Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman is a British writer, illustrator, and screenwriter best known for the Heartstopper series. Born on 16 October 1994 in Chatham, Kent, Oseman studied English Literature at Durham University before building a career in young-adult fiction and comics. Their first novel, Solitaire, was published by HarperCollins in 2014, when Oseman was nineteen. It follows Tori Spring, a pessimistic sixth-form student, and Michael Holden, a new pupil whose arrival unsettles her isolation. The novel also introduced Charlie Spring, Tori’s younger brother, before he became a central Heartstopper character. Its fictional universe later expanded across novels, novellas, comics, and television adaptations. Oseman subsequently revisited characters from Solitaire in the novellas This Winter and Nick and Charlie, both published in 2015. This Winter depicts Christmas from the perspectives of Tori, Charlie, and their brother Oliver, while Nick and Charlie addresses the title couple’s relationship as Nick prepares to leave for university. Oseman’s other prose novels are Radio Silence, published in 2016; I Was Born for This, published in 2018; and Loveless, published in 2020. Radio Silence follows Frances Janvier and podcaster Aled Last; Loveless centres on Georgia Warr as she begins university and explores her aromantic asexual identity in her first term. Heartstopper began as a webcomic in 2016 and tells the story of Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, pupils at the fictional Truham Grammar School. Charlie, who is openly gay, develops feelings for rugby player Nick; Nick eventually recognises that he is bisexual. Oseman crowdfunded print editions through Kickstarter before Hachette Children’s Group began publishing Heartstopper commercially as graphic novels in 2019. The comic also follows friends including Tao Xu, Elle Argent, Isaac Henderson, and Victoria “Tori” Spring. Its later volumes take Nick and Charlie through school, a Paris trip, mental-health struggles, and decisions about university and the future after school. Oseman created and wrote the television adaptation of Heartstopper for Netflix. The first season premiered in April 2022, with Joe Locke as Charlie and Kit Connor as Nick. Oseman also served as an executive producer. The adaptation retains Truham, the neighbouring girls’ school Higgs, and many comic characters, including Yasmin Finney’s Elle and William Gao’s Tao. Its early episodes follow Charlie’s move into Nick’s form class and their growing friendship. Netflix released the second season in August 2023 and the third in October 2024. Netflix announced in April 2025 that the story would conclude with a feature film on screen.