Swindle (Korman)

Author Bio
• Birth—November 23, 1963
• Where—Montreal, Canada
• Education— New York University
• Currently—lives in Great Neck (Long Island), New York, USA

Gordon Korman was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in the Toronto area. Since he had no brothers, sisters, or pets, he started writing to keep himself entertained. Then his 7th-grade English teacher gave the class an exciting assignment: "He gave us four months—45 minutes a day!—to work on the story of our choice. My project was This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall, which became my first published book. I happened to be the class monitor for the Scholastic TAB Book Club, so I figured I was practically a Scholastic employee already! I sent my novel to the address on the TAB flyer, and a few days after my 14th birthday, I had a book contract with Scholastic."

By the time Korman graduated from high school, he had published five other novels and several articles for Canadian newspapers. He then moved to New York City, where he studied film and dramatic writing at New York University.

Known for his funny, realistic novels for children and young adults, Korman has also collaborated with his mother on two books of poetry written by the fictional character Jeremy Bloom. Never short for ideas, Korman is grateful to the real kids he meets for inspiration: "The best place to get ideas is at the schools I visit. No matter how inventive we writers try to be, the real characters are always the best ones."

Gordon Korman lives in Great Neck, New York, with his wife and son. (From the publisher.)