Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney is an American author and cartoonist born February 19, 1971, in Fort Washington, Maryland, and a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park. He created the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, an illustrated chronicle of middle-schooler Greg Heffley's misadventures that has sold more than 300 million copies worldwide since its debut and been adapted into multiple films. Kinney later expanded the franchise with spin-off books narrated by Greg's friend Rowley Jefferson, including Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure and Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories, retelling events from the original series through a more innocent, uncynical perspective. He was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2009 and has won multiple Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for favorite book. Kinney co-owns an independent bookstore in Massachusetts.