R.L. Stine

As of 2011, R. L. Stine has sold over 350 million books, making him one of the best-selling children's authors in history. When he was nine years old, he found an old typewriter in his family's attic. That discovery changed his life. He carried it down to his room and began typing stories and little joke books. Since then he has barely stopped. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1965, Stine headed to New York City to become a writer. Initially he concentrated on humorous books for children, but in 1986 he wrote Blind Date, a horror story aimed at teenagers, which became an instant best-seller. Many spooky adult horror novels followed, including Beach House, Hit And Run, The Babysitter, and The Girlfriend. In 1989 he created the Fear Street series, the best-selling young adult book series in history. He has written about 100 Fear Street books about teens facing all kinds of terror. In 1992 he introduced Goosebumps, sa series of fright tales for the younger reader. Translated into 32 different languages, the Goosebumps series has made R.L. Stine an international publishing phenomenon and was the basis for a popular television series. Other R.L. Stine titles include: Ghosts of Fear Street, Give Yourself Goosebumps, The Nightmare Room, Mostly Ghostly, and Beware!, a collection of his favorite stories, poems, comics and illustrations. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1996 Summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, Stine discusses his childhood passion for writing, and his unusual creative method.