Daniel Handler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniel Handler
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Handler at a party celebrating the publication of The End, on October 12, 2006
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| Born | February 28, 1970 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Pen name | Lemony Snicket |
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| Period | 1998–present |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | A Series of Unfortunate Events, All the Wrong Questions, The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, Adverbs |
| Spouse | Lisa Brown |
| Children | 1 |
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Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970) is an American writer, musician, and producer. He is most famous for his exciting children's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events. He wrote these books and others under the pen name Lemony Snicket.
A Series of Unfortunate Events was so popular that it was made into a movie in 2004. Later, it became a Netflix TV show that ran from 2017 to 2019.
Besides his children's books, Handler has also written novels for adults and a play. He has also played the accordion in several bands. He even appeared on an album by the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields.
Contents
About Daniel Handler's Life
Daniel Handler was born in San Francisco, California. His mother, Sandra Handler, was a dean at a college. His father, Louis Handler, was an accountant who came to the U.S. from Germany in 1939. Daniel has a younger sister named Rebecca.
He went to schools in San Francisco, including Lowell High School. He then graduated from Wesleyan University in 1992. He won a poetry prize in college.
Handler has loved reading since he was a kid. One of the first books he bought was The Blue Aspic by Edward Gorey. He also enjoyed books by William Maxwell and Roald Dahl.
He is married to Lisa Brown, who is an illustrator. They met in college. They have one child, who was born in 2003. The family lives in an old-fashioned house in San Francisco. Handler often gives money to good causes.
Daniel Handler's Professional Work
His Books
Daniel Handler has written several books under his own name. His first book, The Basic Eight, was a story about a teenage girl's life. Many publishers did not want to publish it at first. Handler said it was turned down 37 times before it was finally published in 1999.
His second novel, Watch Your Mouth, was written like an opera. It even had stage directions! In 2005, he published Adverbs, which is a collection of short stories about love. In 2011, he wrote Why We Broke Up, which won an award.
His 2015 novel, We Are Pirates, is about a modern pirate who wants to be like pirates from old stories. His most recent novel, All the Dirty Parts, came out in 2017.
Handler also helps other young writers. In 2016, he started a poetry contest for them. He gave money to three winners and published their poems.
Writing as Lemony Snicket
Daniel Handler is most famous for the 13-book series A Series of Unfortunate Events. He wrote these bestselling books as Lemony Snicket from 1999 to 2006. The stories are about three orphaned children, the Baudelaire orphans. They face many terrible events after their parents die and their home burns down. Lemony Snicket acts as the narrator and tells the children's sad story.
Handler also narrated the audiobooks for some of these books. Later, Tim Curry took over the narration.
From 2012 to 2015, Handler wrote another four-book series called All the Wrong Questions. These books also came out under the name Lemony Snicket. They tell the story of Snicket's own childhood and his training in a mysterious organization called V.F.D. He has also written other children's books as Lemony Snicket. These include The Composer is Dead and The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming.
His Music Career
After college, Daniel Handler was in two bands, the Edith Head Trio and Tzamboni. But his music became more known when he played accordion on 69 Love Songs. This was a three-album set by the band The Magnetic Fields. Handler even interviewed the band's leader, Stephin Merritt, for the album's box set.
Handler has played accordion on other projects with Stephin Merritt. This includes The 6ths and The Gothic Archies. The Gothic Archies created songs for the A Series of Unfortunate Events audiobooks. In 2006, an album was released with all 13 songs from the audiobooks.
He also wrote lyrics for songs like "Radio" by One Ring Zero.
Theater Work
In 2017, Handler wrote a play called Imaginary Comforts, and The Story of The Ghost of The Dead Rabbit. This play was performed at a theater in Berkeley. It's a story about three characters whose lives become connected.
Film and Television Work
Handler has also worked in film and television. He helped write the screenplays for movies like Rick and Kill the Poor.
He was involved in writing the screenplay for the movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. He wrote many drafts of the script. Even though he was replaced later, he approved of the final changes. He even recorded a funny commentary track for the DVD. In it, he pretended to be Lemony Snicket and played the accordion.
Handler was also a writer for the Netflix TV series A Series of Unfortunate Events. He helped write the show's theme song, which changed for each episode. The show won awards, including a Peabody Award in 2017.
Discography
- 69 Love Songs – The Magnetic Fields
- Hyacinths and Thistles – The 6ths
- The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events – The Gothic Archies
- Distortion – The Magnetic Fields
- Nevermind the Context – Moth Wranglers
- The Composer Is Dead – A collaboration with Nathaniel Stookey, premiered in San Francisco at Davies Symphony Hall on July 8, 2006
- Realism – The Magnetic Fields
- Barricade – Stars
- Love at the Bottom of the Sea – The Magnetic Fields
Filmography
- Kill the Poor (2003) – screenplay
- Rick (2003) – writer
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) – based on the books The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window
- A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017–2019) – based on the book series, writer, executive producer, title theme, original song lyrics
Images for kids
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Handler at a party celebrating the publication of The End, on October 12, 2006
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Daniel Handler signature.svg
Daniel Handler's signature
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Handler at a book signing in 2006
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Handler playing and singing at a reading of The End in 2006
See also
In Spanish: Daniel Handler para niños
