Gordon Korman
Gordon Korman is a prolific Canadian author born on October 23, 1963, in Montreal, Quebec. He began writing at a young age, completing his first novel in seventh grade, which led to the publication of his debut book, *This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall!*, when he was just fourteen. Korman later pursued studies in film and television production at New York University, earning a B.F.A. in 1985. Over the years, he has written more than eighty books aimed at children and young adults, drawing inspiration from his own school experiences for characters and plots. His works often showcase humorous characters and absurd situations, and while some critics have noted occasional implausibility in his plots, Korman's storytelling has earned him numerous awards, including recognition from the Canadian Authors' Association and the Ontario Government. Notable series he has created include the *Everest*, *On the Run*, and *Swindle* series, and he has contributed to the popular collaborative series *The 39 Clues*. Korman continues to write, with recent releases including *The Superteacher Project* in 2023 and upcoming titles in 2024. His works have also been adapted for film and television.
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Gordon Korman
- Born: October 23, 1963
- Place of Birth: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Biography
Gordon Richard Korman was born on October 23, 1963, in Montreal in Quebec, Canada, the son of Charles Isaac Korman, an accountant, and Bernice Silverman Korman, a newspaper columnist who wrote humorous items. His family enjoyed sharing jokes and watching funny films. In 1970, the family moved to Thornhill, Ontario, near Toronto, where Korman attended local public schools, imaginatively responding to assignments.
Korman completed a novel in the seventh grade when his language arts teacher told students to write a story during class. Korman’s mother advised him to create a story with characters and scenes familiar to him. Korman’s teacher graded his novel B+, and his classmates urged him to publish it. Appointed his classroom’s book club monitor, Korman submitted his manuscript to the address where he mailed book orders. The editors of Scholastic, Inc. considered Korman’s story appealing and published his debut book, This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall!, when he was fourteen years old. Korman dedicated the book to his teacher.
After high school graduation, Korman crossed the Canadian border to enroll in New York University, studying film and television production for three semesters and then focusing on dramatic writing classes. He earned a B.F.A. in 1985. On June 29, 1996, Korman married Michelle Iserson, an educator, with whom he had three children.
Korman continued writing during high school and college, creating a book annually through the late 1990s, when he began producing several books each year, writing for both children and young adult readers. He appropriated experiences and people from his school years to create characters and plots. Korman coauthored two books with his mother featuring the poems of fictional character Jeremy Bloom. By the twenty-first century, Korman had begun writing suspenseful adventure and young adult novels. To create his books, he researched such unfamiliar topics as scuba diving and mountain climbing, and he revised and updated his early books for new editions.
Reviewers noted Korman’s skill for depicting humorous characters and comical, often absurd, situations and for pacing the action of his plots, although some critics considered his plots occasionally implausible and dependent on coincidence. The Canadian Authors’ Association presented Korman with its 1981 Air Canada Award to recognize his potential as a young writer. In 1985, the Ontario Government’s International Year of the Youth Committee recognized Korman’s impact on children’s literature with its Ontario Youth Award. His books I Want to Go Home! and Our Man Weston received a Children’s Choice Award from the International Reading Association and Children’s Book Council in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Korman won the Markham Civic Award for the Arts in 1987, and his novel, The Zucchini Warriors, won the 1991 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award.
By 2021, Korman had written over eighty young adult and children's books. His later series include the Everest series (2002), the On the Run series (2005–06), the Swindle series (2008–16), the Hypnotists series (2013–15), and the Masterminds series (2015–17). He also contributed five books to the collaborative adventure series The 39 Clues and, in 2018, added Supergifted to the Ungifted series. In 2020, Korman won the Young Hoosier Book Award for his solo novel Restart (2017). Since 2018, Korman has published ten stand-alone books, including 2023’s The Superteacher Project. Several of Korman’s works have also been adapted for the small and big screens. In 2024, Korman published a pair of books, Slugfest and Faker.
Bibliography
"About Gordon Korman." Gordon Korman, 2013, gordonkorman.com/more-resources/about-gordon-korman-2. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.
Bird, Betsy. “Review of the Day: Slugfest by Gordon Korman." School Library Journal, 13 Apr. 2024, afuse8production.slj.com/2024/04/13/review-of-the-day-slugfest-by-gordon-korman/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.
"The Books." Gordon Korman, 2023, gordonkorman.com/the-books. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.
Korman, Gordon. Interview. By Kevin Delecki. BookPage, 7 Aug. 2020, bookpage.com/interviews/25461-gordon-korman-childrens. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.