Rodman Philbrick is a successful American author, well-known for his works in young adult, science fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller, and children's books. He has written several trilogies, including the House of Cherry Street series, Visitors series, and the Werewolf Chronicles series. Philbrick was born in 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts, and spent his childhood on the New England coast. He worked as a longshoreman and boat builder before turning to writing.
Philbrick's writing career has seen him write mysteries and detective novels for adults, and he has used several pen names, including William R. Dantz, Chris Jordan, and W.R. Philbrick. His work has been recognized by the Private Eye Writers of America, who nominated two of his T.D.Stash series as best detective novel and selected 'Brothers & Sinners' as Best Novel in 1993. Writing under the pen name William R. Dantz, Philbrick has explored near-future worlds of genetic engineering and hi-tech brain control in books like 'Hunger', 'Pulse', 'The Seventh Sleeper', and 'Nine Levels Down'.
Inspired by the life of a boy who lived a few blocks away, Philbrick wrote 'Freak The Mighty', the award-winning young-adult novel, which has been translated into numerous languages and is now read in schools throughout the world. The book was adapted to the screen in 1998 as 'The Mighty', starring Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini, Kieran Culkin, and Elden Henson. Philbrick, a screenwriter as well as a novelist, has written several novels for young readers, including 'The Fire Pony', 'Max the Mighty', 'REM World', 'The Last Book In The Universe', 'The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds', and 'The Young Man And The Sea'.
Philbrick was married to Lynn Hamett from 1980 to 2012, with whom he collaborated on several scary novels for young readers. They released their books under the banner of Scholastic, Inc. In addition to writing, Philbrick and his late wife, Lynn Harnett, collaborated on a number of series for young readers, including 'The House on Cherry Street' and 'The Werewolf Chronicles'. He divides his time between Maine and the Florida Keys.