Chris Grabenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of the Lemoncello series, the Smartest Kid series, the Dog Squad series, the Wonderland series, the award-winning Haunted Mystery series, and The Island of Dr. Libris. Together, he and his wife J.J. wrote the acclaimed Shine!

Chris is also the co-author (with James Patterson) of the #1 Bestsellers I Funny, House of Robots, Treasure Hunters, Jacky Ha-Ha, Word of Mouse, Max Einstein, Katt Vs. Dogg, Best Nerds Forever, and many others.
Winner of all sorts of awards, Chris writes fast-paced and fun page-turners. He’s also a playwright and screenwriter not to mention a former advertising executive and improvisational comedian. Sometimes he sleeps.

Chris started writing a long time ago. He and his four brothers used to put on skits and puppet shows in the basement of their home in Buffalo, New York. Their mom and dad were the only paying customers. Admission was a nickel. They usually earned ten cents a show.

He studied communications and theater at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville then moved to New York City with six suitcases, a typewriter, and very little money. For five years, he performed with some of the city’s top Improvisational Comedy troupes, making up scenes and songs on the spot in front of live audiences, just like they did on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”