Robert Lawrence Stine, R. L. Stine was born on October 8, 1943, and grew up poor in Columbus Ohio. He began writing short stories and joke books when he was nine years old. He wrote his first book when he was a senior in high school, and he also wrote for the high school newspaper. Stine attended Ohio State University and after he graduated, he went to New York City, working a variety of writing jobs. Stine is the well-known author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street Series. He was also head writer for the Nickelodeon show called Eureka's Castle for three years. Under the pseudonym Jovial Bob, Stine shows his comedic side writing "101 Silly Monster Jokes" and "Bozos on Patrol." An avid reader… still, Stine read a lot of science fiction as a child and was greatly inspired by authors like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov. At the age of 28, his first book was published, "How to Be Funny." Stine produced two books a month - one each for the Goosebumps and the Fear Street Series. He says it takes him about eight days to write a Goosebumps book and twelve days to write a Fear Street book. Children love his books because his writing is simple and clear. He keeps his characters believable and shows what happens, in his Goosebumps stories, through the eyes of the main character. He has also written a scary novel for adults entitled "Superstitious" but his main focus continues to be writing for children.
Trip Park grew up in Ithaca, New York, and went to college at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was first drawn to advertising. He then moved to Chicago, later New York, where he joined advertising agencies and worked on kids’ favorites including Cap’n Crunch, Gatorade, Kellogg’s, and Ronald McDonald. His children’s commercials have won numerous awards. But advertising also brought something equally as rewarding. There he got to work with some of his favorite illustrators. Watching these artists create their pieces inspired Trip Park to try his hand at illustrating himself. Trip Park has illustrated a number of children's books including… Gopher Up Your Sleeve , written by Tony Johnston, Trout, Trout, Trout! (A Fish Chant) and Ant, Ant, Ant! (An Insect Chant) , both written by April Pulley Sayre. He has also developed characters and helped animate commercials for Nickelodeon, The California State Fair, Lego, and many others. When Rotten School came along, the opportunity to translate to the drawing board R.L. Stine’s cast of kids was a wonderful chance to combine his love for children’s illustration with this group of rotten students. His work can be seen at www.tripparkproductions.com . Trip lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife, Laura and four children.