Cressida Cowell author page

Cressida Cowell biography

Cressida Cowell MBE FRSL is a British author and illustrator, best known for her bestselling How to Train Your Dragon series. Born on 15 April 1966 in London, she studied English at Keble College, Oxford, followed by Graphic Design at Saint Martin’s School of Art and an MA in Narrative Illustration from the University of Brighton.

Her writing career began with picture books, including Little Bo Peep’s Library Book (1999). In 2003, she published the first of twelve novels in the How to Train Your Dragon series, which has sold over 11 million copies worldwide and was adapted into a successful film franchise by DreamWorks Animation.

Cowell is also the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal Layton. The first in the series, That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, won the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Gold Award in 2006. Her other works include the Wizards of Once series, which has been translated into 37 languages, and the Which Way to Anywhere series.

From 2019 to 2022, Cowell served as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate. She is an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency, a trustee of World Book Day, and a founder patron of the Children’s Media Foundation. In recognition of her services to children’s literature, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2020 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2021.

Author website

Books by Cressida Cowell

How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1)
How to Be a Pirate (How to Train Your Dragon, #2)
How to Speak Dragonese (How to Train Your Dragon, #3)
How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse (How to Train Your Dragon, #4)
How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale (How to Train Your Dragon, #5)
A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons (How to Train Your Dragon, #6)
How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm (How to Train Your Dragon, #7)
How to Break a Dragon’s Heart (How to Train Your Dragon, #8)
The Wizards of Once (The Wizards of Once #1)
How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword (How to Train Your Dragon, #9)
How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel (How to Train Your Dragon, #10)
How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero (How to Train Your Dragon, #11)
How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury (How To Train Your Dragon, #12)
Twice Magic (The Wizards of Once, #2)
That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown
How to Train Your Viking, by Toothless the Dragon
The Complete Book of Dragons: A Guide to Dragon Species
Hiccup: The Viking Who Was Seasick
What Shall We Do With The Boo Hoo Baby?
How to Train Your Dragon: Incomplete Book of Dragons
The Day of the Dreader (How to Train Your Dragon World Book Day 2012)
Knock Three Times
How to Train Your Dragon Boxed Set (How to Train Your Dragon, #1-6)
How to Train Your Dragon: The First Collection (How to Train Your Dragon, #1-3)
How to Train Your Dragon
Emily Brown and the Thing
How to Train Your Dragon Gift Set #2
Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency
The Story of Tantrum O’Furrily
Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown!