A published poet, with several books to his name, Hakon Ovreas made his debut into the world of youth literature in 2013 with Brown, the first book in a trilogy for middle grade readers. The book was immediately successful in Norway and ended up receiving the Norwegian Ministry of Culture's Literature Prize (Best Children's and Young Adults Book) in 2013, the Trollkrittet Prize (Norwegian children's/YA book writers' debut prize) also in 2013, the Nordic Council Literature Prize for Children and Young Adults in 2014, the Dutch Zilveren Griffel (Silver Pencil) in 2015, The German Luchs des Jahres (Best Children and YA Book) in 2016, and the 2020 Batchelder Award through the American Library Association's ALSC awards. The translation rights for the trilogy have been sold into 30 languages, with awards and honors accruing across languages and cultures.
