We were so excited to have Alice come to visit Hero HQ, as huge fans of her books and graphic novels, and the incredible TV adaptation of Heartstopper. We were ready with questions, and many many books to sign.
Alice Oseman is a human who is just as wonderfully joyful and friendly in real life as you would expect having read any of her books. When we asked her to describe her series, Heartstopper, in 3 words she used Joyful, Optimistic, and Emotional. Her books are healing and hopeful, funny and touching, cosy and comforting. Alllll the alliteration. I love the way that Alice Oseman gives us queer characters living their best lives, navigating their challenges alongside beautiful friends and supportive adults. Alice brings her beautiful sense of what it is to be human together with her wonderfully iconic drawing style and creates, quite simply, magic. Joyful and optimistic magic.
In case you are new to Nick and Charlie, Heartstopper is a now completed series of beautifully drawn graphic novels (as well as some extra connected novellas and stories!) that all started as a webcoming about two teens, Nick and Charlie, who become unlikely friends and more. It's a coming of age story and a romance and an exploration of identity and mental health. Get the graphic novels, and then soak up the incredible TV adaptation (the casting is incredible and the soundtrack is pure magic).
Alice is visiting Aotearoa for the first time to take part in two events, one in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland presented by Auckland Writers Festival, and one in Ōtautahi Christchurch as part of WORD. We were so lucky that she was also spending some time visiting bookstores across the city, as well as spending time at special spots like Piha on the West Coast. We gave her a tour of our not so little spot in Hobsonville and got chatting all thing Heartstopper (and all things books in general!).
Quickfire Questions with Alice Oseman
Q&A Time with Alice Oseman
Firstly, on behalf of so many readers here in Aotearoa who adore Nick and Charlie and Heartstopper, thank you for bringing their story to life and for providing such a comfort to us all. How does it feel to have created something that means so much for so many?
Alice: It's really special just to know that something you've made has affected so many people, and it's been enjoyed by so many people. It's really beyond my wildest dreams.
Tell us a bit about how Heartstopper started for you and Nick and Charlie’s origins
Alice: So they were characters in my debut novel, Solitaire, and in that novel we know that they're in a relationship, but we don't really know much about them outside. And when I finished writing that book I just knew I had to tell their story. I'd always enjoyed drawing and wanted to make a comic one day and this was kind of the perfect opportunity to do that.
What is your writing and illustration process like? Does one come before the other?
Alice: Writing first! I always write all of my dialogue before I draw. So when I sit down to draw a page, I know exactly what needs to happen on it. And then I just have to figure out what it actually looks like.
What is it like to have come to the end of Heartstopper? How did you know when it was time to close that chapter?
Alice: I think I felt that I had explored everything that I wanted to explore with these characters. I knew that I always wanted the story of their relationship to be in their teens, and to not extend it beyond that. The characters are just about to be adults and so I felt like it was a really good time to wrap up.
Can you tell us a bit about the experience of adapting Heartstopper for television and what surprised you with that process?
Alice: Well one thing that did surprise me is that writing a script for TV is not that different to writing for graphic novels because you're just writing dialogue and scene directions which then gets translated into a visual medium. The main challenge was making the story work for a TV season because it needs to have more ongoing drama than the graphic novels do, they're very low stakes!
Can you tell us about what’s coming next for you and what you might be working on now?
Alice: First thing is to have a break, which is really nice. I'm quite excited to have so many options available to me, and I like the idea of writing other prose novels. I haven't done that for many years.
Any favourite spots in your visit to New Zealand so far?
Well, we went to Piha beach which was so good - I've never seen a beach like that with the black sand!
We had to say thank you to Alice for visiting with a book and I couldn't not give her a copy of one of my favourites, Counting Down with Theodore Brown by fellow bookseller Daniel Devenney. This book reminds me of Heartstopper and Alice Osemann's novels in it's representation of folks coming-of-age and finding themselves with the support of beautiful friendships, supportive adults, and the chance to fall in love. Alice also had come on a mission to get herself a copy of John Green's newest novel, Hollywood Ending, which Shirl has just finished so we made sure she left with a copy of that one too.
Ngā mihi nui to Alice for visiting Book Hero and also to Hachette for arranging her visit. It was such a delight to get to meet a human who has brought so much joy and comfort to so many humans through her art and her storytelling.
Make sure to go grab yourself a signed copy of one of her amazing books while you can!
