This Goodly Land

John Green (August 24, 1977–present)

Other Names Used

• John Michael Green: full name

Alabama Connections

• Indian Springs, Shelby County: education, setting for Looking for Alaska

Selected Works

• Green, John. Looking for Alaska. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2005.
• Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. New York: Dutton Books, 2006. For younger readers.
• Green, John. Paper Towns. New York: Dutton Books, 2008. For younger readers.
• Green, John, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances. New York: Speak, 2008. For younger readers.
• Green, John, and David Levithan. Will Grayson, Will Grayson. New York: Dutton, 2009. For younger readers.

Literary Awards

• Michael L. Printz Award, American Library Association, 2006, for Looking for Alaska
• Alabama Author Award, Alabama Libray Association, 2006, for Looking for Alaska
• Michael L. Printz Honor Book, American Library Association, 2007, for An Abundance of Katherines
• Alabama Author Award, Alabama Libray Association, 2007, for An Abundance of Katherines
• Edgar Allan Poe Award, Best Young Adult Novel, Mystery Writers of America, 2009, for Paper Towns

Biographical Information

John Green was born in Indianapolis, Ind. Soon afterward, his family moved to Florida where he grew up in Orlando. For his last three years of high school, he attended Indian Springs School, a boarding school in Indian Springs, Ala. After graduating, Green enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He majored in English and religious studies, earning his BA in 2000. Green served as a hospital chaplain briefly after college, then moved to Chicago and worked at Booklist magazine as an editor and a book reviewer. He was also a commentator on the National Public Radio program All Things Considered.

While Green was living in Chicago, he began writing a novel based on his years at Indian Springs. Looking for Alaska was published in 2005. His second and third novels were published in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The success of his books enabled Green to resign from Booklist to write full time. He moved from Chicago to New York, then from New York to Indianapolis. In 2007, Green and his younger brother launched an experimental video blog, Brotherhood 2.0, in which they communicated with each other via videos they posted daily to the blog site. The site proved popular with fans, and the brothers continued posting videos after the one-year experiment ended.

Interests and Themes

John Green writes young adult novels about bookish teenage boys trying to figure out their place in the world. Looking for Alaska is set at a fictional version of Indian Springs School in Indian Springs, Ala.

For More Information

Please check your local library for these materials. If items are not available locally, your librarian can help you borrow them through the InterLibrary Loan program. Your librarian can also help you find other information about this author.

There may be more information available through the databases in the Alabama Virtual Library. If you are an Alabama citizen, AVL can be used at your public library or school library media center. You can also get a username and password from your librarian to use AVL at home.

Reference Articles

• Barkdoll, Jayme K., and Lisa Scherff. "'Literature Is Not a Cold Dead Place': An Interview with John Green". English Journal 97.3. (2008): 67-71.
• Green, John. "Becoming a YA Writer". Booklist 1 Mar. 2006: 84-85.

Reference Book Chapters and Encyclopedia Entries

• "Green, John 1978(?)-"; Something About the Author. Vol. 170. Detroit: Thomson-Gale, . 105-106.

Reference Web Sites

• Green, John. www.sparksflyup.com: The Internet Home of John Green. 2009. http://www.sparksflyup.com/.
• Green, John, and Hank Green. Brotherhood 2.0. 2007. http://www.brotherhood2.com/index.php.
• Green, John, and Hank Green. Vlogbrothers Channel. YouTube. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers.

Last updated on Oct 02, 2009.