 3 (Hodder young adult Books, 2020)
    • Heartstopper: Volume 4 (Hodder young adult Books, 2021)

Standalones
  • Radio Silence (HarperCollins young adult Books, 2016)
  • I Was Born For This (HarperCollins young adult Books, 2018)
  • Loveless (HarperCollins young adult Books, 2020)

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2017 Inky Awards Silver Inky (International Fiction) Radio Silence Won
2018 United By Pop Awards[28] YA Book of the Year I Was Born For This Won
2020 Goodreads Choice Awards[29] Best Graphic Novels & Comics Heartstopper Volume 3 Won

References
  1. "FAQ: ABOUT ME". chronicintrovert.tumblr.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. "Teenager's tale of angst wins six-figure deal | The Sunday Times". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  3. Alice Oseman: a literary sensation at 16 years old. The Times, 11 August 2014.
  4. Leonard, Sue J. (27 December 2014). "Alice Oseman". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  5. "Durham student secures a two-book publishing deal". Durham University. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. "Alice Oseman". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  7. jboo1698 (5 October 2014). "Solitaire by Alice Oseman – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  8. "Alice Oseman".
  9. HorseLover3000 (31 March 2016). "Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  10. "Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – Behind | BookPage". BookPage.com. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  11. "Book Review: Radio Silence (Alice Oseman) – Maia and a Little Moore". maiaandalittlemoore.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  12. Sproull, Patrick (22 February 2016). "Alice Oseman: Romance is not the centre of my world". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  13. "Hi Alice I really want to write more diversely,..." alice oseman. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  14. "alice oseman". alice oseman. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  15. "2017 Inky Winners Announced! | Inside A Dog". insideadog.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  16. https://www.fantasticfiction.com, [email protected] -. "I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman". fantasticfiction.com. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  17. "I Was Born For This". goodreads.com. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  18. Stocka, Isabella (30 January 2019). "Review: I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  19. "HEARTSTOPPER". heartstoppercomic.tumblr.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  20. "Drawn to reading: Using comics and illustrated stories to promote literacy in children". Irish Examiner. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  21. "HCG expands on Oseman's graphic novel series | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  22. "Alice Oseman".
  23. confessionsofabooklover (10 May 2016). "Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  24. "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  25. "An Interview with Alice Oseman". Julia's Bookcase. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  26. "Netflix Lands Adaptation Of YA Graphic Novel 'Heartstopper', 'Doctor Who's Euros Lyn To Direct See-Saw-Produced Series". Deadline Hollywood. 20 January 2021.
  27. "Alice Oseman on being aromantic asexual". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  28. "United By Pop Awards". United By Pop. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  29. "Goodreads Choice Awards 2020". goodreads.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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