How much do you know about the Heartstopper author?
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY ALICE OSEMAN VIA INSTAGRAM
Alice Oseman is the brain behind the beloved queer coming-of-age story Heartstopper. After Netflix picked up the book series for adaptation, they have amassed thousands of fans and built a loving community centred on LGBTQIA representation. Here are five things you may not know about the author.
They are asexual and aromantic
Alice has been very open about their sexuality and is arguably one of the most famous ace/aro people in popular culture. Their book Loveless is inspired by their experiences coming to terms with the labels “asexual” and “aromantic” when they first heard them at university.
Beyond Loveless, many of Oseman’s characters are on the asexual spectrum. In the Netflix adaptation of Heartstopper, Isaac is asexual, and fans have speculated that Charlie’s older sister Tori is too, as her book counterpart identifies with the label. Book fans will also be familiar with Aled Last, one of Charlie’s friends in the Heartstopper series and lead of their own book, Radio Silence. Aled identifies as demisexual and is one of the few characters in mainstream media that represents a sexuality in between allosexual and asexual.
They were 17 when they wrote their first book
Over a decade ago, Alice created the first installment of the Oseman-verse and introduced the world to Nick, Charlie and, most importantly, Tori. The author’s first book was Solitaire, a story about the elder Spring sibling, who tries to solve the mystery of who is pranking her school, all while battling the declining mental health of not just her brother, but herself.
Alice was on their way to sixth form classes when they were signed by a publishing agent. By the time they went to university, there was a bidding war to see who would ultimately publish Solitaire. The book was praised for providing a realistic portrayal of the experiences of teenage girls.
Nick and Charlie weren’t supposed to have their own series
When Alice wrote Solitaire, Nick and Charlie were very minor characters. But, like the rest of the world, the author fell in love with the couple. Their supportive romance sparked the idea of writing an LGBTQIA series that was full of love focused on this pair.
Alice soon got to work creating a web series about Nick and Charlie. Illustrated like a graphic novel, short episodes would appear on sites like Tumblr, Tapas and Webtoon. Though several installments have now been published as physical books, Alice continues to post a few pages of the final book online as they create them.
Their childhood hero was Artemis Fowl
“I just wanted to be Artemis Fowl. I thought he was the coolest person ever.” Alice told The Guardian during the press tour for their book Radio Silence. They added that the book character was probably their childhood hero.
The series was Alice’s favourite throughout their teenage years. Their experience with fandom inspired I Was Born For This, Alice’s third young adult novel. The 2018 book follows Angel Rahimi, a mega fan of teenage boyband The Ark. After meeting the band’s frontman Jimmy Kaga-Ricci, the two start up an unusual friendship.
They have a Radio Silence tattoo
The author’s second YA novel means a lot to them. Radio Silence is about Frances Janvier, a sixth former whose entire life has been about getting into Cambridge, and Aled Last, the host of Frances’ favourite podcast and a student at Durham, who struggles deeply with the university lifestyle and their growing fame.
Aled’s experience at university was inspired by Alice’s. To commemorate the book, they got a tattoo of Aled’s computer and a smiley face.
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