Adam Selzer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adam Selzer
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Selzer in 2015.
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| Born | July 13, 1980 Des Moines, Iowa |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | American |
Adam Selzer (born July 13, 1980, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American author. He started by writing books for young adults and middle schoolers. Later, his work mainly focused on non-fiction books for adults.
About Adam Selzer
Adam Selzer's first novel was How To Get Suspended and Influence People. It came out in 2007 and was on the Chicago Public Schools' summer reading list. This book was also nominated for a Cybils award for Young Adult Fiction. In 2009, some people tried to have it removed from a library in Idaho. Because of this, it was featured in the American Library Association's Banned Books Week in 2010. This event highlights the importance of reading freedom.
In 2013, his 2011 novel Sparks received a Stonewall Honor award. It was also added to the ALA's "Rainbow List." His book Smart Aleck's Guide to American History was nominated for a YALSA award in 2011. This award is for non-fiction books. His younger readers' novel, I Put a Spell On You, was nominated for a Great Lakes Book Award. It was also short-listed for an Edgar award nomination. This book became a popular choice for classrooms. In 2009, a short film he helped write, At Last, Okemah!, won awards at several festivals.
In 2009, Adam's editor asked him to write a book based on a song he had written. This book, I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, was released in 2010. Reviewers praised it, calling it "smart" and "hilarious." Disney Channel Original Movies even bought the rights to make a film from it. A follow-up book, Extraordinary*, came out in 2011. On the same day, he also published Sparks under the name SJ Adams.
His first non-fiction book for Random House was The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History. It was chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection. Critics often compared its humor to shows like The Daily Show and authors like Mark Twain.
Many of Adam's books and songs take place in Cornersville Trace. This is a made-up suburb near Des Moines.
Besides writing books, Adam works as a historian and tour guide in Chicago. He also investigates ghost stories. In 2009, he released his first adult non-fiction book, Your Neighborhood Gives Me the Creeps. This book shared stories from his life as a ghost tour guide. It also talked about his views as a skeptic in the ghost-hunting field. He worked with Weird Chicago Tours until 2009. In 2011, he returned to guiding tours for Chicago Hauntings. He continued with them until 2015. In 2017, he released a detailed biography of HH Holmes. Holmes was a multi-murderer in Chicago.
List of Works
Novels
- How to Get Suspended and Influence People, Delacorte Press, 2007 ISBN: 978-0-385-73369-4
- Pirates of the Retail Wasteland, Delacorte Press, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-385-73482-0
- I Put a Spell On You, Delacorte Press, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-385-90498-8
- I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It, Delacorte Press 2010 ISBN: 978-0-385-73503-2
- Andrew North Blows Up the World, Delacorte Press, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-375-89375-9
- Extraordinary: The True Story of My Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess Delacorte Press 2011 ISBN: 978-0385736497
- Sparks, Flux 2011 (writing as S.J. Adams) ISBN: 0738726761
- Play Me Backward Simon & Schuster 2014 ISBN: 9781481401029
- Just Kill Me Simon & Schuster 2016 ISBN: 978-1-4814-3494-2
Nonfiction
- The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History, Delacorte Press 2009 ISBN: 978-0-385-73650-3
- Your Neighborhood Gives Me the Creeps: True Tales of an Accidental Ghost Hunter, Llewellyn Press, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-7387-1557-5
- Weird Chicago: The Book (with Troy Taylor and Ken Melvoin-Berg), Whitechapel Press, 2008 ISBN: 978-1-892523-59-4
- Fatal Drop: True Tales of the Chicago Gallows White Chapel Press January, 2009 (under the name William Griffith)
- Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Chicago History Globe Pequot Press 2012
- The Ghosts of Chicago Llewellyn Press September 2013
- The Ghosts of Lincoln Llewellyn Press 2015
- Flickering Empire: How Chicago Invented the US Film Industry Columbia University Press 2015 ISBN: 9780231174497
- Mysterious Chicago Skyhorse Publishing 2016
- HH Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil Skyhorse Publishing 2017
- Graceland Cemetery: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets
Ebook Releases
- Chicago Unbelievable Presents: The Murder Castle of H.H. Holmes (mini ebook) (editor), Whitechapel Press, 2008
- Bobcat Nation: Life among the Dylan Fans A Goon Attack Press (ebook) October, 2004 [ASIN B004GKMP5I]
- The Smart Aleck's Guide to Grave Robbing [Open etc.] 2011)
- The Smart Aleck's Guide to Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth [Open etc.] 2011
- The Resurrection Mary Files Llewellyn Press 2013
- Devil Babies: Hull House and Beyond Llewellyn Press 2013
- Inside the Murder Castle Llewellyn Press 2013
- Just Kill Me 2016
Screenplays
- At Last, Okemah! (short film) Lost Tree Lane 2009
