Peter Duncan LerangisPeter Then and Now from PeterLerangis.com
/ref> (born 1955, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) is an American author of

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

and

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

, best known for his '' Seven Wonders'' series and his work on the '' 39 Clues'' series.

Life and career

Lerangis's work includes the '' Seven Wonders'' series, all five books of which made

The New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

for Children's Books. He was also the author of '' The Viper's Nest'' and '' The Sword Thief'', two titles in the ''New York Times''-bestselling children's-book series '' The 39 Clues'', along with the second entry in a four-novella collection, '' Vespers Rising''. This book served as an introduction to a six-book ''39 Clues'' sequel entitled ''Cahills Vs. Vespers'',"Announcement of sequel to The 39 Clues"
/ref> for which he wrote the third book, ''The Dead of the Night''. His other books include the historical novel ''Smiler's Bones'', the YA novel ''Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am'' (with

Harry Mazer Harry Mazer (May 31, 1925 in New York City – April 7, 2016 in Montpelier, Vermont) was an American writer of books for children and young adults, acclaimed for his "realistic" novels. He has written twenty-two novels, including ''The Solid Go ...

), the YA dark comedy-adventure novel ''wtf,'' the ''Drama Club'' series, the ''Spy X'' series, the ''Watchers'' series, the ''Abracadabra'' series, and the ''Antarctica'' two-book adventure, as well ghost-writing for series such as the ''

Three Investigators The Three Investigators is an American juvenile detective book series first published as "''Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators''". It was created by Robert Arthur Jr., who believed involving a famous person such as movie director Alfr ...

'', the '' Hardy Boys Casefiles'', ''

Sweet Valley Twins ''Sweet Valley Twins'' (also known as ''Sweet Valley Twins and Friends'') was the 1st spin-off to originate from ''Sweet Valley High'', and was created by Francine Pascal and written by Jamie Suzanne. Published by Bantam Books on 1 July 1986, th ...

'', and more than forty books in the series '' The Baby-sitters Club'' and its various spin-offs. He has also written novels based on film screenplays, including ''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...

'', '' Sleepy Hollow'', and ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', and five

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

novelizations in the

Worlds of Power The ''Worlds of Power'' books are a series of novelizations of video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in the early 1990s by Scholastic."8-Bit Lit: Behind the Worlds of Power. '' 1up.com''1. Retrieved on November 23, 2008. Th ...

series created by

Seth Godin Seth W. Godin, also known under his pen name as "F. X. Nine" (born 1960), is an American author, marketing expert, entrepreneur, and a former dot-com business executive. Early life and education Seth W. Godin graduated from Williamsville East H ...

. As a

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

he has been published under the name A. L. Singer. Lerangis is the son of a retired New York Telephone Company employee and a retired public-elementary-school secretary, who raised him in Freeport,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

, while acting in musicals"Divine Decadence and Dollars"
Klein, Julia M.. ''The Harvard Crimson'', 1976-05-13 and singing with and musically directing the ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' group the

Harvard Krokodiloes The Harvard Krokodiloes ("The Kroks") are Harvard University's oldest ''a cappella'' singing group, founded in 1946. The group consists of twelve tuxedo-clad undergraduates, and they bill their repertoire as "songs from the Great American Songbo ...

."Perfect Tone, in a Key That’s Mostly Minor."
Rapkin, Mickey. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 2008-03-23, Sunday Styles section, p. 1.Notable Alumni of the Harvard Krokodiloes
/ref> Peter was said to have been classmates with

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

in college before he dropped out and founded the company

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

. Upon graduation, Peter moved to New York where he worked as an actor"The Uncertain Joys of A Young Actor's Life."
Colt, George Howe. ''

'', 1980-12-21, Arts and Leisure section, p. 1. and

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...

for eight years before becoming an author.Peter Lerangis at Scholastic.com
. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. In 2003, Lerangis was chosen by First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...

to accompany her to the first Russian Book Festival, hosted by Russian First Lady Lyudmila Putina in Moscow.Loven, Jennifer. "Laura Bush hopes to counter resentment of U.S. on trip to France, Russia." ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'', 2003-09-27, p. 5.Website of First Lady Laura Bush.
/ref> Authors R. L. Stine (''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the p ...

'') and Marc Brown (the ''Arthur the Aardvark'' series) also made the trip with Bush. Also in 2003, Lerangis was commissioned by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

branch of Scholastic to write ''X-Isle'', one of four books that would relaunch the '' Point Horror'' series there."New life for teen horror stories."

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddes ...

, 2003-07-18, p. 28. A sequel, ''Return to X-Isle'', was published in 2004. In 2007, Scholastic announced the launch of a new historical mystery series called ''The 39 Clues'', intended to become a franchise."Scholastic plans to put its branding iron on a successor to Harry Potter."
Rich, Motoko. ''

'', 2007-12-18, p. E1. Lerangis wrote the third book in the series, ''The Sword Thief'', published in March 2009.Amazon.com page confirming book title of third ''39 Clues'' book.
/ref>Scholastic Press Release (March 3, 2009). "Worldwide Hunt for 'The 39 Clues' Continues Today with Release of 'Book 3:The Sword Thief,' More Clues Revealed, and Multi-City Author Tour (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Scholastic-NASDAQ-SCHL-956445.html)Scholastic Inc. FAQ sheet regarding ''The 39 Clues''.
/ref> On March 3, 2009, Scholastic announced that Lerangis would write the seventh book in the series, ''The Viper's Nest''. In 2016, Lerangis traveled to Patan Dhoka,

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

where he was the guest speaker at Bal Sahitya Mahotsav, the first children's literature festival in Nepal. Lerangis lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his wife, musician Tina deVaron. He has two grown children, Nick and Joe.Peter Lerangis at SFBookcase.com
Retrieved on 2007-12-18.

Bibliography

''Watchers'' series

# ''Last Stop'' (November 1, 1998, eBook reissue March 20, 2012) # ''Rewind'' (November 1, 1998, eBook reissue March 20, 2012) # ''I.D.'' (January 1, 1999, eBook reissue March 20, 2012) # ''War'' (April 1999, eBook reissue March 20, 2012) # ''Island'' (July 1, 1999, eBook reissue March 20, 2012) # ''Lab 6'' (October 1, 1999, eBook reissue March 20, 2012)

''Antarctica'' series

# ''Journey to the Pole'' (2000, eBook reissue March 20, 2012) # ''Escape from Disaster'' (2000, eBook reissue March 20, 2012)

''Abracadabra'' series (with Jim Talbot)

# ''Poof! Rabbits Everywhere'' (April 1, 2002) # ''Boo! Ghosts in School'' (April 1, 2002) # ''Presto! Magic Treasure'' (July 2002) # ''Yeeps!: Secrets in the Statue'' (October 1, 2002) # ''Zap! Science Fair Surprise!'' (January 2003) # ''Yikes! It's Alive!'' (April 2003) # ''Whoa! Amusement Park Gone Wild!'' (July 1, 2003) # ''Wow! Blast from the Past!'' (October 2003)

''Spy X'' series

# ''The Code'' (July 1, 2004 - Scholastic) # ''Hide and Seek'' (October 1, 2004 - Scholastic) # ''Proof Positive'' (January 1, 2005 - Scholastic) # ''Tunnel Vision'' (May 1, 2005 - Scholastic)

''The Party Room'' series

''Published under the pseudonym Morgan Burke.'' * ''Get it Started'' (2005) * ''Last Call'' (2005) * ''Lost Girls'' (omnibus, 2015)

''Drama Club'' series

# ''The Fall Musical'' (September 6, 2007) # ''The Big Production'' (September 6, 2007) # ''Too Hot!'' (March 13, 2008) # ''Summer Stars'' (July 17, 2008)

''The 39 Clues'' series

# '' The Sword Thief'' (March 3, 2009) # '' The Viper's Nest'' (February 2, 2010) # '' Vespers Rising'' (April 5, 2011)

''The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers'' series

* ''The Dead of Night'' (March 6, 2012)

'' Seven Wonders'' series

# ''The Colossus Rises'' (February 5, 2013) # ''Lost in Babylon'' (October 29, 2013) # ''The Tomb of Shadows'' (May 13, 2014) # ''The Curse of the King'' (March 3, 2015) # ''The Legend of the Rift'' (March 8, 2016) ''Seven Wonders Journals'' # ''The Select and The Orphan'' (April 22, 2014) # ''The Key'' (February 10, 2015) # ''The Promise'' (February 9, 2016)

''Max Tilt'' series

# ''Fire the Depths'' (October 3, 2017) # ''80 Days or Die'' (July 24, 2018) # ''Enter the Core'' (February 19, 2019)

''Throwback'' series

# ''Throwback'' (October 1, 2019) # ''The Chaos Loop'' (May 5, 2020) # ''Out of Time'' (March 23, 2021)

Other novels

* ''Smiler's Bones'' (February 1, 2005) * ''wtf'' (November 10, 2009) * ''Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am'' (February 7, 2012), with Harry Mazer * ''Beasties'' (April 22, 2025)https://www.harpercollins.com/products/beasties-peter-lerangis

Others (ghost-writing, licensed characters)

Awards

* ''Last Stop'', the first book in Lerangis's science fiction/mystery series ''Watchers'', was selected by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

as a 1999 Best Book for Reluctant Readers. * ''War'', the fourth book in the series ''Watchers'', was selected by the

International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dial ...

and the Children's Book Council as a 2000 Children's Choice book.2000 Children's Choice Books
. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. * Lerangis's 2006 historical novel ''Smiler's Bones'' was a

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

selection and was named among the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Best Books for Teens 20062006 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Retrieved on 2008-02-03. and the Bank Street Best Books of 2006. * ''Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am'' was awarded the 2013 Schneider Family Book Award from the

, given to "honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences"2013 ALA Schneider Family Award
/ref> and was also chosen that year for the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults list.2013 ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
/ref> * The ''Seven Wonders'' series books have been named Junior Library Guild selections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerangis, Peter 1955 births American children's writers The Baby-Sitters Club Harvard University alumni Writers from Brooklyn American male novelists People from Freeport, New York Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)