Robert Lawrence Stine, better known by his pen name R. L. Stine, is an American bestselling novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor. He has sold over 400 million books, which have been translated into 35 languages.
R. L. Stine also uses aliases Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee. He has been referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature" and is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels.
Robert Lawrence Stine was born in Columbus, Ohio. His mother was a homemaker. His father was a shipping clerk in a warehouse. Bob has a younger brother and sister, Bill and Pam.
"We were very poor," Stine says. "I had to wear my cousin's old clothes to school. I think it made me very shy. It's one reason I liked staying in my room and writing."
Bob graduated from Ohio State University. In college, he was editor of The Sundial, the school humor magazine, for three years.
Robert Stine moved to New York City to become a writer. He worked at Scholastic, writing for school magazines. Then, Stine began to write joke books and humor books for kids.
Under the name Jovial Bob Stine, he penned books such as How To Be Funny, The Sick of Being Sick Book, and 101 Creepy Creature Jokes. He created the zany humor Bananas Magazine, which he wrote and edited for ten years.
In 1969, Stine married Jane Waldhorn, who became an editor and writer. They worked together on several books. Later, Jane and her business partner formed their own publishing company, Parachute Press. They helped to create all of R.L.'s most popular book series.
R. L. Stine debuted with his first teen horror novel, Blind Date, in 1986. It became an instant bestseller. Many scary teen novels followed, including Beach House, The Babysitter, and Hit and Run.
In 1989, R. L. Stine created the teen-oriented Fear Street series about the lives of young people in the haunted town of Shadyside. The series became the bestselling young adult series in history, with over 100 books. In 2021, the series has inspired a Netflix film trilogy.
In 1992, Stine began the Goosebumps series. It quickly became a hit around the world, and it made R.L. a worldwide publishing celebrity. TV show of the same name was the number one kids' show in America for three years in a row.
R.L. created several different scary and funny book series, including The Nightmare Room, Mostly Ghostly, and Rotten School.
He continues to bring out new titles. Stine has written over 300 books and sold over 400 million copies.
R. L. Stine lives with his family in New York.
Photo credit: rlstine.com
