Dean Hale

Dean Hale is an American writer who collaborates with his wife, Shannon Hale, on children's and middle-grade fiction. The two met as theater students at West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and have since co-written across several series and formats. They are best known for The Princess in Black, an illustrated chapter-book series about a secret monster-fighting princess, illustrated by LeUyen Pham and a New York Times bestseller. Dean also co-wrote the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack, both Eisner Award nominees, illustrated by Nathan Hale, and joined Shannon on Marvel's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl novels. Across these projects, Dean Hale's work favors a light, comic tone and accessible adventure for young readers, distinct from his wife's solo young-adult fantasy novels.