Jeffrey Patrick Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American author and illustrator. He is best known for creating, writing and illustrating the children's book series ''

Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American illustrated children's novel series and media franchise created by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a dia ...

''. He also created the child-oriented website ''

Poptropica ''Poptropica'' is an online game, online adventure game, developed in 2007 by Pearson Education's Family Education Network, and targeted towards children aged 6 to 15. ''Poptropica'' is primarily the creation of Jeff Kinney, later known as the au ...

''.

Early life

Kinney was born and raised in

Fort Washington, Maryland Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, it had a popul ...

. Kinney attended Potomac Landing Elementary School and later

Bishop McNamara High School Bishop McNamara High School (BMHS, McNamara, or Mac) is a private, Catholic coed high school in Forestville CDP in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland.University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

, in the early 1990s. It was in college that Kinney created a popular comic strip, ''Igdoof'', which ran in the school student newspaper, ''

The Diamondback ''The Diamondback'' is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as ''The Triangle'' and became known as ''The Diamondback'' in 1921. ''The Diamondback'' was initially published a ...

''. Kinney graduated from the University of Maryland in 1993, originally majoring in computer science but switching to criminal justice in order to have more time to work on his comic. In 2021 he was inducted into

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

as an alumnus of the University of Maryland.

''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' book series

In January 1998, Kinney conceived the idea of a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley, who writes illustrated stories about his personal life. In May 2004, Funbrain and Jeff Kinney released an online version of the story, titled ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''. The website made daily entries from September of that year to June 2005. He worked on his book for almost eight years, before showing it to a publisher in New York City, U.S. In February 2006, during the

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...

, Kinney signed a multi-book deal with publisher

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mary ...

, to turn ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' into a print series. The book became an instant hit, with the online version receiving about 20 million views as of 2007. When many online readers requested a printed version, Kinney agreed, and in April 2007, ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' was published. To date, 31 ''Wimpy Kid'' books have been released, including a movie diary and a Do-It-Yourself Book, and a biography that Greg's best friend Rowley Jefferson wrote. In April 2009, ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' named Kinney one of ''The World's Most Influential People''. In 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016 the series won a ''Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award'' for ''Favorite Book''. The series is still ongoing, with the latest mainstream book called ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess.'' To promote the release of ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer'', Kinney embarked on

book tour A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

across the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

titled "The ''No Brainer'' Show" from October 23 to November 8, 2023. Kinney dedicated the tour to libraries and librarians, making a personal donation of $100,000 for libraries along the tour. He also partnered with 11 publishers to acquire "high interest, diverse books to distribute to libraries and to kids we meet along the way". Each stop featured a game show hosted by Kinney, where participants could win prizes on behalf of their local library.

Professional work

Kinney works full-time as a writer and illustrator. He also created the kid-friendly website ''

'' which includes two islands called "Wimpy Wonderland" and "Wimpy Boardwalk", where the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' characters and events are featured in the ''Poptropica''

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

. Over 250 million copies of the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' books have sold globally as of 2020 and the series was developed into feature films for which Kinney served as executive producer. In May 2015, Kinney and his wife Julie opened "An Unlikely Story," a local bookstore and cafe in

Plainville, Massachusetts Plainville is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,945 at the time of the 2020 census. Plainville is part of the Boston and Providence metropolitan areas. History Originally included in a 1635 grant ...

. Kinney advocates that kids should spend time reading as an alternative to screen time. Kinney guest-hosted 10 episodes of the 10th season of WGBH local

quiz bowl Quiz bowl (quizbowl, scholars' bowl, scholastic bowl, academic bowl, academic team, academic challenge, etc.) is a family of quiz-based competitions that test players on Outline of academic disciplines, a wide variety of academic subjects. Stand ...

production '' High School Quiz Show'' while regular host Billy Costa was away on a special assignment. Kinney hosted the second half of the first-round games, the quarter-finals, and the semi-finals, while Costa hosted the first half of the first-round games and returned to Boston in time for the finals.

Personal life

On December 14, 2003, Jeff Kinney married Julie Kinney. They have two sons together. He is Catholic. In June 2020 when Manny, a character he created in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' series, became an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

relating to the protests arising from the murder of George Floyd, Kinney expressed a distaste for the sensation, stating, "I don't like it. The

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement needs to be taken seriously... I think that assigning a cartoon character to (the movement) trivializes it."

Publications

''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''

''Rowley Jefferson''

# '' Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal'' (April 9, 2019) # ''Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure'' (August 4, 2020) # ''Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories'' (March 16, 2021)

Supplementary books

# ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself-Book'' (October 1, 2008) # ''

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary ''The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary'' is a non-fiction movie tie-in book by Jeff Kinney about the making of the 2010 film ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American illustrated children's novel series and media franchise created ...

'' (''Original:'' March 16, 2010, ''1st Revised Edition:'' February 15, 2011, ''2nd Revised Edition:'' June 26, 2012) # ''The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself-Book'' (May 10, 2011) # ''Wimpy Kid Blank Journal'' (October 8, 2013) # ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid Writer's Notebook'' (October 8, 2013) # ''The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: The Next Chapter'' (May 9, 2017)

Films

The books have been adapted into a

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

. A film based on the first book was released on March 19, 2010. It was produced by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

and directed by

Thor Freudenthal Thor Freudenthal (; born 20 October 1972) is a German film director, screenwriter, animator and special effects artist best known for his work on ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' and '' Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters''. Life and career Freudenthal was ...

. The film starred

Zachary Gordon Zachary Adam Gordon (born February 15, 1998) is an American actor. He is known for his lead role as Greg Heffley in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series (2010–2012), which earned him nominations for a Kids' Choice Award and seven Young A ...

as Greg Heffley,

Robert Capron Robert Banfield Capron Jr. (born July 9, 1998) is an American actor. After making his film debut with a minor role in '' Bride Wars'' (2009), he received mainstream recognition for his starring role as Rowley Jefferson in the ''Diary of a Wimpy ...

as Rowley Jefferson,

Rachael Harris Rachael Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. The accolades she has received include nominations for an Independent Spirit Award and a Saturn Award. In film, Harris has had lead roles as Susan Heffley in the ''Dia ...

as Susan Heffley,

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn ( ; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor. In film, Zahn is best known for his lead roles in '' That Thing You Do!'' (1996), '' Happy, Texas'' (1999), '' Joy Ride'' (2001), ''National Security'' (2003), '' A Perfect Geta ...

as Frank Heffley,

Devon Bostick Devon Bostick (born November 13, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his main role as Rodrick Heffley in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series (2010–2012). His other lead roles include ''Adoration'' (2008), '' Dead Before Dawn 3D'' ...

as Rodrick Heffley, Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley,

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She began acting as a child, with early roles in the horror film ''The Amityville Horror (2005 film), The Amityville Horror'' (2005), the drama series ''Desperate Housewives' ...

as a new character named Angie Steadman,

Grayson Russell Grayson Russell (born May 1, 1998) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' and the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series. He had a recurring role as Dwayne Dixon on the INSP telev ...

as Fregley,

Laine MacNeil Laine MacNeil (born October 28, 1996) is a Canadian actress. MacNeil made her motion picture debut at the age of 13, and is best known for her role as List of Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters#Patty Farrell, Patty Farrell in the ''Diary of a Wimp ...

as Patty Farrell, and

Karan Brar Karan Brar (born January 18, 1999) is an American actor. He portrayed Chirag Gupta in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film series), Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film franchise and Ravi Ross on the Disney Channel Original Series ''Jessie (2011 TV series), ...

as Chirag Gupta. A second film, based on ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules'', was released on March 25, 2011. Zachary Gordon returned as Greg Heffley.

(

Frank Heffley The ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' franchise contains a large cast of characters. It centers on protagonist Greg Heffley, his best friend Rowley Jefferson, and Greg's family: his mother Susan, father Frank, and brothers Rodrick and Manny. Main ...

) and

( Susan Heffley) also returned. The film was directed by David Bowers and the screenplay was written by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. Some new cast members who appeared in the film included Peyton List as Holly Hills among others. Kinney himself appeared in the film in a cameo role as Holly's father. He would later reprise the role in the third film, ''

Dog Days The dog days or are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, ...

'', which was released in 2012 and combines ''The Last Straw'' and ''Dog Days''. A fourth film, based on '' The Long Haul'', was announced by Kinney via Twitter in April 2016. It was released on May 19, 2017, featuring an entirely new cast. Jeff Kinney also cameos in the film as the owner of a booth at a convention.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinney, Jeff American children's writers American children's book illustrators 21st-century American illustrators American criminologists Living people Writers from Massachusetts Writers who illustrated their own writing People from Plainville, Massachusetts People from Fort Washington, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni 1971 births American Catholics Catholics from Massachusetts 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics American people of Irish descent American writers of Irish descent Male actors from Maryland Male actors from Massachusetts