Laura Cowan author page

Laura Cowan biography

Laura Cowan is a British children’s author who writes fiction, non-fiction and activity books for Usborne Publishing. She studied literature at the University of Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin. Before joining Usborne as a children’s book writer, she taught English in Barcelona, Dublin and Cambridge, spending four years teaching in Barcelona.

Her illustrated non-fiction titles include The Usborne Book of Night Time (2018), illustrated by Bonnie Pang, and The Usborne Book of the Moon (2019), illustrated by Diana Toledano. The latter explores the Moon through astronomy, mythology, human history and space exploration, including the Apollo 11 landing. Cowan discussed her research and the book’s development in a 2019 interview with ReadingZone.

Cowan has also written Build Your Own Website (2020), illustrated by Anna Hardinge, which introduces readers to HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Her other Usborne publications include 24 Hours in the Stone Age (2021) and Lots of Things to Know About Space, illustrated by Alyssa Gonzalez.

Her picture book Miss Molly’s School of Making Friends (2023), illustrated by Rosie Reeve, follows Kerry Koala as she learns about conversations, cooperation, disagreements and friendship at Miss Molly’s treetop school. The book forms part of Usborne’s Miss Molly series.

Cowan has also collaborated with other Usborne writers. She co-wrote Lots of Things to Know About Robots with James Maclaine, illustrated by Susanna Rumiz. Published in September 2025, the book examines robot design, programming and applications in areas including space exploration.