The Reading Room

• Name: Eoin Colfer
• Date of Birth: 1965
• Place of Birth: Wexford, Ireland
• Siblings: Four Brothers
• Previous job: Primary School Teacher

Eoin Colfer grew up in Wexford, Ireland. Both Eoin Colfer's parents were teachers and Eoin was taught by his dad at Wexford's Christian Brothers primary. He remembers his dad's presence in school as "witty... he made school fun." He first developed a passion for writing in primary school, reading Viking books inspired by his history lessons at the time. Eoin's first attempt at serious writing came in the sixth grade: "I wrote a play for the class about Norse Gods. Everyone died in the end except me." Eoin followed in his parents' footsteps and became a teacher. He liked to end each day with ten minutes of reading with his students. "I'd find myself elaborating if I saw the interest flagging," he says, "I'd find myself elaborating if I saw the interest flagging," he says, "I'd add in gory bits. In the end I maede up my own stories." In 2001 the first Artemis Fowl book was published and he was able to resign from teaching and concentrate fully on writing. Eoin lives in the seaside town of Wexford, Ireland, where he grew up, with his wife Jackie and their two sons, Sean and Finn.