Who Done It?

by Jon Scieszka

  When ADELE GRIFFIN is not ordering hot fudge sundaes, she is writing novels such as All You Never Wanted, Tighter, the Vampire Island series, and, with Lisa Brown, Picture the Dead. Find her online at www.adelegriffin.com, at your local bookstore, or off somewhere pleading her case.

  LEV GROSSMAN has written for The New York Times, Salon, the Village Voice, The Believer, and many others. He has also written four books, including The Magicians, which became a New York Times bestseller. He lives in a creaky old house in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters.

  JANET GURTLER is hiding out in her home in Canada, talking out loud to her laptop.

  F. BOWMAN HASTIE III works for Ms. Cheddar as her studio assistant, valet, spokesperson, and biographer. His biography Portrait of the Dog as a Young Artist was published by Sasquatch Books in 2006. Tillamook Cheddar, a 14-year-old Jack Russell terrier, is widely regarded as the world’s preeminent canine artist.

  GEOFF HERBACH is the author of the award-winning Stupid Fast YA series. In the past, he wrote the literary novel, The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg, produced radio comedy shows, and toured rock clubs telling weird stories. Geoff teaches creative writing at Minnesota State, Mankato. He shares a log cabin in dark woods with a tall wife, hordes of mice, and terrifying wolf spiders that crawl into his shoes.

  JOANNA HERSHON is the author of the novels: Swimming, The Outside of August, The German Bride, and A Dual Inheritance. She’s taught in the undergraduate creative writing department at Columbia University, guest taught at the phenomenal 826NYC, and lives in Brooklyn with her husband (painter Derek Buckner) and their twin sons (who are both keen on superhero supplies).

  MANDY HUBBARD is a literary agent at D4EO Literary as well as the author of several YA novels, including those written under the pen name Amanda Grace. Her titles include Prada & Prejudice, You Wish, Dangerous Boy, But I Love Him, and others. She’s currently living happily ever after with her husband, daughter, and cow. Learn more at www.mandyhubbard.com.

  EMILY JENKINS is the author of the Toys trilogy (Toys Go Out, etc.) and the Invisible Inkling series, plus a number of picture books. There is no truth to the rumor that she writes under a pseudonym, so don’t go asking her publishers about it. Still, it may interest you to know that E. Lockhart’s latest book is Real Live Boyfriends.

  MAUREEN JOHNSON is the New York Times bestselling author of ten YA books. Her work is published in twenty-two languages and has been featured six times on YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults lists, as well as the Teen’s Top Ten in 2006 for 13 Little Blue Envelopes. She was a 2006 Andre Norton Award nominee for Devilish, and The Name of the Star was nominated for the 2012 Edgar Award for Young Adult Literature. Maureen spends a great deal of time online, earning her some dubious and some not-as-dubious commendations, such as being named one of Time Magazine’s top 140 people to follow on Twitter. She splits her time between New York City and a mysterious dwelling outside of London.

  LINDSEY KELK is a writer, columnist, karaoke enthusiast, and WWE obsessive. No, really. When she isn’t writing books or studying choke slams, she’s watching more TV than is healthy or volunteering at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store. Lindsey is a bit of a nerd. Please don’t hold it against her.

  JO KNOWLES is the author of See You at Harry’s, Pearl, Jumping Off Swings, and Lessons from a Dead Girl. Some of her awards include the PEN New England Children’s Book Discovery Award; YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults; Bank Street College’s Best Children’s Books; and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. Jo lives in Vermont with her husband and son, where they often enjoy cheese—as long as it’s not too stinky.

  GORDON KORMAN is the author of 77 books, most recently Ungifted and Showoff. He categorically denies knowing any of these people. Come to think of it, this bio never happened.

  DAVID LEVITHAN’S first mystery novel, an attempt at being P. D. James when he was a Jewish eighth grader in New Jersey, was never completed or published. Instead, he’s written books that include Boy Meets Boy, Every Day, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn), and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green).

  SARAH DARER LITTMAN spent ten years living in Dorset, England, where she acquired firsthand knowledge of lactation yield curves and rennet. After the first of her now regularly scheduled midlife crises, she finally gave herself permission to pursue her teenage dream of being a writer. You can learn more about her books at www.sarahdarerlittman.com and follow her exploits on Twitter @sarahdarerlitt. In addition to writing for teens, Sarah is an award-winning political columnist for www.ctnewsjunkie.com.

  Along with other novels, BARRY LYGA also writes the I Hunt Killers series. But you shouldn’t read anything into that. Really.

  ADAM MANSBACH’S books include the #1 New York Times bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep, the California Book Award-winning novel The End of the Jews, and the cult classic Angry Black White Boy. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Esquire, and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He will publish two novels in 2013, Rage is Back and The Dead Run.

  LESLIE MARGOLIS is the author of Fix, Price of Admission, Boys Are Dogs, and Girls Acting Catty. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, and now lives in Brooklyn.

  Born and raised in Brooklyn, JULIA MAYER originally wrote her first novel, Eyes in the Mirror in the back of the Superhero Supply Store also known as 826NYC. She knows firsthand the difference even one summer at 826NYC can make in a teenager’s life and is thrilled to be a part of their continued success.

  BARNABAS MILLER has written many books for children and young adults. He is the co-author of 7 Souls, a 2011 Edgar nominee. His latest book, Rock God: The Legend of B.J. Levine, asks the eternal question: might a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy be the second coming of Jon Bon Jovi? He also composes music for film and television. He lives in New York City with his wife, Heidi; their cat, Ted; and their dog, Zooey.

  JACQUELYN MITCHARD is a New York Times bestselling author whose first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club. She is the editor in chief of the young adult imprint, Merit Press. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.

  SARAH MLYNOWSKI is the author of Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have), Gimme a Call, and both the Magic in Manhattan and Whatever After series. Sarah also ghostwrites all books attributed to Lauren Myracle. Yes, all of them. Including the one that was dedicated to Sarah.

  LAUREN MYRACLE is the kind and gentle New York Times bestselling author of squillions of books, including Shine, the Internet Girls series, and the Winnie Years series. Unfortunately, she is currently locked in a cage in E. Lockhart’s moldy basement, which smells of cheese. Please join the Free Lauren Myracle movement by tweeting the nefarious @elockhart and begging “E” to let poor Lauren go.

  GREG NERI is a storyteller, filmmaker, artist, and digital media producer. He has written three books for teens and has a long list of projects in the works. He currently lives off the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife, Maggie, and their daughter, Zola.

  JENNIFER A. NIELSEN is the author of The False Prince (Ascendance series), Elliot and the Goblin War, and a forthcoming book of Scholastic’s Infinity Ring series. She battles the daily challenges of being left-handed, and in fact, has considered starting a movement for other left-handers. But somehow the phrase, “Even lefties have rights” doesn’t work. Jennifer remains hard at work for her picky, er, patient editor, Lisa Sandell. She can be found online at www.jennielsen.com.

  MICHAEL NORTHROP is the author of three of the following four novels: Gentlemen (2009), an ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults; Trapped (2011), an ALA/YALSA Readers’ Choice List selection; Plunked (2012), a middle grade baseball novel; and Moby-Dick (1851), a timeless work of American literature. His new YA novel, Rotten (2013), is the tale of a rescue Rottweiler.

  LAUREN OLIVER is the author of Before I Fall, Delirium, Pandemonium, Liesl and Po, and many other manufactured fictions, such as why-s
he-was-too-sick-to-do-the-laundry and what-happened-to-the-last-brownie-in-the-pan. In her spare time, she enjoys fantasizing about—but definitely not enacting!—violence against people who have betrayed her, belittled her, or bought any of the things she owns for a better price on Ebay.

  DAVID OSTOW was born in New Jersey, which explains his fascination with tollbooths, smokestacks and industrial decay. In 2009 he published the award-winning illustrated novel So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) with his sister, the novelist Micol Ostow. David currently works at an architectural design firm in New York City and maintains his passion for illustration, cartooning, and storytelling. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the music publicist, Lily Golightly, and their dog, Elephant. Please visit David on the web at www.davidostow.com and feel free to say hello.

  MICOL OSTOW has published dozens of books for children, tweens, and teens, including (along with her brother, David Ostow) the critically acclaimed illustrated novel So Punk Rock (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother). Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a children’s book editor, at one point overseeing the Mad Libs program for Price Stern Sloan. Micol received her MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and teaches a popular teen fiction course through mediabistro.com. Her next book, a horror novel called Amity, drops in the fall of 2013. In the meantime, you can visit Micol at www.micolostow.com. She would be very ADJECTIVE to hear from you!

  ALISON PACE is the author of five novels including If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend and Pug Hill and of the essay collection You Tell Your Dog First. She lives in New York City where she may or may not harbor ill will toward editors. You can visit her online at www.alisonpace.com

  PAIGE POOLER is a freelance illustrator living in Los Angeles, California. She likes hiking with her Boston terrier, Gracie, eating tacos, sipping on green juice, laughing with friends, and the smell of gardenias.

  JOY PREBLE was born somewhere and lives somewhere else but without a signed NDA, she won’t admit to either. She went to school, although honestly, what good did that do? Her musical tastes are questionable, at least according to one Daniel Ehrenhaft, a man who questions too much and too often and who is thus as unreliable as that NDA. Rumor has it that she’s written some books that people have actually read.

  When she is not training to be a professional competitive eater, MARGO RABB writes novels, essays, and short stories, including a top secret novel which will be published by Delacorte next year.

  LISA AND LAURA ROECKER are sisters-turned-writing partners with a passion for good books, pop culture, and Bravo programming. Not necessarily in that order. Lisa has always been a phenomenal liar and Laura loves to write angsty poetry, so writing for young adults seemed like a natural fit. The sisters live in Cleveland, Ohio, in separate residences. Their husbands wouldn’t agree to a duplex.

  MARIE RUTKOSKI is a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College and is the author of several books for children and young adults. Her most recent novel is The Shadow Society.

  LISA ANN SANDELL is the author of the young adult novels A Map of the Known World, Song of the Sparrow, and The Weight of the Sky. When she isn’t writing, Lisa’s evil alter ego, executive editor at Scholastic, remains holed up in her cave of an office, hard at work repairing—er, editing—the writing of her pesky author, Jennifer A. Nielsen. Lisa lives in New York City. You can visit her online at www.lisaannsandell.com.

  CASEY SCIESZKA grew up in Brooklyn but has lived in the likes of Beijing and Timbuktu. She’s a writer and graphic designer and works frequently on projects with her boyfriend Steven Weinberg. Their first book, To Timbuktu: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story, is an illustrated account of their two-year post-college adventure around the world. Visit her online at www.caseyscieszka.com.

  JON SCIESZKA was born in Flint, Michigan, on a Wednesday around lunchtime. Jon thought about being a doctor, but he decided to move to New York, where he earned his MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia. Fast-forward a few years, and Jon’s books have won a whole mess of awards and sold over eleven million copies around the world. Jon lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Jeri, and their two kids, Casey and Jake. He also has a number of pets, including two zebra finches, two owl finches, two cordon bleu finches, and the last time he counted, seventy-five Western Harvester ants.

  KIERAN SCOTT is the author of the popular He’s So/She’s So trilogy, and her new series of True Romances will be hitting stores in February 2014. She also penned the Non-Blonde Cheerleader trilogy and the novel Geek Magnet. In her spare time, Kieran writes for Alloy Entertainment under the pseudonym Kate Brian. She has written the new series Shadowlands and the New York Times bestselling Private and Privilege series. Kieran has lived in New Jersey all her life (but looks nothing like Snooki), and graduated from Rutgers University with honors. Kieran loves to bake, read YA, watch football (Go Giants!), take classes at the gym, and hit the shore with her husband and sons. She’s also kind of obsessed with TV. You can find out more at www.kieranscott.net, or follow her on Twitter at @KieranScott.

  ALYSSA SHEINMEL is the author of The Stone Girl, The Lucky Kind, and The Beautiful Between. She grew up in Northern California and New York, and attended Barnard College. She worked in book publishing for nearly a decade, and now lives and writes in New York City. You can visit her on the web at www.alyssasheinmel.com and follow her on Twitter @AlyssaSheinmel. She really doesn’t like mildew of any kind.

  COURTNEY SHEINMEL graduated from Barnard College and Fordham School of Law, and worked as a litigator for several years. But these days, she doesn’t practice law; she just writes about it…sort of: the parents in her books are sometimes lawyers, or sometimes need to hire lawyers. Courtney is the author of several books for kids and teens, including All the Things You Are, Sincerely, and the Stella Batts series. Visit her online at www.courtneysheinmel.com.

  SARA SHEPARD is the author of the Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game series, both of which are shows on ABC Family. She also wrote two novels for adults, The Visibles and Everything We Ever Wanted. She lives in Philadelphia. She might be a liar, but she hasn’t been questioned for any other murders.

  JENNIFER E. SMITH is the author of five novels for young readers, including The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and This Is What Happy Looks Like. She earned her Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. Also, she most definitely did not kill Herman Q. Mildew.

  LEMONY SNICKET is currently at large.

  JORDAN SONNENBLICK writes novels for children and young adults. He swears the editors of his nine books are completely healthy, and have not been broiled, fried, braised, fricasseed, or even lightly toasted—although one of them may have retired suddenly last year under rather mysterious circumstances. Anyway, you can learn more about Jordan’s work at www.jordansonnenblick.com.

  NATALIE STANDIFORD is the author of How to Say Goodbye in Robot, Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters, and The Secret Tree, among other books for young readers. She lives in New York City and plays bass in the all-YA-author band Tiger Beat, with fellow-contributors Libba Bray, Daniel Ehrenhaft, and Barnabas Miller. She doesn’t really have crippling writer’s block (shhh…don’t tell her gym teacher).

  REBECCA STEAD is a lifelong New Yorker and, more recently, a writer. She’s written three novels for youngish people: When You Reach Me, First Light, and Liar & Spy.

  TODD STRASSER is the author of more than 120 books for teens and middle graders, including the best selling Help! I’m Trapped series. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he has also written for TV and a number of publications, including The New York Times, Esquire, and The New Yorker. When he’s at home, he likes to spend time with his kids, fish, and surf.

  HEATHER TERRELL worked as a commercial litigator in New York City for over ten years before trying her hand at writing. After publishing three historical
novels—The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, and Brigid of Kildare—she turned her attention to the realm of young adults. She is the author of the Fallen Angel series, as well as the young adult series The Books of Eva, which will debut in the fall of 2013. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

  NED VIZZINI is the author of The Other Normals, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Be More Chill, and Teen Angst? Naaah … He has written for The New York Times, Salon, and Season 2 of MTV’s Teen Wolf. His work has been translated into seven languages. He co-wrote the forthcoming fantasy-adventure series House of Secrets with Chris Columbus. He lives in Los Angeles.

  ADRIENNE MARIA VRETTOS is an alias found on the spines of young adult novels Burnout, The Exile of Gigi Lane, Sight, and Skin. Her official residence is listed as www.adriennemariavrettos.com.

  MELISSA WALKER is the author of six young adult novels, including Small Town Sinners and Unbreak My Heart. She is the co-founder of www.iheartdaily.com.

  ROBIN WASSERMAN is the author of The Book of Blood and Shadow, the Cold Awakening trilogy, Hacking Harvard, and several other books for children and teens. She has committed only one crime, but she won’t tell you what it is. (Although you can find some clues at www.robinwasserman.com.)

  STEVEN WEINBERG is an illustrator based in Brooklyn, though he has dragged his art supplies as far as Timbuktu. He frequently collaborates with his girlfriend, Casey Scieszka. Their first book, To Timbuktu: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story, is an illustrated account of their two-year post-college adventure around the world. Visit him online at www.stevenweinbergstudio.com.