Biography
Known as the Stephen King of children’s literature, R.L. Stine is the creator of the Goosebumps series of horror stories as well as the teenage horror series Fear Street. Born in 1943, Robert Lawrence Stine was interested in writing from a young age, frequently writing stories and joke books from the age of nine. While attending university, he edited the humour magazine Sundial, and upon graduating, moved to New York to pursue his career as a writer.
Between 1975 - 1984, he wrote humorous books for teenagers under the name Jovial Bob Stine, as well as contributing to the humour magazine Bananas. He wrote his first horror novel, Blind Date, in 1986, and in 1989 started work on Fear Street, a horror series for teens that explored the paranormal. Often featuring gruesome deaths, the Fear Street series has sold over 80 million copies and has been adapted into a trilogy of films.
Between 1992 - 1997, he wrote and published novels in the Goosebumps series. While still dealing with the paranormal and supernatural, Goosebumps is aimed at preteens and doesn’t include any death or violence. Selling over 400 million copies worldwide and translated into 35 languages, it is one of the bestselling series in history.
Spawning spin-offs, television series, video games and blockbuster films, Goosebumps has captivated generations of children across the globe. Writing in a simple, accessible style, R.L. Stine has sparked a love of reading in youngsters with his macabre tales that explore relatable childhood fears in a non-patronising way. Scary, exciting, adventurous and humorous, a novel by R.L. Stine is the perfect way for children to start to explore the unknown.