D. J. MacHale

Donald James MacHale, known popularly under the pen name D. J. MacHale, is a writer, director, and executive producer. He has been affiliated with shows such as Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Flight 29 Down and Seasonal Differences. MacHale is also the author of the popular young adult book series, Pendragon.

Early life

MacHale was born on March 11, 1956 in Greenwich, Connecticut. During his time at greenwich High School, he reportedly had multiple part-time jobs including washing dishes at a steakhouse and was on two sports teams (football and track).

Upon graduation, MacHale attended New York University and got a BFA in film production. He never enjoyed writing until college, where his screenwriting teacher (Pat Cooper) changed his outlook.

Awards

MacHale won the CableACE Award for his series Chris Cross and the Gemini Award for Are you Afraid of the Dark?. MacHale won a Cableace nomination for The Tale of Cutter's Treasure, a Gemini nomination for The tale of the Dangerous Soup, a Writer's Guild of America nomination and a Director's Guild of America nomination for his popular kids TV Series, Flight 29 Down, and a Cableace nomination for Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, a book series.

Future

The books to be published under a new agreement with Simon & Schuster include:

• The Equinox Curiosity Shop is an action-oriented fantasy series for younger middle-grade readers set to launch in Fall 2009, which is about a toy shop that comes to life twice a year.
• The Morpheus Road Trilogy was launched on April 20, 2010. The first book in the trilogy is called "The Light". It is about a teenage boy who is haunted by ghosts. The second book in the trilogy is named "The Black"
• The Monster Princess is MacHale's first picture book and features an ugly monster girl who lives in a cave beneath a castle and longs to become a beautiful princess.