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Authors beginning with: O

Chris O’Dowd

Chris O'Dowd is an actor, writer and director. He is well known for his starring role in Bridesmaids, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award and a Screen Actor's Guild Award for 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture'. He won the Irish Film and Television Award for 'Best Supporting Actor - Film'. Chris also starred in Wayne Blair's The Sapphires, which broke Australian box office records.

Chris starred in the TV series Family Tree and also lends his voice to Chris Wedge's animated film, Epic. He was also seen starring in Lena Dunham's HBO series Girls and Judd Apatow's This is 40.

Chris's other television credits include starring in the cult comedy series The IT Crowd, plus the critically acclaimed series Crimson Petal & the White.

Dara Ó Briain

Dara Ó Briain is a stand-up comedian and television presenter, best known for hosting BBC’s Mock the Week and Robot Wars. He started his career in television as a children’s presenter on RTÉ, while performing his first stand-up gigs on the Irish comedy circuit. This was after studying Mathematical Physics at University College, Dublin. In 2011, Dara co-hosted BBC1’s astronomical show Stargazing Live alongside Professor Brian Cox, sharing his love of space and science with the nation. 

Dara’s first children’s book, Beyond the Sky, was published in September 2017. He has since published several children's books concerning science.

David Orme

David Orme has written over 200 books on all sorts of subjects, including How to be a Pop Star. (He has never been one of those.) He has written serious stories, and non-fiction books on serious subjects, but The Boffin Boy series is his favourite of all the books he has written. This is because they made him laugh when he was writing them! There are 18 books in the series, all brilliantly illustrated by Peter Richardson.

David O'Doherty and Chris Judge

David O'Doherty is a stand-up comedian, writer and regular guest on television shows such as QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You? He has written two theatre shows for children, including one where he fixed their bicycles live on stage.

Chris Judge is an illustrator and painter based in Dublin. His work has appeared in advertising, newspapers, magazines and exhibitions around the world. His debut picture book, The Lonely Beast, won the Irish Children’s Book Award in 2011.

Gemma O'Neilll

Gemma O'Neill is an illustration graduate from University College Falmouth. After she met the Templar team at the Bologna Book Fair, who were instantly struck by her fresh style, Gemma's first picture book was signed up before graduation. Gemma lives in Portrush, County Antrim.

Helen Oxenbury

Helen Oxenbury was born in Ipswich and attended the Ipswich School of Art before moving to London to study at the Central School of Art and Design. Her career has spanned many fields, including design work in theatre, film and television. She started illustrating children’s books in 1964 and has published books across age groups, from classic board books for babies to collections of nursery rhymes for all ages.

Oxenbury is a two-time winner and four-time runner up for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She first won in 1969, when the two books cited were The Quangle Wangle's Hat, an edition of Edward Lear's 19th-century poem, and The Dragon of an Ordinary Family, a new story by Margaret Mahy. She won again in 1999 for her illustrated edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal in 2007, Oxenbury’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was named by a panel as one of the top ten winning works of all time. Along with her husband John Burningham, Helen won the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Hiawyn Oram

Hiawyn Oram is a very successful author of children's books in Britain. Her books include the popular Not-So-Grizzly Bear Stories, the Animal Heroes series, and Mona the Vampire. She lives in London.

Jan Ormerod

Jan Ormerod was born in Australia and as a child divided her time between standing on her head, reading and drawing. Jan has divided her adult life between England, America and Australia. She has two grown up daughters, one in New York and one in London.

Her first picture book, Sunshine (1981), won the Mother Goose Award and the Australian Picture Book of the Year, and was also listed as an American Library Association Notable Book in the USA. Since then she has illustrated over 60 picture books, won many honours and awards, and is published in 21 countries. 

Kenneth Oppel

Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn won a Printz Honor Award, and the Canadian Governor General’s Prize. Its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller. His ‘Silverwing’ trilogy has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, and has been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Movie rights in This Dark Endeavour have been bought by the producers of Twilight.

Sara Ogilvie

Sara Ogilvie creates award-winning art which has been exhibited across the UK and abroad. Working as a freelance illustrator Sara creates images for editorial, design, publishing and advertising. She is the illustrator of many books including Dogs Don't Do Ballet, Rhinos Don't Eat Pancakes and The Worst Princess.

Tọlá Okogwu

Tọlá Okogwu is a British-Nigerian author, journalist and hair care educator. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, but raised in London, England, she holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. Having spent several years exploring the world of blogging, hair care and freelance writing, she finally returned to her first love: fiction. Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun was her first middle-grade book. Tọlá now lives in Kent with her husband and two daughters. An avid reader and lover of music, she's also a sucker for melted cheese.