Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman is an English author, illustrator, screenwriter, and creator of the Heartstopper graphic-novel series. Born on 16 October 1994 in Chatham, Kent, Oseman studied English Literature at Durham University, graduating in 2016. Their fiction frequently centres on British teenagers, friendship, mental health, fandom, sexuality, and the pressures of school and family life.

Oseman’s first novel, Solitaire, was published by HarperCollins in 2014. They wrote it between the ages of seventeen and nineteen. The book follows Tori Spring, a cynical sixth-form student whose routine is disrupted by Michael Holden and by “Solitaire,” an anonymous group staging increasingly unsettling pranks at their school. Solitaire introduced several characters who would recur in Oseman’s later work, including Tori’s younger brother Charlie Spring.

Charlie became one of the two central characters in Heartstopper, alongside Nick Nelson. Oseman began publishing Heartstopper as a webcomic on Tumblr in 2016, later making it available on Webtoon and Tapas. The story follows Charlie, an openly gay student who has experienced bullying, and Nick, a popular rugby player who gradually understands that he is bisexual. Printed editions of Heartstopper have been published in multiple volumes, with Oseman both writing and illustrating the series.

The Heartstopper universe also includes the novella Nick and Charlie, co-written with Oseman’s friend Patrick Ness? No: Nick and Charlie was written by Oseman alone and published in 2015. It explores the couple’s relationship as Nick prepares to leave for university. This Winter, published in 2015, is another novella featuring the Spring family and is set during a difficult Christmas period.

Oseman’s other novels are Radio Silence, published in 2016; I Was Born for This, published in 2018; and Loveless, published in 2020. Radio Silence focuses on Frances Janvier, a high-achieving student, and the anonymous creator of a science-fiction podcast. I Was Born for This examines celebrity culture through the boy band The Ark and its devoted fans. Loveless follows Georgia Warr as she begins university and questions her assumptions about romance, sex, and identity; its protagonist identifies as asexual and aromantic.

Netflix adapted Heartstopper into a television series, first released in April 2022. Oseman created and wrote the adaptation, with Kit Connor playing Nick Nelson and Joe Locke playing Charlie Spring. The series retained the comic’s school setting, supporting characters, and emphasis on queer teenage lives.