Eoin Colfer, the second of five brothers, was born and raised in Wexford, a seaside town in the south-east of Ireland. His first novel, Benny and Omar was an instant bestseller in Ireland, and Artemis Fowl, his first book featuring the brilliant young anti-hero was an immediate international bestseller. It was winner of both the WHSmith 'People's Choice' Children's Book of the Year and the Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Blue Peter Book Award.