Cressida Cowell

Cressida Cowell, born Cressida Hare on 15 April 1966 in London, is a British author best known for the book series How to Train Your Dragon, which became a media franchise adapted by DreamWorks Animation; by 2015 the series had sold more than seven million copies around the world. She works with the illustrator Neal Layton on the Emily Brown stories, and her book The Wizards of Once won the 2018 Blue Peter Book Award in the Best Story category. She studied English at Keble College, Oxford, served as Children's Laureate from 2019, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to children's literature, and in 2021 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.