Eoin Colfer followed his parents into teaching and soon began to invent stories for his pupils. His first novel, BENNY AND OMER, was a bestseller in Ireland - like ARTEMIS FOWL, it was written after a day's teaching and after his young son's bedtime. Eoin lives in Wexford, Ireland. ARTEMIS FOWL was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and won the WHSmith Children's Book of the Year Award.