Cressida Cowell MBE FRSL (born 15 April 1966)^[1] is a British children's author, popularly known for the book series, How to Train Your Dragon, which has subsequently become an award-winning film franchise as adapted by DreamWorks Animation.^[2] As of 2015, the series has sold more than seven million copies around the world.^[3]

In addition to her other publications, Cowell works with illustrator Neal Layton^[4] in the ongoing series of Emily Brown stories. The first in the series, That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown, won a Nestlé Children’s Book Award.

The Hon. Cressida Cowell was born on 15 April 1966 in London. She is the daughter of Michael Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham. Her uncle, by marriage, is U.S. Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer.

As a child, Cowell states she "grew up in London and on a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland,"^[5] and that it was during summers spent on the Inner Hebrides,^[6] where she first began to develop her writing and drawing skills:

"I spent a great deal of time as a child on a tiny, uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland...By the time I was eight, my family had built a small stone house on the island, and with the boat, we could nearly fish for enough food to feed the family for the whole summer."^[7]

"From then on, every year we spent four weeks of the summer and two weeks of the spring on the island. The house was lit by candle-light, and there was no telephone or television, so I spent a lot of time drawing and writing stories."^[8]

Cowell attended Keble College, Oxford where she studied English, and she also attended Saint Martin's School of Art and Brighton University where she learned illustration. She studied at Marlborough College (1982–84).^[9][10][11]

Cressida Cowell presently resides in London^[12] with her husband Simon, a former director and interim CEO of the International Save the Children Alliance; daughters Maisie and Clementine; and son Alexander.^[13][14]

• 2006 Nestlé Children’s Book Prize, Gold Award, 0–5 years category: That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton (Orchard Books)^[16]
• 2018 Blue Peter Book Award, Best Story category: The Wizards of Once (Hodder Children's Books)^[17]
• 2019 Children’s Laureate

Cowell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to children's literature.^[18]

In 2021, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).^[19]