Rachel Renée Russell (born March 13, 1959) is an American author of the children's book series ''
Dork Diaries
''Dork Diaries'' is a children's book series written and illustrated by Rachel Renée Russell.
The series, written in a diary format, uses drawings, doodles, and comic strips to chronicle the daily life of its 15-year-old adolescent protagonist, ...
'' and its spin-off ''The Misadventures of Max Crumbly.''
Russell grew up in
Saint Joseph, Michigan
St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,365. It lies on the shore o ...
, and has four younger siblings, two sisters and twin brothers.
She attended
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, then law school. As of 2013, she lives in
Chantilly, Virginia
Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the name of an 18th-century p ...
.
''Dork Diaries'', written in a
diary
A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
format, uses doodles, drawings, and comic strips to chronicle the daily life of the main character, Nikki Maxwell, as she struggles to fit in and survive middle school. The series is based on Russell's
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
experiences. Her daughter, Nikki, is the illustrator of the series. The main character, Nikki Maxwell, is named after her daughter.
''The Misadventures of Max Crumbly'' is about a character, Maxwell Crumbly, who keeps a diary about his challenges in middle school. He is introduced in ''Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So Perfect Pet Sitter''.
As of August 2020, 55 million copies of ''Dork Diaries'' are in print worldwide in 42 languages, and the book series has spent 325 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list in the Children's Series category.
Bibliography and awards
*''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Fabulous Life'' (Book 1) was released on June 2, 2009. It spent 42 weeks on the
New York Times Bestsellers
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of bestseller, best-selling books in the United States.John Bear (educator), John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books ...
list and 7 weeks on the USA Today Best Sellers list.
["Best-Selling Books Database on USA Today"](_blank)
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*''Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Popular Party Girl'' (Book 2) was released on June 8, 2010. It has spent 42 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Bestsellers list
/ref> and 12 weeks on the USA Today Best Sellers list.COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Rachel Renee
African-American children's writers
Living people
21st-century American writers
21st-century American women writers
Place of birth missing (living people)
21st-century African-American women writers
21st-century African-American writers
1959 births