VJ Books presents R.L. Stine!

R.L. Stine

He was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1943. His mother was a homemaker and his father was a shipping clerk. He has a younger brother and sister‐‐ Bill and Pam. No one in his family ever called him R.L. Everyone called him Bob.When Bob was nine, he found an old typewriter up in the attic. That discovery changed his life. He carried it down to his room and started typing stories and little joke books. His mother begged him to go outside and play. But Bob always said it was too boring outside. He stayed in his room typing away‐‐ and he has been writing ever since.

After graduating from Ohio State University in 1965, Bob headed to New York City to become a writer. He wrote dozens of joke books and humor books for kids. And he created Bananas, a zany humor magazine which he did for ten years. In those days, he wrote under the name Jovial Bob Stine. He married Jane Waldhorn in 1969. Jane became an editor and writer, and they worked together on several children's books. Later, Jane and her partner formed their own publishing company, Parachute Press, and helped create all of R.L.'s most popular book series.

In 1986, R.L. turned scary!

He wrote his first teen horror novel, Blind Date, which became an instant best‐seller. Many scary novels followed, including Beach House, Hit And Run, and The Girlfriend. In 1989 he created the Fear Street series, the best‐selling young adult book series in history. He has written over 100 Fear Street, Fear Street Sagas, and Ghosts of Fear Street books. Goosebumps began in 1992. The book series quickly became a hit around the world. Translated into 32 different languages, it made R.L. a worldwide publishing celebrity. The Goosebumps TV show was the number one kids' show in the U.S. for three years in a row. R.L. has published two creepy short story collections‐‐ The Nightmare Hour and The Haunting Hour. Although almost all of his writing has been for young people, R.L. has written three scary thrillers for adults. Their titles: Superstitious, The Sitter, and Eye Candy. He is also a contributing author to the 2009 Thriller 2 story collection.

These days, R.L. is busier than ever. He's working on two different book series: ROTTEN SCHOOL, the hilarious 16‐book series about the rottenest school on earth‐‐ and a new GOOSEBUMPS series, called GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND. You can find out more inside info about R.L.'s newest books, movies, and appearances on this Web site.

R.L. lives in New York City with his wife Jane and his dog Minnie, a King Charles Spaniel. His son Matthew is a composer, musician, and sound designer.