Rodman Philbrick

Rodman Philbrick is an author of novels for adults and children. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1951, and currently lives in Maine and Florida. He and author Lynn Harnett were married from 1980 until her death in 2012. They collaborated on a number of scary books for young readers, including 'The House on Cherry Street', 'The Werewolf Chronicles', and 'Visitors'. Philbrick has also written using the pen names William R. Dantz and Chris Jordan.

Two of his most popular children's books are Freak the Mighty and its sequel, Max the Mighty. Freak the Mighty was the basis of a Golden Globe-nominated movie titled simply The Mighty, released in 1998.

Philbrick has also written the cyberpunk dystopian novel The Last Book in the Universe and the science fantasy REM World. Other works for young readers include The Young Man and the Sea which is dedicated to his nieces Annie and Molly, and The Fire Pony, about two brothers on the run in the American West. His latest book for young readers, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P.Figg, set in the American Civil War, was named a Newbery Honor Book in 2010. A stage version of The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P.Figg will be presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in 2012.

Rodman Philbrick has also written many mysteries and thrillers for adults, including Brothers & Sinners, Coffins, and the T.D.Stash detective series, set in Key West, Florida, as well as a number of mysteries under the pen name William R. Dantz. Writing as Chris Jordan, Philbrick has published novels in the thriller genre: Taken,Trapped, and Torn, featuring former FBI special agent Randall Shane, who investigates the disappearance of missing children.

In December 2011, writing as Chris Jordan, Philbrick published Measure of Darkness, set in Boston. According to the author, Randall Shane enters the story in the first chapter, when he is accused of murdering a client.

Before Philbrick began writing full-time he worked as a longshoreman and boat builder.