Seven Stories - The Centre For Children's Books

23/07/2010

Eoin Colfer Live with Seven Stories

Eoin Colfer, the author responsible for the best-selling Artemis Fowl series, visited Newcastle for a very special event. As part of the Seven Stories’ There’s Nuffin Like a Puffin exhibition launch celebrations, former stand up comedian and teacher, Eoin, showcased the 7^th book in the Artemis Fowl series – Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex at The Peoples Theatre in Newcastle .

Eoin said, “I really enjoyed it at The Peoples Theatre today, the kids were up for a bit of a laugh. The kids – I suppose their exams are over, they’ve had their sports days, so there was a relaxed feeling and they were really well behaved. Usually the last week of term they are very excitable and asking cheeky questions. But they were all very nice, well mannered children, so well done!”

Eoin has achieved astonishing success with the Artemis Fowl series, which has been compared to a mix of James Bond and Brothers Grimm and made him the New York best-seller for children and teens. The series follows the main protagonist Artemis who, after discovering the existence of fairies, sets out to find his crime lord father, with plenty of high jinx, high tech weaponry and strange characters on the way.

Eoin was born in Wexford in 1965 and found his talent for writing in primary school where he wowed teachers with Viking stories inspired by his history lessons. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998 and was inspired by his experiences travelling though with his wife.

Events Officer Paul Black said, “It is a huge privilege to have Eoin working with Seven Stories. Artemis Fowl has been awarded the accolade of Puffin of Puffin’s and therefore it is very fitting to have Eoin as part of the 70 Years of Puffin celebrations. The Puffin of Puffins book was a selection of 7 titles from each decade of Puffin, opened to a public vote and Artemis Fowl beat off strong competition from titles such as Stig of the Dump by Clive King and Michelle Magorian’s Goodnight Mr Tom”.

Eoin has also written a number of stand alone books including The Worst Boy in the World, Airman and Wishlist as well as recently being commissioned to write the 6^th book in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, And Another Thing…

On the There’s Nuffin Like a Puffin exhibition, Eoin said, “I loved it, there’s so many levels to it, there is genuine just amusement at seeing things for the first time but then a certain amount of nostalgia when you look back at the covers from your own youth and then there’s the pride, the immense pride at having my own section in the exhibition, so a lot of emotions”

This event will be part of the launch celebrations for the iconic exhibition There’s Nuffin Like a Puffin which will be running at Seven Stories until 26 June 2011. The exhibition celebrates 70 years of Puffin literature and largely consists of the Seven Stories’ Kaye Webb collection, which was purchased from Sotherby’s in 1997. Titles in the exhibition include The Borrowers by Mary Norton, Hundred Mile an Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong and many more much loved classics.

There’s Nuffin Like a Puffin is now open to the public and features original artwork from Artemis Fowl – The Graphic Novel kindly lent to Seven Stories from Italian artists Giovanni Rigano and Paolo Lamanna. Plus a unique, never before seen, full length graphic of Butler and smaller unique graphics of other characters. For more information on the exhibition and to see the full summer programme visit www.sevenstories.org.uk.

-ENDS-