Alice Oseman

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

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 further in Oseman's web comic Heartstopper. The novel explores themes such as friendship, mental health issues, eating disorders 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 Oseman published her second novel, Radio Silence.[9] The novel follows Frances Janvier, a high-achiever whose life revolves around her admission to Cambridge, who meets the shy creator behind her favourite podcast, Aled Last. 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 University.[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 Solitaire in interviews.[12][13][14] The novel won the 2017 Silver Inky Award for young adult literature.[15]

Oseman's 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]

Oseman is also the author and 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 October 2018, volume two in July 2019, volume three in February 2020 and volume four in May 2021. [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 a third young adult novel, I Was Born For This, all of Oseman'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 Loveless, a young adult novel is based on her own experiences in university.[25]

See-Saw Films optioned the television rights to Heartstopper in 2019. On 20 January 2021, it was revealed that a live-action television adaptation of Heartstopper was ordered to series by Netflix, with Oseman writing the script and Euros Lyn directing. The executive producer is Patrick Walters of See-Saw Films.[26] Kit Connor and Joe Locke star as Nick and Charlie respectively.[27] It premiered on 22 April 2022.[28]

While promoting Loveless, Oseman opened up about being aromantic asexual.[29] Oseman uses she and they pronouns.[30]

• Official website
• Alice Oseman's channel on YouTube