R. L. Stine

infobox writer

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caption=
name= R.L. Stine
birthname=Robert Laurence Stine
birthdate=birth date and age|1943|10|9
birthplace = Columbus, Ohio

Robert Lawrence Stine (born October 8, 1943) cite web |url=http://www.rlstine.com/#"nav/rlstine |title= R.L. Stine - Official Website|accessdate=2008-01-17 |author=R. L. Stine] , known as R. L. Stine and Jovial Bob Stine, is an Canadian-American novelist and writer, well known for targeting younger audiences. Stine, who is often called the 'Stephen King of children's literature', is the author of dozens of popular horror fiction novellas, including the books in the "Goosebumps", "Rotten School", "Mostly Ghostly", "The Nightmare Room" and "Fear Street" series.

Biography

Stine was born in Columbus, Ohio the oldest of three children, to a homemaker mother and a shipping clerk father. Stine had a Jewish upbringing. He began writing when he found a typewriter in his attic,cite news | last =Rodrigues| first =Tracy| coauthors=| title =R.L. Stine, author| pages=| publisher =Time for Kids| date = |url =http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/specials/story/0,6079,176635,00.html| accessdate =2007-01-09 ] subsequently beginning to type stories and joke books and has been writing ever since. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965 and moved to New York City to become a writer. He wrote dozens of joke books for kids under the pen name Bob Turdis and created the humor magazine "Bananas", where he worked for many years.

Career as popular writer

In 1987 Stine wrote his first teen horror novel, "Blind Date". He soon followed with the novels "Beach House", "Hit and Run", and "The Girlfriend". He was a co-creator and head writer for the Nickelodeon Network children's television show "Eureeka's Castle", original episodes of which aired as part of the Nick Jr. programming block during the 1989 to 1995 seasons.

In 1990, Stine teamed up with Parachute Press to create "Fear Street", which soon became the best selling young adult series in the nation. In 1992, Stine and Parachute went on to launch "Goosebumps", the phenomenal series that made the author an international celebrity and resulted in his becoming a well known writer for younger audiences. According to Forbes List of the 40 best-paid Entertainers of 1996-97, Stine placed 36th with an income of $41 million for the fiscal year. [ [http://www.langston.com/Fun_People/1997/1997AXO.html The 40 best-paid entertainers] , Forbes Magazine] His books have been translated into 32 languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide, landing on bestseller lists world wide. In three consecutive years during the 1990s, USA Today named Stine as America's number one best-selling author. Among the awards he has received are the 2002 Champion of Reading Award from the Free Public Library of Philadelphia (that award's first year), the Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Award for Best Book-Mystery/Horror (three time recipient) and the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also received three times). During the 1990s, Stine was listed on People Weekly's "Most Intriguing People" list, and in 2003, the Guinness Book of World Records named Stine as the best-selling children's book series author of all time. He won the Thriller Writers of America Silver Bullet Award in 2007. His stories have even inspired ""R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse"", "4D" movie-based attractions at SeaWorld San Diego and Busch Gardens Europe.

Also produced was a TV series that ran for four seasons from 1995-1998 and two video games; Escape From Horrorland and Attack of the Mutant. In 1995, Stine released his only novel targeted at adults, called "Superstitious".

In the first decade of the 21st century, Stine has worked on installments of three different book series, "Mostly Ghostly", "Rotten School" and "Fear Street" and the stand-alone novels "Dangerous Girls" (2003) and "" (2004). Also, a direct-to-DVD movie , starring Emily Osment, based on Stine's "Haunting Hour" series, was released by Universal Home Entertainment on September 4th, 2007.

In an 2007 interview with Entertainment Weekly, author Tom Perrotta revealed that he was responsible for ghostwriting The Thrill Club as part of Stine's Fear Street series. [ [http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/10/before-they-wer.html Before They Were Famous] , Entertainment Weekly]

Personal life

As an elementary school student he enjoyed playing soccer. Stine is a 1965 graduate of Ohio State University. During his years at Ohio State, he was renowned locally as "Jovial Bob" Stine, the editor of the campus humor magazine, "The Sundial".

In 1969, Stine married Jane Waldhorn, who became an editor and writer and eventually formed Parachute Press with a business partner. Their only child, a boy named Matthew was born in 1980. Stine lives with his wife and dog, Minnie. He has published an autobiography, called "It Came from Ohio!"

Stine reads a lot in his free time. Some of his favorite authors are Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, M. C. Beaton, P. G. Wodehouse, and Ray BradburyFact|date=August 2008.

Bibliography

Novels

*" Mostly Ghost Series"
*"101 Creepy Creature Jokes"
*"A Night In Terror Tower"
*"A Shocker On Shock Street"
*"Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls"
*"Attack of the Jack O'Lanterns"
*"Attack of the Mutant"
*"Bad Hare Day"
*"Badlands of Hark"
*"Beach Party"
*"Be Afraid - Be Very Afraid"
*"Be Careful What You Wish For..."
*"Beware!"
*"Beware, The Snowman"
*"Blind Date"
*""
*"Broken Date"
*"Call Waiting"
*"Calling All Creeps!"
*"Cheerleader Saga!"
*"Chicken Chicken"
*"Crack"
*"Cry of the Cat"
*"Curtains"
*"Dangerous Girls I"
*""
*"Dear Diary, I'm Dead"
*"Deep Trouble"
*"Deep Trouble II"
*"Don't Go To Sleep!"
*"Don't Stand in the Soup"
*"Darkest Dawn
*"Egg Monsters From Mars"
*"Escape from the Carnival of Horrors"
*"Eye Candy"
*"Freeze Tag"
*"Ghost Beach"
*"Ghost Camp"
*"Go Eat Worms!"
*"Halloween Night"
*"Halloween Night 2"
*"Happy Holidays from Dead House"
*"Hit and Run"
*"Hitchhiker"
*"How I Broke Up With Ernie"
*"How to Be Funny"
*"How I Got My Shrunken Head"
*"How to Kill a Monster"
*"I Live In Your Basement!"
*"I Saw You That Night!"
*"Indiana Jones and the Giants of the Silver Tower"
*"Invaders of Hark"
*"Invasion of the Body Squeezers"
*"It Came From Beneath The Sink!"
*"Jekyll and Heidi"
*"Killer Kiss"
*"Legend of the Lost Legend"
*"Let's Get Invisible!"
*"Liar, Liar"
*"Monster Blood"
*"Monster Blood II"
*"Monster Blood III"
*"Monster Blood IV"
*"My Best Friend Is Invisible"
*"My Hairiest Adventure"
*"Night of the Living Dummy I"
*"Night of the Living Dummy II"
*"Night of the Living Dummy III"
*"One Day at Horrorland"
*"One Evil Summer"
*"" (part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series, and Find Your Fate book series).
*"Phantom of the Auditorium"
*"Phone Calls"
*"Piano Lessons Can Be Murder"
*"Return of the Mummy"
*"Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes"
*"Revenge of the Jew!"
*"Revenge R Us"
*"Say Cheese And Die!"
*"Say Cheese And Die - Again!"
*"Siege of Serpentor" (part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series)
*"Serpentor and the Mummy Warrior" (part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series)
*"Snowman"
*"Stay Out Of The Basement"
*"Superstitious"
*"The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena"
*"The Barking Ghost"
*"The Blob That Ate Everyone"
*"The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom"
*"The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb"
*"The Dare"
*"The Dead Girlfriend"
*"The Ghost Next Door"
*"The Girl Who Cried Monster"
*"The Babysitter"
*"The Babysitter II"
*"The Babysitter III"
*"The Babysitter IV"
*"The Beast"
*"The Beast 2"
*"The Beast From The East"
*"The Best Friend"
*"The Boyfriend"
*"The Cry of the Cat"
*"The Curse of Camp Cold Lake"
*"The Girlfriend"
*"The Haunted Car"
*"The Haunted Mask"
*"The Haunted Mask II"
*"The Haunted School"
*"The Haunting Hour"
*"The Headless Ghost"
*"The Horror At Camp Jellyjam"
*"The Dead Lifeguard"
*"The Nightmare Hour"
*"The Night of the Living Dummy"
*"The Mind Reader"
*"The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight"
*"The Sick of Being Sick Book"
*"The Sitter"
*"The Time Raider" (part of the TwistAPlot book series)
*"The Werewolf of Fever Swamp"
*"Three Evil Wishes"
*"Twisted"
*"Vampire Breath"
*"Welcome to Camp Nightmare"
*"Welcome to the Dead House"
*"Werewolf Skin"
*"Why I'm Afraid of Bees"
*"You Can't Scare Me!"

See also

* Goosebumps
* Fear Street
* Rotten School

References

External links

* [http://www.rlstine.com/ Official Site]
*worldcat id|id=lccn-n85-268710
*isfdb name|id=R._L._Stine|name=R. L. Stine

Persondata
NAME= Stine, R. L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Stine, Robert Lawrence; Stine, Jovial Bob
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Writer
DATE OF BIRTH= 8 November, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH= Columbus, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=