Canadian author Kenneth Oppel was born in 1967 in the mill town of Port Alberni, located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. However, he spent most of his childhood in Victoria, BC, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Oppel's passion for writing began at the age of twelve when he decided that he wanted to become an author. Initially, he wrote science fiction novels and later moved on to sorcery and sword tales.
When Oppel was fourteen, he began writing a humorous narrative about a boy who was addicted to video games during his summer holiday. The narrative turned out to be quite long, and he rewrote it the following summer. Oppel's family friend, who knew renowned author Roald Dahl, offered to show Dahl his story. Excitedly, Oppel agreed, and to his surprise, Dahl read his story and liked it enough to pass it on to his own literary agent. As a result, Oppel got a letter from the literary agent, offering to represent him, and they successfully sold his story.
Kenneth Oppel is a prolific author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn, one of his popular books, won a Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and the Canadian Governor General's Award for Children's Literature. Its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children's Novel of the Year by the London Times. Oppel's other notable works include Half Brother, This Dark Endeavor, The Boundless, and The Nest, which won the CLA Book of the Year for Children. His latest books are Inkling, Bloom, and Ghostlight.
Born in Vancouver Island, Oppel has lived in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, and now resides in Toronto with his wife and children.