GET READY FOR A SLUGFEST!

It’s on! SLUGFEST, an Amazon Best Book of the Month for January, is out in the world!

Yash is the best athlete at Robinette Middle School—so good, in fact, that’s he’s already playing on the high school’s JV sports teams. Imagine his shock when he learns that his JV practices have kept him from earning a state-mandated credit for eighth-grade P.E. To graduate, he has to take Physical Education Equivalency—P.E.E., commonly known as “Slugfest”—in summer school.

Yash meets his fellow “slugs”: Kaden, an academic superstar who’s physically hopeless; twins Sarah and Stewart, who are too busy trying to kill each other to do any real PE; Jesse, a notorious prankster; Arabella, who protests everything, including mandatory gym class; and Cleo, a natural athlete who has sworn off sports.

But when one of them tries to blow the lid off a scandal that could make all their time in summer school a waste, Yash is forced to take drastic action. Teaming up with the most hapless crew in school can really surprise a person. And their teacher might be hiding the biggest surprise yet. . . .

READ AN EXCERPT

SLUGFEST’S first review is in … and it’s a star from Kirkus! READ IT HERE!

OFFICIAL COVER REVEAL: FAKER

Okay, this is a good one. I know it’s been bouncing around the internet for a while, but I’ve hung on to this cover till now because I love it so much – FAKER, coming July 2nd.

Trey knows how the trick works: His dad gets him into a school full of kids with rich parents. Trey makes friends, and his father makes connections. Soon, there’s the con, where Trey’s dad suckers the other parents into giving him money for one of his schemes. Once the money’s in the bank, Trey, his sister, and their dad go on the run … until they set up somewhere else and start again.

Trey believes his father when he says no one’s getting hurt. After all, these parents have money to spare.

Still, Trey’s getting tired of running … and lying … and never having a friend longer than a few months. But how do you get your family to stop lying when your lives depend on it?

AND DON'T FORGET MIXED UP

What happens when you lose your mind … and someone else finds it?

Theo and Reef don’t know what’s happening to them. They’ll be doing something totally normal and they’ll suddenly have flashes of memory – but the memories belong to someone else. And at the same time, their own memories are starting to … vanish.

For Reef, this is a big problem, because memories are all he has left of his mom.

For Theo, it’s strange because the new memories give him freedom he doesn’t have with his bossy dad.

Theo and Reef are complete strangers, living in completely different parts of the city. But they share something very weird and mysterious … and it’s becoming more and more important that they find each other and stop the memory slide before they’ve forgotten their own lives entirely.

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

AUTHOR VISITS ARE BACK (BUT VIRTUAL IS STILL A THING)!

I’m happy to report that I’m back out on the road, visiting schools, libraries, and bookstores, meeting my readers. But for many schools, virtual author visits are a great Plan B. So even if we can’t meet in person, I can still be there via Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, Teams, or any one of a dozen platforms.

I could be coming to your town – or to a screen near you!

CLICK HERE TO INQUIRE ABOUT IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL VISITS

THE SUPERTEACHER PROJECT IS A BARNES & NOBLE BEST BOOK OF 2023!

Great news!  THE SUPERTEACHER PROJECT has been named one of Barnes and Noble’s Best Books of 2023!

Oliver Zahn, spitball champion and self-declared rule-wrecker of Brightling Middle School, is not a fan of his new homeroom teacher, Mr. Aidact. The guy is totally stiff, never cracks a smile, and refers to his students as “pupils.” Worst of all, he seems to have eyes in the back of his head. He catches Oliver before he can pull any of his signature pranks! It’s time to show the new teacher who’s boss.

But as the weeks go by, he starts to realize that Mr. Aidact is not what he expected. The guy has an uncanny ability to remember song lyrics or trivia. When the girls’ field hockey team needs a new coach, he suddenly turns out to be an expert. He never complains when other teachers unload work on him—even when it’s lunchroom duty and overseeing detention. Against all odds, Mr. Aidact starts to become the most popular teacher at Brightling.

Still, Oliver knows that something is fishy. He’s determined to get to the bottom of the mystery: What’s the deal with Mr. Aidact?

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

READ SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL’S STARRED REVIEW

LINKED IS BARNES & NOBLE'S YOUNG READER PICK FOR JULY

So proud to announce that LINKED has been named Barnes and Noble’s Young Reader Pick for July. It’s also a triple award winner – a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, a NJBA winner, and most recently, a Cybil Award winner!

Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it’s woken up very quickly when someone sneaks into the school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Who would do such a thing?

Because Michael was first to see it, he’s the first suspect. Because Link is the most popular guy in school, everyone’s expecting him to figure it out. And because Dana’s the only Jewish girl in town, people are treating her more like an outsider than ever.

Then more swastikas begin to appear. Some students fight back and start an epic project to bring people together instead of dividing them further. The closer Link, Michael, and Dana get to the truth, the more there is to face – not just the crimes of the present, but also the crimes of the past.

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

LISTEN TO A SAMPLE FROM THE LINKED AUDIOBOOK

READ ABOUT LINKED FROM BARNES & NOBLE

THE FORT IS ONE OF AMAZON'S BEST BOOKS OF 2022!

Great news! Book 100 has just been named one of the best of 2022. THE FORT is on Amazon’s Best Books of 2022 list!

The morning after Hurricane Leo rips through their town, four friends find a total mess outside, with downed branches and uprooted trees everywhere. They know they should stay indoors, but they want to go exploring, even if it means having a new kid, Ricky, tagging along.

Ricky’s the first to discover a strange trapdoor in the middle of the woods – the door to an old bomb shelter, unearthed by the hurricane. Inside, the boys find a completely intact underground lair, with electricity, food, and even a TV. The boys vow to keep the place a secret. It’s theirs now.

But some secrets are hard to keep … especially when adults and older kids are closing in. And what started as a fun hangout spot soon becomes a serious refuge for one of the boys. The Fort has become the safest place they have. But will they be able to protect it?

LIMITED TIME OFFER: 50% OFF THE FORT AUDIOBOOK

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

WATCH MY BOOK 100 INTERVIEW WITH THE NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT

FORUM UPDATE: THE GLITCH IS FIXED!

Egg on face again – there was a glitch in my READERS FORUM that made some of your posts – and my replies – impossible to see. If you tried to post and never got an answer, my heartfelt apologies. I’m a writer not a coder.

Anyway, the good news is the problem has finally been fixed! Hooray! Send me a message or just check up on what other readers are saying. I promise you’ll be hearing back from me soon!

OPERATION DO-OVER IS A BANK STREET COLLEGE OF EDUCATION BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR!

Mason and Ty were once the very best of friends . . . until seventh grade, when Ava came along. Now Mason can trace everything bad in his life to that terrible fight they had over the new girl. The one thing he’d give anything for is a do-over. But that can’t happen in real life—can it?

When he wakes up from a freak accident and finds himself magically transported back to seventh grade, he can’t believe it. His parents aren’t divorced yet and Rufus, his beloved sheepdog, is still alive. Best of all, he and Ty haven’t had their disastrous falling-out.

It makes no logical sense, but Mason is determined to use this second chance to  save his friendship (and his dog!) There’s just one person he’ll be avoiding at all costs: Ava.

But despite his best efforts, will he be able to stop the chain of events that made his previous life implode?

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF DO-OVER

CATCH BRUNO & BOOTS ON TUBITV!


Macdonald Hall has a new TV home! The three BRUNO AND BOOTS movies – GO JUMP IN THE POOLTHIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL, and THE WIZZLE WAR – are now streaming on TubiTV!

Watch the trailer for GO JUMP IN THE POOL

Watch the trailer for THE WIZZLE WAR

Watch the trailer for THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING AT MACDONALD HALL

(UK fans, look for the movies on FUTURE TODAY!)

HAVE YOU UNPLUGGED YET?

Meet Jett Baranov, Silicon Valley’s number one spoiled brat. His father created Fuego, the most successful tech company in the world. So imagine his dismay when his dad’s private plane drops him off at a wellness camp in the middle of the Arkansas wilderness. Can the prince of technology survive an entire summer eating healthy, exercising, and living life totally unplugged – no phones, no TV, no screens of any kind?

I can’t take any credit for the artwork, but this one’s a real beauty, right?

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

WAR STORIES

Ever since my very first adventure trilogies, I’ve always wanted to write about World War II, the largest single event in human history. It took a long time, but WAR STORIES is finally here.

There are two things Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games and his great-grandfather, Jacob, who is a true-blue war hero. At the height of World War II, Jacob helped liberate a French village and was awarded the bronze star.

Now, decades later, Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war – from training, to D-Day, to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get closer to the village, Trevor discovers there’s more to the story than what he’s heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his great-grandfather’s heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and the meaning of genuine valor.

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER

READ AN EXCERPT

READ ABOUT WAR STORIES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

CALLING ALL RESTART FANS!

Ever since RESTART first came out, I’ve been bombarded by fans clamoring for more about Chase Ambrose. It’s finally here – SECRETS OF SPLAT NIGHT – a new RESTART story.

I originally wrote it as part of a Scholastic anthology called THE TIME WE RAN AWAY. It isn’t a prequel or a sequel. It’s a companion story that offers an extra glimpse into what Chase goes through during RESTART.

I can’t wait to see how it goes over with the millions of RESTART fans!

READ SECRETS OF SPLAT NIGHT

THE NOTORIOUS D.O.G. IS FINALLY IN P.B.!

I’m so thrilled that NOTORIOUS, my canine murder-mystery with a gangster twist, is now available in paperback!

Just about everyone on Centerlight Island is a suspect in the mysterious death of Barney, a huge part-mastiff, part-Rottweiler, notorious for terrorizing the community. It takes two unlikely friends to unravel the clues, uncovering a shocking conspiracy that dates back to the island’s past as a smuggling route for gangsters. There’s only one problem: Someone is after them now…

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

LISTEN TO A CLIP FROM THE NOTORIOUS AUDIOBOOK

GAME ON!

Sports fans, this one’s for you! Two of my favorite sports books – THE TOILET PAPER TIGERS and THE CHICKEN DOESN’T SKATE – have been repackaged into this special double edition from Scholastic Canada.

A baseball team sponsored by a company that makes bathroom tissue? A hockey team that can’t win without a chicken named Henrietta, who also stars in a middle school science experiment? Read on!

MEET THE UNTEACHABLES

Meet the Unteachables – a notorious class of misfits, delinquents, and academic train wrecks. Meet Mr. Zachary Kermit, the most burned-out teacher in all of Greenwich.

The Unteachables never thought they’d find a teacher who had a worse attitude than they did. And Mr. Kermit never thought he would actually care about teaching again. Over the course of a school year, though, the Unteachables will experience mayhem, destruction—and maybe even a shot a redemption.

READ AN EXCERPT

THE UNTEACHABLES was Barnes and Noble’s first-ever Book of the Month for Young People.

Says B&N’s kids’ book buyer Shannon Devito: “Any book that makes me both laugh out loud and tear up on the subway will always hold a special place in my heart. I found I unexpectedly learned a lot from the misfit group known as Unteachables, and their journey to connect with each other will resonate with every kid in a classroom today.

CALLING ALL SLACKER FANS - LEVEL UP TO LEVEL 13 !

Cameron Boxer, everybody’s favorite video-game-addicted couch potato is back in LEVEL 13: A SLACKER NOVEL. This time, gaming alone isn’t enough. Cam is shooting for the big time as a world-famous game streamer. Only one thing stands in his way: Level 13 – a rare gaming campaign so impossible to defeat that it’s been banned in 47 states!

WHAT?! You haven’t read the original SLACKER yet? No time like the present to catch up!

READ AN EXCERPT FROM LEVEL 13

CLICK HERE FOR THE SLACKER BOOK TRAILER

MEET WHATSHISFACE

Most of us have minor issues with our phones and devices – assorted bugs and software glitches that make life interesting. Meet Cooper Vega, a seventh grader whose phone has a somewhat trickier problem – a sixteenth century ghost …

READ AN EXCERPT

PLAY THE WHATSHISFACE PODCAST ON PW KIDSCAST

GET READY FOR THE BRAND NEW AND IMPROVED POP

One of the books I’ve always been most proud of is POP, my young adult novel about the oddball friendship between a high school football player and a retired NFL linebacker who suffers from CTE.

But a lot has changed since POP first came out in 2009. The diagnosis of CTE barely existed back then. And I’ve always wished I could re-release POP with the very latest information about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

That’s finally happening, thanks to my editors at HarperCollins and Scholastic Canada. The issue of sports and brain injuries has never been more urgent.

HAVE A SUPERGIFTED DAY!

SUPERGIFTED is on a roll, continuing to win over hordes of UNGIFTED fans!

Get pumped for the return of Donovan Curtis, Chloe Garfinkle, Noah Youkilis, the Daniels, and the legendary robotics team at the Academy for Scholastic Distinction.

Love, love, LOVE the cover! I might actually have to look into adopting this robot as a pet!

READ AN EXCERPT

MASTERMINDS: PAYBACK IS OUT - WITH A VENGEANCE!

masterminds3-hcIt’s time to meet their makers! MASTERMINDS: PAYBACK brings the NY Times bestselling MASTERMINDS trilogy to an astonishing conclusion!

Follow Eli, Tori, Malik, and Amber as they discover the truth of their origins and try to carve a life for themselves in an outside world that is unfamiliar, baffling, and dangerous. It’s one thing to survive and avoid being captured. But sooner or later, they’re going to have to take on Project Osiris and its enforcers, the Purple People Eaters.

WATCH THE BRAND-NEW MASTERMINDS BOOK TRAILER

READ AN EXCERPT FROM MASTERMINDS: PAYBACK

READ BOOKLIST’S STARRED REVIEW OF MASTERMINDS

READ ABOUT MASTERMINDS IN THE NY TIMES

THE HOLIDAYS HAVE BEEN SWINDLED AGAIN!

9780545861427_36078Wondering why the holidays aren’t what you expected this year? Blame The Man With The Plan – and his unique version of holiday spirit!

The multimillion-dollar Star of Prague has been stolen from the top of the tree at Cedarville’s annual holiday pageant, and The Man With The Plan is the prime suspect. Now Griffin and the team have to solve the mystery and catch the real thieves just to clear their names and avoid being Scrooged …

READ AN EXCERPT FROM JINGLE …

AND THE WINNER IS ...

I had such a great time judging Scholastic Scope Magazine Write-A-Story contest! The entries were PHENOMENAL!

The results are finally in! CLICK HERE for the winner, finalists, and honorable mentions.

And remember, even though the contest  is over, you can still watch this video of SOME OF MY FAVORITE WRITING TIPS.

AUTHOR VISITS ARE ALIVE AND WELL!

One of my favorite parts of my job is visiting schools and public libraries, meeting my readers! Find out more about my author visits HERE.

You can USE THIS LINK for inquiries about personal appearances. Or E-MAIL US at info@gordonkorman.com.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll see you soon …

OLDIES BUT GOODIES ...

Some of my all-time favorites have snazzy new covers. Check out these redesigned looks for NO MORE DEAD DOGS and THE 6TH GRADE NICKNAME GAME!

But there’s more: BORN TO ROCK, SON OF THE MOB, THE JUVIE THREE, and JAKE, REINVENTED!  are also part of the backlist facelift!

THE MIND-BENDING CONCLUSION OF THE HYPNOTISTS!

m4591_hypnotistsbo_4ccHYPNOTISTS fans – get ready for the stunning conclusion!  In THE DRAGONFLY EFFECT,  Jax has been recruited by the U.S. Army’s Hypnotic Warfare Research Department. But Dr. Elias Mako has escaped from prison, and this time he has a plan to use mesmeric power to bring the entire world to its knees. As many of you know, THE HYPNOTISTS is my first-ever series to deal with the paranormal, and it has an extra-special place in my heart. I can’t wait for everyone to read THE DRAGONFLY EFFECT!

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT …

WATCH THE HYPNOTISTS TRAILER!

THE CLASSICS ARE BACK AS E-BOOKS!

9781443113045Great news! Three of my “classic” teen titles 9781443113984from the eighties have been re-released as e-books. DON’T CARE HIGH, A SEMESTER IN THE LIFE OF A GARBAGE BAG, and LOSING JOE’S PLACE are now available in iBooks, Kindle, Nook, and Kobo editions!

CHECK OUT MY LATEST VIDEOS

GordonReading1Okay, I’m not exactly flying from the high trapeze, but some of these clips from appearances, webcasts, interviews, and book trailers are pretty cool. Yes, that’s me with Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg from the inaugural 39 CLUES webcast.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE

READ MY SHORT STORY "THE TROPHY"

When Jon Scieszka approached me about contributing to a short story collection spun from his wildly successful Guys Read program, he originally had me in mind for the anthology focusing on humor. But I had another idea – sports.

I’ve written a lot about sports over the years, from my young adult novel POP, to the SLAPSHOTS series, all the way back to MACDONALD HALL days and THE ZUCCHINI WARRIORS. THE TROPHY is my latest – originally published in GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGES.

READ THE TROPHY

CALLING ALL TEACHERS

P1020284Calling all teachers. Check out my article from the November issue of The Reading Teacher: Guy Reader Is Not an Oxymoron.

CLICK HERE TO READ