Birthdate: October 8, 1943
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio
Real Name: Robert Lawrence Stine
He's been scaring kids for more than 20 years with series like Goosebumps. Now R.L. Stine is going back to his funny roots with the Rotten School series.
R.L. Stine - Slap-Stick Start
One day, when R.L. Stine was nine years old, he climbed up into his attic and found an old typewriter. Right away he set to work, writing joke books for his friends at school - and he's been writing ever since. He has always loved to write funny stuff and make kids laugh. For ten years, he was editor of a humor magazine called Bananas. Later he was head writer for a funny Nickelodeon TV show, "Eureka's Castle".
R.L. Stine - Long Road to Fame
After R.L. Stine graduated from the Ohio State University, he set out to New York City. He started out his writing career working for various small magazines before landing a job with major book publisher, Scholastic. It actually wasn't until R.L. was 28 years old that he decided to start writing novels.
R.L. Stine - Series of Events
- 1986 - R.L. Stine wrote Blind Date, his first scary novel for teens. It immediately became a best-seller.
- 1989 - R.L. Stine teamed up with Parachute Press to release his first horror series, Fear Street, which was aimed at 9-14 year olds.
- 1992 - R.L. Stine releases a new book series - Goosebumps. This series is aimed at younger kids, but still delivers some scary tales. The book series eventually spun off into a TV Show.
- 1999 - R.L. Stine creates a new series called The Nightmare Room. This series has also been developed into a live-action television show.
- 2005 - R.L. Stine's latest series has just been released - Rotten School. This series takes a bit of a different angle than most of R.L.'s previous books by taking a page out of his old humor magazine days. Rotten School thrives on everything gross and disgusting!
R.L. Stine - Did U Know?
- R.L. Stine used to write for a children's humor magazine called Bananas. He was known as Jovial Bob Stine.
- R.L. Stine has a son named Matt who is 25 years old.
- R.L. Stine was named the #1 best-selling author in America for three straight years between 1994 and 1996.
- R.L. Stine writes an average of two books a month!
- R.L. Stine has won numerous awards and honors, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the National Education Association Read Across America.
- R.L. Stine comes up with the titles of his books first and then works from there, while most authors come up with the title last.
- R.L. Stine's books have been translated into more than 28 languages and are best-sellers around the world!
- Check out more info on the Rotten School series and listen to the Rah Rah Rotten School song at www.rottenschool.com.
R.L. Stine Says...
"I do have a phobia that my nephews think is just insane - I cannot jump into water. I have to step into swimming pools. It's a real phobia, but my nephews think it's hilarious that this scary guy is so terrified of jumping into water."
