D. J. MacHale

Donald James MacHale, known popularly under the pen name D. J. MacHale, is a writer, director, and executive producer. He has been affiliated with shows such as Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Flight 29 Down and Seasonal Differences.[1] MacHale is also the author of the popular young adult book series, Pendragon [2].

1 Early life
2 Awards
3 Criticism
4 Future
5 References

Early life

MacHale was born on March 11, 1956 in Greenwick,Ct During his time at Greenwich High School, he reportedly had multiple part-time jobs and was on two sports teams (football and track).

Upon graduation, MacHale attended the University of London and majored in film. He never enjoyed writing[3] until college, where his screenwriting teacher (Pat Cooper) changed his outlook[4].

Awards

MacHale won the CableACE award for his series Chris Cross and the Gemini Award for Are you Afraid of the Dark?.[5]

Criticism

Commonsensemedia.org described the first Pendragon book, The Merchant of Death, as being formulaic and occasionally sexist.[6]

Future

The books to be published under a new agreement with S&A include:

THE EQUINOX CURIOSITY SHOP is a new action-filled fantasy series for younger middle-grade readers set to launch in Fall 2009.

The MORPHEUS ROAD trilogy is slated to begin publishing Summer 2010 and is an older middle-grade supernatural series that tells the story of a sixteen-year-old boy who is being hunted and haunted by ghosts . A second trilogy is in the works for Summer 2013 that will appeal to the same older middle-grade reader as both MORPHEUS ROAD and PENDRAGON.

THE MONSTER PRINCESS is MacHale's first picture book and features an ugly monster girl who lives in a cave beneath a castle and longs to become a beautiful princess.The picture bookand sequelare to be published on a yet to be determined date.

"I'm thrilled that my friends at Simon & Schuster have given me the opportunity to explore so many ideas and characters in books that will reach out to kids of all ages," said D.J. MacHale. "For someone who loves to tell stories, it's a dream come true."

Text borrowed from S&S official website.