D. J. MacHale

Donald James MacHale (born March 11, 1956), known popularly under the pen name D. J. MacHale, is a writer, director, and executive producer. He has been affiliated with shows such as Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Flight 29 Down and Seasonal Differences.^[1] MacHale is also the author of the popular young adult book series, Pendragon and Morpheus Road.^[2]

Early life

MacHale was born on March 11, 1956 in Greenwich, Connecticut. During his time at Greenwich High School, he reportedly had multiple part-time jobs including washing dishes at a steakhouse and was on two sports teams (football and track).

Upon graduation, MacHale attended New York University and got a BFA in film production. He never enjoyed writing^[3] until college, where his screenwriting teacher (Pat Cooper) changed his outlook.^[4]

Awards

MacHale won the CableACE Award for his series Chris Cross and the Gemini Award for Are you Afraid of the Dark?.^[5] MacHale won a Cableace nomination for The Tale of Cutter's Treasure, a Gemini nomination for The tale of the Dangerous Soup, a Writer's Guild of America nomination and a Director's Guild of America nomination for his popular kids TV Series, Flight 29 Down, and a Cableace nomination for Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, a book series.

Future

The books to be published under a new agreement with Simon & Schuster include:

• The Equinox Curiosity Shop is an action-oriented fantasy series for younger middle-grade readers set to launch in Fall 2009, which is about a toy shop that comes to life twice a year.
• The Morpheus Road Trilogy was launched on April 20, 2010.^[6] The first book in the trilogy is called "The Light".^[7] It is about a teenage boy who is haunted by ghosts. The second book in the trilogy is named "The Black". The title of the third book is "The Blood".
• The Monster Princess is MacHale's first picture book and features an ugly monster girl who lives in a cave beneath a castle and longs to become a beautiful princess.

Finished Works

• ABC Afterschool Special (TV Series)
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (TV Series)
• The Tale of Cutter's Treasure (Movie)
• The Tale of the Dangerous Soup (Movie)
• Tower of Terror (Movie)
• Flight 29 Down (TV Series)
• Seasonal Differences (TV Series)
• Ghostwriter (TV Series)
• Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (Movie Series)
• Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space (Book Series)
• East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Penned Adaptation)
• Chris Cross (TV Series)
• Morpheus Road Trilogy (Book Series)
• The Monster Princess (Picture Book)

References