Jess M. Brallier (born May 31, 1953) is a publisher working in various media, genres, and formats, such as bestselling books, popular web sites, apps, and virtual worlds including Poptropica, one of the Internet's largest virtual worlds for kids.
[Alter, Alexandra]
The New York Times. May 5, 2015 He helped launch bestselling brands such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Galactic Hot Dogs; and extended the
Poptropica
''Poptropica'' is an online role-playing game, developed in 2007 by Pearson Education's Family Education Network, and targeted towards children aged 6 to 15. ''Poptropica'' was primarily the creation of Jeff Kinney, the author of the ''Diary of ...
brand into toys, global education, and books. He is also the author or co-author of 31 books, including Lawyers and Other Reptiles.
Publishing career
Jess Brallier initially held marketing positions for trade book publishers, including
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...
, Little Brown, and
Addison Wesley. In 1992, Brallier founded the children's publishing imprint,
Planet Dexter.
["Jess M. Brallier."]
Our White House. Accessed Mar. 19, 2014
In 2007, Brallier launched Poptropica, the online role-playing website for kids.
/ref> Readers actively participate in stories on the website with their own virtual characters (“avatars”).[Raugust, Karen]
Publishers Weekly. Jan 13, 2012
Poptropica became the world's largest virtual world for kids: Visitors from more than 130 countries enjoyed the site in more than 100 languages, and the site averages 10 million kids a month.[Lew, Kimberly]
"DIY IP: How Publishers Develop, Exploit and Deploy Their Own Intellectual Property."
Publishing Trends. Dec. 11, 2012[Lavoie, Denise]
"'Wimpy Kid' author keeps day job on kids' website."
The Washington Times. Mar. 9, 2011 It was named one of Time Magazine's 50 Best Websites and one of Family Fun magazine's top 10 fun websites.[McCracken, Harry]
Time Magazine. Aug. 16, 2011
Brallier used the website FunBrain to be the first to publish Jeff Kinney
Jeffrey Patrick Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American author and cartoonist, best known for the children's book series ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''. He also created the child-oriented website '' Poptropica''.
Early life
Jeff Kinney was bor ...
’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid
''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American children’s book series and media franchise created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he const ...
online in 2004, two years before the property was published in print. In 2013, Brallier did likewise with the virtual graphic novel series Galactic Hot Dogs.[Rosen, Judith]
"The Latest from Funbrain: 'Galactic Hot Dogs.'"
Publishers Weekly. Oct. 24, 2013
Brallier served as Senior Vice President and Publisher of Pearson's Family Education Network, an online publisher for parents, teachers, and reference readers.[
Brallier also is a keynote speaker.
]
Personal life
A native of Ligonier, Pennsylvania, Brallier is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
(B.A.) and Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...
(M.S.). He and his wife reside in New York City. Brallier works out of Boston and New York.[ They have two adult children, one of whom is Max Brallier, author of Galactic Hot Dogs.]
Books ''Tess's Tree'' (illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds)
''Presidential Wit and Wisdom: Maxims, Mottoes, Sound Bites, Speeches, Asides, and Memorable Quotes from America’s Presidents''
with Sally Chabert
''Celebrate America''
with Sally Chabert
''Lawyers and Other Reptiles''
br /
''Lawyers and Other Reptiles II: The Appeal''
br /
''Y2Kids: Your Guide to the Millennium''
br /
''Medical Wit and Wisdom: The Best Medical Quotations from Hippocrates to Groucho Marx''
with Sally Chabert
''The Hot Dog Cookbook: The Wiener Work the World Awaited''
br /
''The Pessimist’s Journal of Very, Very Bad Days''
with Richard McDonough
''The Pessimist’s Journal of Very, Very Bad Days of the 1980s''
with Richard McDonough
''This Book Really Sucks!''
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''“Whaddaya Doin’ in There?!” A Bathroom Reader for Kids''
br /
''Play Ball!''
br /
''Money Madness''
br /
''The Cocktail Hour''
with Sally Chabert
''Write Your Own Living Will''
with Bradley E. Smith
''Bouncing Science''
br /
''Hairy Science''
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''Shadowy Science''
br /
''Thumbs Up Science''
br /
''Who Was Albert Einstein?.''
br /
''Calculator Mania''
br /
''Shake, Rattle, and Roll! Cool Things to Do with Dice''
br /
''Going, Going, Gone: This Book Disappears!''
br /
''Magnetic Pattern Blocks''
The Really, Really Classy Donald Trump Quiz Book
References
External links
FamilyEducation.com
TeacherVision.com
Infoplease.com
Funbrain.com
FactMonster.com
Poptropica.complanetdexter.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brallier, Jess
1953 births
Living people
American children's writers
American publishers (people)
University of Pittsburgh alumni
Boston University alumni