Wendelin Van Draanen has written more than thirty novels for young readers and teens. She is the author of the 18-book Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes mystery series, and wrote Flipped, which was named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century by SLJ and became a Warner Brothers feature film in 2010. 

Van Draanen has also created two four-book series for younger readers: • The Shredderman books became a Nickelodeon made-for-television movie and received the Christopher Award for “affirming the highest values of the human spirit.”  

The Gecko & Sticky books—fun read-alouds, perfect for reluctant readers—are a spinoff of the Shredderman series. 

Van Draanen’s stand-alone titles include The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones (2017 winner of Bank Street College of Education’s Josette Frank Award), Runaway, Confessions of a Serial Kisser, Swear to Howdy, The Running Dream (an ALA Schneider Award winner for its portrayal of the disability experience), and, most recently, her ALA 2019 “Best Fiction for Young Adults” title, Wild Bird, the story of a teenaged girl who gets forced into wilderness therapy after falling in with the wrong crowd. 

A high school teacher for fifteen years, Van Draanen is now a fulltime writer. She is married, has two sons, and lives on the central coast of California. Her first non-fiction book, Hope in the Mail; Reflections on Writing and Life, is part memoir, part writing guide, and part publishing insight, suitable for teen and adult readers, especially those who want to write.

And I get the honor to interview her.