Wendy Mass (born April 22, 1967) is an American author of

young adult novels 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 ...

and

children's books 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 ''chi ...

. Her 2003 novel, '' A Mango-Shaped Space'' won 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 ...

(ALA) Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School in 2004. Her other notable works include: '' 11 Birthdays'', '' A Mango-Shaped Space'' and '' Every Soul a Star''. Mass's novel '' Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life'' was adapted into a feature film in 2011.

Early life

Born in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial co ...

, Mass's favorite subjects in school were

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and science. Wendy worked at town libraries and bookstores. As a child she would compete with friends to see who could read the most books; this helped develop her writing skills. Her first career vision was to be an astronaut. Mass's first story, co-written by her two siblings, starred a cat that somehow turned into a goat and destroyed her neighborhood. In high school, Mass worked at a local bookstore and continued to hone her writing skills. She took writing classes and decided on writing for her career.

Education

As an English major at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, Mass continued to develop her writing skills. Mass mainly wrote short stories throughout college, and after graduation she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where she tried her hand at a multitude of writing businesses, including assisting a

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwr ...

, and at a

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

casting company,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of a

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, and a script reader for a film producer. Mass realized she wanted to inspire pre-teens, teens, and

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

s by writing

book 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, ...

s for children, teens, and adults. She moved back to her

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

hometown and while writing, worked as a

book editor 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 ...

, operating out of

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 ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. She has a master's degree in creative writing from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

and a Doctor of Letters degree from

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

Honors and awards

Mass has published 31 novels for children and teens. She won the

(ALA) Schneider Family Book Award for her children's book '' A Mango-Shaped Space'' in 2004. In 2011, she won the Black Eyed Susan Award from The Maryland Association of School Librarians for 11 Birthdays. She won the American Library Association Award (best books for the teenage selection), New York Public, and New York Public Library Best Books for the teenage designation, Great Lakes Book Award and Michigan State award, and has since won 11 state book awards.

Personal life

Mass currently resides in New Jersey with her family.

Works

Non-fiction

* ''Stonehenge'' (1998) * ''Teen Drug Abuse ''(1997) * ''Women's Rights'' (1998) * ''Readings on Night'' (2000) * ''Great Authors of Children's Literature'' (2001) * ''Discovering Mythology - Gods and Goddesses (2002)'' *''Ray Bradbury: Master of Science Fiction and Fantasy'' (2004) *''John Cabot: Early Explorer'' (2004) * ''Celebrate Halloween'' (2009)

Fiction

* ''Getting a Clue'' (1996) * ''The Bad Hair Day'' (1996 children's picture book) *''Noah and the Ark'' (1997) * '' A Mango-Shaped Space (2003)'' * ''Rapunzel: The One with All the Hair'' (2006) * ''Sleeping Beauty: The One Who Took The Really Long Nap'' (2006) * '' Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life'' (2006) * ''Leap Day'' (2006) * ''Heaven Looks A Lot Like The Mall'' (2007) * '' Every Soul a Star'' (2008) *'' 11 Birthdays'' (2009) * ''Finally'' (2010) * ''The Candymakers'' (2010) * ''13 Gifts'' (2011) * ''Beauty and the Beast: The Only One Who Didn't Run Away'' (2012) * ''Pi in The Sky'' (2013) * ''The Last Present'' (2013) *''Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight'' (2014) *''Space Taxi: Water Planet Rescue'' (2014) * ''Graceful'' (2015) *''Space Taxi: Archie's Alien Disguise'' (2015) *''Space Taxi: The Galactic B.U.R.P.'' (2015) * ''The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase'' (2016) *''Voyagers: The Seventh Element'' (2016) *''Space Taxi: B.U.R.P. Strikes Back'' (2017) *''Space Taxi: Aliens on Earth'' (2017) *''Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword'' (2019) *''Time Jumpers: Escape from Egypt'' (2019) * ''Robin Hood: The One Who Looked Good in Green'' (2018) *''Bob'' (2018) *''Time Jumpers: Fast-Forward to the Future'' (2019) *''Time Jumpers: Dodging Dinosaurs'' (2019) *''Lo and Behold'' (2023) *''The Lost Library'' (2023) *''Green Jolene: Green Jolene and the Neighborhood Swap'' (2025)

TV scripts

* '' Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater'' (2003) (with Stu Levine and

Tom Scharpling Thomas John Giuliano II (born February 9, 1969), known professionally as Tom Scharpling, is an American comedian, television writer, producer, music video director, voice actor, and radio host. He is best known for hosting the weekly Internet r ...

)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mass, Wendy 1967 births 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American children's writers American young adult novelists Living people Writers from Livingston, New Jersey People from Sparta, New Jersey Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni American women writers of young adult literature