John Green (author)
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John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author,
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
content creator,
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
er, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the best-selling books of all time. Green's rapid rise to fame and idiosyncratic voice are credited with creating a major shift in the
young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...
market. Aside from being a novelist, Green is well known for his work in online video, most notably his YouTube ventures with his brother Hank Green. Born in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...
, Green was raised in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
, before attending boarding school outside of
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...
, graduating in 1995. He attended
Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is s ...
, graduating with a double major in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
and religious studies in 2000. Green then spent six months as a student chaplain at a children's hospital. He was deeply affected by the difficult experience, which later partially inspired ''The Fault in Our Stars''. Green reconsidered his path and began working at ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'' in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
while writing his first novel. His
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
'' Looking for Alaska'' (2005) was awarded the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award. While living in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Green published his second novel, ''
An Abundance of Katherines ''An Abundance of Katherines'' is a young adult novel by John Green. Released in 2006, it was a finalist for the Michael L. Printz Award. The novel includes an appendix by Daniel Biss, a close friend of Green, that explains some of the more c ...
'' (2006), which became a Printz Honor book. Starting on January 1, 2007, John and his brother Hank launched the
Vlogbrothers Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John Green and Hank Green. The first incarnation of the brothers' online ...
YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...
, a series of
vlog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...
s submitted to one another on alternating weekdays; the videos spawned an active online-based community called Nerdfighteria and an annual
telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...
-style fundraiser called Project for Awesome, both of which have persisted and grown over time. John moved back to Indianapolis in 2007, and published three novels over the next three years: '' Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances'' (2008, with
Maureen Johnson Maureen Johnson (born February 16, 1973) is an American author of young adult fiction. Her published novels include series leading titles such as ''13 Little Blue Envelopes'', ''The Name of the Star'', ''Truly Devious,'' and ''Suite Scarlett''. ...
and
Lauren Myracle Lauren Myracle (born May 15, 1969) is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has written many novels, including the three best-selling "IM" books, ''ttyl'', ''ttfn'' and ''l8r, g8r''. Her book ''Thirteen Plus One'' was released May 4, 20 ...
), his third solo novel, '' Paper Towns'' (2008), and ''
Will Grayson, Will Grayson ''Will Grayson, Will Grayson'' is a novel by John Green and David Levithan, published in April 2010 by Dutton Juvenile. The book's narrative is divided evenly between two boys named Will Grayson, with Green having written all of the chapters for o ...
'' (2010, with
David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written nume ...
). From 2010 to 2013, John and Hank launched several online video projects:
VidCon VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Vetera ...
, an annual conference for the online video community; ''
Crash Course A crash course is an educational or research course conducted over a very short period of time. These rapid learning programs may also be described by the ambiguous term crash program. Crash Course may also refer to: Television and movies * ''Cr ...
'' (2011–present), a wide-ranging educational channel; and
Subbable The Green brothers, John (born 1977) and Hank (born 1980), are two American entrepreneurs, social activists, authors, and YouTube vloggers. The two extensively work together, having started their collaborative popularity with a daily vlog proj ...
, a crowdfunding platform which was purchased by
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
in 2015. Green's 2012 novel, ''The Fault in Our Stars'', proved to be a massive success. The book created a passionate fan base of readers and debuted at number one on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for children's chapter books, remaining in the top ten for over two-and-a-half years. The 2014 film adaptation was also a commercial and critical success, leading to several other film and television adaptations of his work. That same year, Green was included in ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2015, the weekly comedy podcast ''
Dear Hank & John ''Dear Hank & John'' is a podcast hosted by the Green brothers: musician and author Hank Green and young-adult novelist John Green. The podcast is produced by Rosianna Halse Rojas and edited by Josef "Tuna" Metesh. First released in June 2015, ...
'' (2015–present) debuted, co-hosted by the Green brothers. Green's subsequent projects, his novel '' Turtles All the Way Down'' (2017) and ''
The Anthropocene Reviewed ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'' is the shared name for a podcast and 2021 nonfiction book by John Green. The podcast started in January 2018, with each episode featuring Green reviewing "different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-st ...
'' (2018–2021), dealt more directly with his own struggles with
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
and
obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...
. ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'' began as a podcast in January 2018, with Green reviewing different facets of the
Anthropocene The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change. , neither the International Commissio ...
on a five-star scale. Green later adapted the essays into his first nonfiction book, '' The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet'' (2021). The essays were ordered chronologically through his life to give the approximate structure of a memoir. John has also collaborated with his wife,
art curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
Sarah Urist Green, on the video series ''
The Art Assignment ''The Art Assignment'' is a PBS Digital Studios webseries focused on contemporary art that debuted in February 2014.Lindquist, David. (24 September 2013)Sarah Green exiting IMA to develop PBS series ''The Indianapolis Star'' ''The Art Assignment' ...
'' (2017–2020) and '' Ours Poetica'' (2019–present), which focus on
visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...
and poetry respectively. Since the mid-2010s, John Green has been a prominent supporter, fundraiser, and later
trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
for
Partners In Health Partners In Health (PIH) is an international nonprofit public health organization founded in 1987 by Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Jim Yong Kim. Partners in Health provides healthcare in the poorest areas of de ...
and their goal of reducing
maternal mortality Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pre ...
in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
.


Early life and education

John Michael Green was born on August 24, 1977, in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
, to Mike and Sydney Green. Within two months after he was born, his family moved to Michigan, then later
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...
, and finally to
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
. There he attended Glenridge Middle School and
Lake Highland Preparatory School Lake Highland Preparatory School is a private, coeducational school in Orlando, Florida. It was founded as an all-white school in 1970 by the board of a whites-only, Christians-only junior college. This gave white parents a private alternative ...
. Green's father worked as the state director of
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
, and his mother, after being a
stay-at-home mother A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...
, worked for a nonprofit called the Healthy Community Initiative. When he was 15, he started attending Indian Springs School outside of Birmingham, Alabama, graduating in 1995. While attending the preparatory school, Green became good friends with Daniel Alarcón, who would go on to become an author as well. Green's future wife Sarah Urist also attended Indian Springs at the same time as Green, though they did not become friends until they became reacquainted in the early 2000s. Green has characterized his upbringing by saying that, "although he had a happy childhood, he was not always a happy child." Green has struggled with severe
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
and
obsessive compulsive disorder Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Fixation (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Idée fixe (psychology), a pr ...
his whole life. He has also spoken about being
bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an im ...
during high school and how it had made life as a teenager miserable for him. Green enrolled at
Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is s ...
in 1995 and graduated with a double major in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
and religious studies in 2000. While attending the school, he befriended and was in a
comedy troupe A comedy troupe is a group of comedians and associated personnel who work together to perform comedy as entertainment. The term is often used interchangeably with comedy group, and the troupe may specialize in a specific genre or style of comedy ...
with
Ransom Riggs Ransom Riggs (born February 3, 1979) is an American writer and filmmaker best known for the book '' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children''. Early life and education Riggs was born in Maryland in 1979 on a 200-year-old farm, and grew up in ...
. After graduation, Green spent about half a year working as a student
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...
at
Nationwide Children's Hospital Nationwide Children's Hospital (formerly Columbus Children's Hospital) is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric beds and is affil ...
in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
, while enrolled at the
University of Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any s ...
, although he never actually attended the school. He intended to become an Episcopal priest, but the traumatic experiences of working in a hospital with children suffering from life-threatening illnesses and injuries made him reconsider his path. Parts of his experience inspired him to become an author, and later to write ''The Fault in Our Stars''. After his time as a chaplain, Green moved to Chicago where he briefly continued performing with his college comedy troupe.


Career


Early career and novels (2001–2006)


''Booklist'' magazine and ''Looking for Alaska''

In 2001, Green was hired as an editorial assistant at the book review journal ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'', later becoming a production editor. While there, he reviewed hundreds of books, particularly literary fiction and books about
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
or
conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are twins joined ''Uterus, in utero''. A very rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher in ...
. He also wrote radio essays for
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'' and Chicago's public radio station
WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and li ...
. He wrote essays for WBEZ after beginning an email correspondence with
Amy Krouse Rosenthal Amy Krouse Rosenthal (April 29, 1965 – March 13, 2017) was an American author of both adult and children's books, a short film maker, and radio show host. She is best known for her memoir ''Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life'', her children's pic ...
, who became a close friend and mentor. Green met author Ilene Cooper while working at ''Booklist'', whom he credited with breaking down the perceived barriers to attempt to write a novel, saying, "I saw that real people like Ilene wrote books; they weren't written in
ivory tower An ivory tower is a metaphorical place—or an atmosphere—where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world in favor of their own pursuits, usually mental and esoteric ones. From the 19th century, it has been used to designate an e ...
s." Cooper invited Green to lunch to discuss his future. She set a deadline for Green to present her with a draft of his first book, which Green failed to present to her twice over. Soon after
September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
, Green was going through a break-up and suffered from a
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...
crisis so severe he could not eat, and instead drank only
two-liter bottle The two-liter bottle is a common container for soft drinks, beer, and wine. These bottles are produced from polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET plastic, or glass using the blow molding process. Bottle labels consist of a printed, tight- ...
s of Sprite. He lived with his parents for a brief time while seeing a psychiatrist and going on
medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...
. When he returned to Chicago, he began writing ''Looking for Alaska''. Green presented the first draft to Cooper, who served as a mentor and agent through the following two versions. Cooper sent the third draft to Dutton Children's Books, who awarded Green with a publishing contract and a small four-figure book deal. ''Looking for Alaska'' was assigned to editor Julie Strauss-Gabel, which began their collaboration that has persisted through all of Green's books. In a 2015 interview with ''The New York Times'', Green reflected, "In a publishing world that maybe doesn't have as many long-term relationships as it used to, she invested a lot of time in me before I ever earned a profit. I've never written a book without Julie. I wouldn't know how to do it." ''Looking for Alaska'' was published in March 2005. The novel is a
coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be ...
school story The school story is a fiction genre centring on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, at its most popular in the first half of the twentieth century. While examples do exist in other countries, it is most commonly set in English boardi ...
and teen romance about a boarding school student who gets bullied, partially inspired by Green's experiences at Indian Springs, Alabama, fictionalized as Culver Creek Preparatory High School. The novel was well-received critically, but saw only modest sales at first. The novel was awarded the annual Michael L. Printz Award by the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...
(ALA), recognizing the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit." Receiving the award caused book sales to rapidly rise, with Green describing his reaction upon hearing he had won the award as, "probably the purest moment of joy I've experienced. Even when my children were born it wasn't as raw and surprising." It also appeared on the ALA's annual "Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults" and appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list seven years later during a surge in Green's popularity after the release of ''The Fault in Our Stars''. Green left his job at ''Booklist'' after receiving the Printz Award.


''An Abundance of Katherines''

Green moved to the
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 2005 while his then-fiancée Sarah Urist Green attended graduate school at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He worked at ''
Mental Floss ''Mental Floss'' (stylized as ''mental_floss'') is an online magazine and its related American digital, print, and e-commerce media company focused on millennials. It is owned by Minute Media and based in New York City, United States. mentalfloss ...
'' magazine while he continued his second novel, having already finished a first draft while living in Chicago. He co-authored several ''Mental Floss'' gift books while there, including ''Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets'', ''What's the Difference?'' and ''Scatterbrained''. He also critiqued books for ''
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
''. His second novel, ''An Abundance of Katherines'', was released in September 2006. Set in Chicago, the novel is about an extremely intelligent but depressed 17-year-old boy who is constantly dating (and being dumped by) girls named Katherine. Reviewers noted that the books tone was significantly more comedic and light than ''Looking for Alaska''. It was runner-up for the Printz Award, known as a Printz Honor book, and a finalist for the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize. Green began writing his third solo novel while still living in New York.


Online and literary collaborations (2007-2011)


''Paper Towns'' and collaborative works

Green moved back to Indianapolis in June 2007 when Sarah began a position as a curator of contemporary art at the
Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It ...
. In an interview in October 2007, Green mentioned that his next solo novel's working title was ''Paper Towns''. Green's next novel was released on October 2, 2008, and was a collaboration with fellow young adult authors
Maureen Johnson Maureen Johnson (born February 16, 1973) is an American author of young adult fiction. Her published novels include series leading titles such as ''13 Little Blue Envelopes'', ''The Name of the Star'', ''Truly Devious,'' and ''Suite Scarlett''. ...
and
Lauren Myracle Lauren Myracle (born May 15, 1969) is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has written many novels, including the three best-selling "IM" books, ''ttyl'', ''ttfn'' and ''l8r, g8r''. Her book ''Thirteen Plus One'' was released May 4, 20 ...
titled ''Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances''. The book consists of three interconnected short stories, including Green's "A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle," with each set in the same small town on Christmas Eve during a massive snowstorm. In November 2009, the book reached number ten on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for paperback children's books. Green's third solo novel, ''Paper Towns'', was released two weeks after ''Let It Snow''. Set in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida, the book is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search for Margo Roth Spiegelman, his neighbor and childhood sweetheart. The story has often been described as a deconstruction of the "
Manic Pixie Dream Girl A Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) is a stock character type in films. Film critic Nathan Rabin, who coined the term after observing Kirsten Dunst's character in '' Elizabethtown'' (2005), said that the MPDG "exists solely in the fevered imaginatio ...
" trope, including by Green himself. It debuted at number five on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for children's books. ''Paper Towns'' was awarded the 2009
Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
for Best Young Adult Novel and the 2010
Corine Literature Prize The Corine – International Book Prize, as it is officially called, is a German literature prize created by the Bavarian chapter of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels, first awarded in 2001. It is awarded to German and international "au ...
. After this, Green and his friend, young-adult writer
David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written nume ...
, collaborated on the novel ''Will Grayson, Will Grayson'', which was published by Dutton in June 2010. Set in the suburbs of Chicago, the book's narrative is divided evenly between two boys named Will Grayson; Green wrote all the odd chapters on the Will Grayson who is straight, and Levithan write all the even chapters on the Will Grayson who is gay. The novel debuted on ''The New York Times'' children's best-seller list after its release and remained there for three weeks. It was the first
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
-themed young adult novel to make it to the list. It was a runner-up (Honor Book) for two of the annual ALA awards, the
Stonewall Book Award The Stonewall Book Award is a set of three literary awards that annually recognize "exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience" in English-language books published in the U.S. They are sponsored by the Rainbow ...
for excellence in
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
children's and young adult literature, and the
Odyssey Award The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United State ...
for Excellence in Audiobook Production.


Online video beginnings

In 2007, John and his brother Hank began a video blog project called ''Brotherhood 2.0'' which ran from January 1 to December 31 of that year and was published to their YouTube channel "
Vlogbrothers Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John Green and Hank Green. The first incarnation of the brothers' online ...
". The two agreed that they would forgo all text-based communication for the project's duration and instead maintain their relationship by exchanging these
vlog A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...
s. Each submitted one to the other on alternating weekdays. During that year, the brothers gained a large following during the early years of YouTube, especially after Hank's video "Accio Deathly Hallows" was featured on the front page of YouTube. In what would have been the project's final video, the brothers revealed that they would extend their video correspondence indefinitely.. ''VlogBrothers''. December 31, 2007. , they have continued exchanging their vlogs and the channel has over 3.5 million subscribers and 900 million views. Since the project's inception, the duo has gained a wide-reaching international fanbase whose members identify collectively as " Nerdfighters". One prominent early Nerdfighter was Esther Earl. Esther Earl was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2006 when she was 12, and developed a bond with the Green brothers and the Nerdfighter community. She would be involved with Nerdfighteria and YouTube until her death on August 25, 2010, at the age of 16. Green and the Nerdfighteria community continue to celebrate "Esther Day" each year on August 3, and support the non-profit foundation This Star Won't Go Out, founded by Esther's parents Wayne and Lori Earl. Earl's biography, co-authored by her parents, was posthumously published under the title ''This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl''. Green wrote the introduction. Earl would later serve as an inspiration for the main character Hazel in ''The Fault in Our Stars''. The group, in collaboration with the two brothers, promote and participate in several other humanitarian efforts and community events, including loaning more than $4 million through
Kiva.org Kiva (commonly known by its domain name, Kiva.org) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, that claims to allow people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students in 77 c ...
, as well as the Project for Awesome (P4A). The Project for Awesome, an annual
telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...
-style fundraiser held at first in December and later moved back to February, began in 2007. The event encourages participants to create videos promoting charities or non-profit organizations of their choosing. These videos lead up to a 48-hour livestream in which the charities are voted on by the community while supporters pledge money and receive donated perks like signed photographs, books, special events, and art in return. The livestream is hosted by the Greens and other YouTube personalities, including
Destin Sandlin Destin Wilson Sandlin (born September 17, 1981) is an American engineer and science communicator who produces the video series ''Smarter Every Day'' on his YouTube channel of the same name, which was launched in 2007. Sandlin also runs the YouT ...
and Craig Benzine. The event has continued annually, gaining support and higher donations over time. In 2012, they raised over $480,000. In 2017, the event raised over $2 million, and in the project's fifteenth edition in 2022, they raised $3.2 million. The P4A is a project of the Foundation to Decrease World Suck, a
501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...
charitable organization co-founded by John and Hank and based in Missoula, Montana. Hank Green and Alan Lastufka co-founded
DFTBA Records DFTBA Records, commonly known as DFTBA.com, is an e-commerce merchandise company that was co-founded by Hank Green and Alan Lastufka in 2008. Originally a record label, the company now focuses on selling merchandise for prominent YouTube cont ...
(an
initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for "Don't Forget to Be Awesome") in 2008, with John Green later becoming a co-owner. Originally a record label, its main focus was music generated by prominent YouTube stars. The company now focuses on selling merchandise. In 2010, the brothers launched
VidCon VidCon is an annual convention for fans, creators, executives, and online brands. The event primarily features prominent video stars from across the internet. In October 2020, VidCon Now relaunched as an ongoing, free digital offering. Vetera ...
as a conference for the online video community. The Greens created the conference in response to the growing YouTube community. Hank stated, "We wanted to get as much of the online video community together, in one place, in the real world for a weekend. It's a celebration of the community, with performances, concerts, and parties, but it's also a discussion of the explosion in community-based online video." The event drew many popular YouTubers, as well as their fans, and provided room for the community to interact. The event also contained an industry conference for people and businesses working in the online video field. The convention was a success, leading to it becoming an annual event.


Breakout success (2012–2016)


''The Fault in Our Stars'' and adaptations

Green had announced in August 2009 he was writing a new book titled ''The Sequel''. The work was later scrapped, with parts integrated into his next book, ''The Fault in Our Stars'', released on January 10, 2012. Green's fourth solo novel, the story is about Hazel, a 16-year-old girl living in Indianapolis, Indiana who has
thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. Ca ...
. She is forced by her parents to attend a support group where she meets and falls in love with 17-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player, amputee, and survivor of
osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) (or simply bone cancer) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma ...
. Green was inspired by his friendship with Esther Earl, as well as has time working as a student chaplain in a children's hospital. In an interview with ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' in 2013, he stated, "The kids I met hile working as a student chaplainwere funny and bright and angry and dark and just as human as anybody else. And I really wanted to try to capture that. I felt that the stories that I was reading sort of oversimplified and sometimes even dehumanized them. ..I wanted to argue for their humanity, their complete humanity." He crafted the novel in collaboration with his long-time editor Julie Strauss-Gabel.Ashley Ross, July 23, 2014, Time magazine
New If I Stay Trailer Ups the Romance
Retrieved April 14, 2015, "...focuses on the idea of teenage love being ever-inconvenient...Dutton Publisher Julie Strauss-Gabel edited both books...."
Green signed all 150,000 copies of the first printing. ''The Fault in Our Stars'' was massively successful, creating a passionate fan base of readers. Six months before the release of the book, before it had even been finished, online pre-orders led to the book being a number one seller on Amazon.com and
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 ...
. After release, the book debuted at number one on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for children's chapter books. It remained at the top of the list for seven consecutive weeks and in the top ten for over two-and-a-half years. During this period, all of his prior novels also appeared on the list due to Green's surge in popularity. Green himself also saw a significant increase in his fame, with the ''
Indianapolis Business Journal ''Indianapolis Business Journal'', often abbreviated ''IBJ'', is a weekly newspaper published in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. ''IBJ'' reports on Central Indiana business. It is the leading publication of IBJ Media. The newspaper was founded in 1980 ...
'' noting that he had much more "visibility and presence in his fans' lives" than other contemporaneous authors with equal or greater book sales. Upon the books release, Green began a 17-city book tour, visiting largely-sold-out venues across the country. On the year anniversary of its release, John and his brother Hank performed an entirely sold-out show at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...
's Isaac Stern Auditorium in New York City, which also featured appearances from
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...
and
The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite th ...
. Green appeared on ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing ...
'' in March 2013. Green stated his anxiety leading up to the television interview prevented him from getting work done for weeks before. In late 2013, Green stated that he was writing a new book with the working title ''The Racket''. He sold 5,000 words of a rough draft on IndieGoGo for $10 each in order to raise money as part of the Project for Awesome charity event. That same year, Green hired long-time Nerdfighter
Rosianna Halse Rojas Rosianna Halse Rojas (born 15 August 1991) is a British writer, video blogger, social media manager, and online personality. Rojas is best known for working with vlogger and novelist John Green, initially as his personal assistant, later produci ...
as his executive assistant. A film adaptation of ''The Fault in Our Stars'' was green-lit within three weeks of the books release. Green had initially been hesitant to sell the movie rights for the book, saying, "I'd had some unhappy experiences before, and I didn't want a movie I didn't like being made from a book that's so important to me. This book frankly is more important to me than my other books." To that end, Green was involved in the movie's pre-production, and was on set for most of the film's shooting. In March 2014, ''
The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the '' Indiana ...
'' described Green as having, "an underground career that's rolling toward the mainstream". ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' stated in May 2014 that even before the movie's release, its expected success was causing a shift in the types of films being made for teenagers, with Pouya Shahbazian, the producer of the dystopian science fiction film '' Divergent'' stating, "I've already had calls from studio execs who want to be on the list for small, intimate stories that previously would have been impossible to sell to their senior execs. Who would have believed a small-budget, YA teenage cancer love story would have rival studio execs calling it a potential
event movie An event film or event movie is a blockbuster film whose release itself is considered a major event. Criteria It could be a highly anticipated sequel or a big budget film with state-of-the-art special effects or major stars generating considerab ...
?" Additionally, the magazine reported that the film studio behind the move, Fox 2000, would consider anything over $125million in box office earnings a huge success. On June 6, 2014, ''The Fault in Our Stars'' film was released, the first adaptation of one of Green's novels. The film was massively successful, opening number one at the box office during its opening weekend and grossing $307million worldwide against a budget of $12million. Green filmed a cameo role for the movie that was not included in the final cut of the film. The profound success of the book and the movie further hurled Green into mainstream culture. Green appeared on ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show fo ...
'' to promote the movie's release in June 2014. Green was included in ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine's 2014 ''Time'' 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The trade paperback version of ''The Fault in Our Stars'' was the top selling novel of the year on ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
's'' annual list, with the movie tie-in and
hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or o ...
versions also appearing on the list at numbers eight and nine respectively. Just over a year after the first film's release, an adaptation of ''Paper Towns'' was released, starring
Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...
and
Nat Wolff Nathaniel Marvin Wolff (born December 17, 1994) is an American actor and musician. He gained recognition for composing the music for '' The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–2009), a Nickelodeon television series he starred in with his younger bro ...
. Green served as an executive producer for the movie and entered into a first-look production deal with the studio behind the film,
Fox 2000 Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studio 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures specializing in producing independent films in mid-range re ...
, alongside his now producing partner Rojas. In 2016, Green announced that Fox 2000 would be making a movie about the formation of
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The ...
, a soccer team that he supports. He would serve as producer along with
Wyck Godfrey Wyck Godfrey is an American producer and executive. He is best known for producing ''The Twilight Saga'' and ''The Maze Runner'' film series. He is a partner of the production company Temple Hill Entertainment with his friend Marty Bowen, whic ...
and Marty Bowen under their production banner
Temple Hill Productions Temple Hill Entertainment or Temple Hill Productions is an American film and television production company, established in 2006 by producers Wyck Godfrey Wyck Godfrey is an American producer and executive. He is best known for producing ''The ...
, which produced ''The Fault in Our Stars'' and ''Paper Towns'' films. , the movie has not been released.


Focus on educational content

The ''Crash Course'' YouTube channel was conceived by the Green brothers after YouTube approached them with an opportunity to launch one of the initial YouTube-funded channels as part of the platform's " YouTube Original Channel Initiative". The channel was teased in December 2011, and then launched on January 26, 2012, with the first episode of its ''World History'' series, hosted by John Green. The channel has since grown to 44 series covering topics including history, literature, and science. All of the content is available for free and many follow the
curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
for the
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
program. John has hosted several of the series, including the first on world history, which he co-wrote with his high school history teacher, Raoul Meyer. After two years of producing ''Crash Course'' and Hank's science-related channel '' SciShow'' through the grants provided by YouTube, the Green brothers ventured to find a more sustainable way to fund the projects. In 2013, they launched
Subbable The Green brothers, John (born 1977) and Hank (born 1980), are two American entrepreneurs, social activists, authors, and YouTube vloggers. The two extensively work together, having started their collaborative popularity with a daily vlog proj ...
, a subscription-based crowdfunding platform that would enable donators to pledge a monthly sum to creators and receive perks in exchange. Among the platform's initial creators and channels were the Green brothers' ''Crash Course'' and ''SciShow'', and YouTubers CGP Grey,
MinutePhysics MinutePhysics is an educational YouTube channel created by Henry Reich in 2011. The channel's videos use whiteboard animation to explain physics-related topics. Early videos on the channel were approximately one minute long. , the channel has ov ...
and Wheezy Waiter. Starting in 2012 and 2013, John and Hank began celebrating an event called "Pizzamas" in which they sold merchandise of "Pizza John": a white outlined image of John sporting a thick mustache, originating from a 2009 Vlogbrothers video that then became a popular
meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...
in the Nerdfighteria community. The event evolved in 2014, with John and Hank uploading videos to Vlogbrothers every weekday for two weeks, as they had during the first year of the YouTube channel. The merchandise also evolved, including
fan art Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers t ...
printed on blankets, stickers, and tote bags, and pizza-scented air fresheners, with all the proceeds being donated to charity. In March 2015,
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
, another subscription-based crowdfunding platform, acquired Subbable and added Subbable's creators into its fold, with the bulk of the acquisition money going to match up to $100,000 in pledges to ease the transition. Although talks of the two companies joining forces had been discussed since their launch, they became more serious after Amazon announced a change in its payment services, which would lead to Subbable creators losing subscribers. As part of the deal, the Green brothers became advisors at Patreon. Green was one of the hosts of the YouTube channel for the magazine ''Mental Floss'' from 2013 to 2018. He had previously been a contributing writer for the magazine for a period in the mid-2000s and had co-edited the book ''Mental Floss: Scatterbrained'', to which his brother Hank had also contributed. Alongside other presenters, like Craig Benzine and
Elliott Morgan Elliott Christopher Morgan (born February 22, 1987) is an American stand up comedian, actor, writer, host, producer and YouTube personality. Morgan is best known for being a co-host of the YouTube channel '' SourceFed''. Morgan attended the Univ ...
, John Green presented "The List Show" in which he listed off interesting facts centered on one particular subject. These episodes were directed by Mark Olsen and produced by John and Hank Green and Stan Muller. A new format, titled ''Scatterbrained'', was introduced on the channel in 2018; Green was joined by multiple hosts on a single episode each week, which tackled one topic from multiple angles. In 2019, ''Mental Floss'' brought its YouTube production in-house and ceased using Green as a host. On February 20, 2014, Sarah Urist Green launched ''
The Art Assignment ''The Art Assignment'' is a PBS Digital Studios webseries focused on contemporary art that debuted in February 2014.Lindquist, David. (24 September 2013)Sarah Green exiting IMA to develop PBS series ''The Indianapolis Star'' ''The Art Assignment' ...
'', a PBS and
Complexly Complexly is an American online video and audio production company, based in Missoula, Montana, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Its founders are brothers John and Hank Green (who acts as CEO), who began their Vlogbrothers YouTube channel in 2007. In 2 ...
video series in which artists encourage viewers to imitate their creative exercises. John served as an executive producer for the series. In September 2019, Sarah Urist Green, in collaboration with John and the
Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from '' Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist ...
, launched the YouTube channel ''Ours Poetica''. The channel features videos of poets, celebrities, and others reading poetry. Poet Paige Lewis acted as the curator of the channel for the first season and
Kaveh Akbar Kaveh Akbar (کاوه اکبر) is an Iranian-American poet and scholar. Early life and education Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1989, and grew up across the United States including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Indiana. He moved ...
also work on the channel. Featured readers have included Shailene Woodley, Ashley C. Ford, Emily Graslie, and
Samin Nosrat Samin Nosrat ( fa, ثمین نصرت, , born November 7, 1979) is an American chef, TV host, food writer and podcaster. She is the author of the James Beard Award–winning, ''New York Times'' Bestselling cookbook '' Salt Fat Acid Heat'' and hos ...
, among others. In June 2015, John Green and his brother Hank started a weekly
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
titled ''Dear Hank & John''. Taking a mainly humorous tone, each podcast consists of the brothers reading a series of questions submitted by listeners and offering their "dubious" advice. The podcast closes with a news segment with two standard topics:
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, presented by Hank, and
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The ...
, presented by John. EcoGeek LLC, a company founded by Hank Green to support his blog on environmental and science issues in the early 2000s, was renamed to
Complexly Complexly is an American online video and audio production company, based in Missoula, Montana, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Its founders are brothers John and Hank Green (who acts as CEO), who began their Vlogbrothers YouTube channel in 2007. In 2 ...
in 2016. Complexly became the umbrella
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...
and
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...
production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
which produces and manages most of the Green brother's YouTube shows, as well as a number of other shows, podcasts, and projects. John serves as the co-founder and strategic advisor for the company.


Appearances

Green gave
commencement speech A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world. The commencement ...
es at
Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...
in 2013 and at his alma mater Kenyon College in May 2016. Both universities conferred Honorary Doctorates of Letters on him. In January 2016, Green was named to the Forum of Young Global Leaders by the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
(WEF). He attended the annual meeting of the WEF in
Davos, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...
that year. In February 2016, Green visited
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
to meet with Syrian refugees with the
United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
(UNHRC). Green has often acted as an advocate for refugees, stating that "for those of you who share my faith, Jesus is awfully unambiguous about the poor, shelterless, and imprisoned".


Established author and internet personality (2017–present)


''Turtles All the Way Down''

In November 2014, amidst the intense success of ''The Fault in Our Stars'', Green wrote on his
Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to ...
page that he was not working on his previously announced next project, ''The Racket'', anymore, but was working on something else with a different title. In September 2015, Green announced that he would be taking a break from social media to focus on writing his next book. Around this time, Green experienced a period of severe anxiety, partly due to the perceived burden to follow up the massive success of ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He worried he might never write another book. He stopped taking his prescribed medications hoping to reinvigorate his creativity and his mental health suffered, with him later describing the experience saying, "I can't think straight — I can only think in swirls and scribbles." After he recovered in late 2015, he began writing ''Turtles All the Way Down''. In August 2016, Green stated that over the next ten months he would be limiting his public appearances in order to finish a draft of the new book. But on September 20, Green took to his YouTube channel to say that he may never publish another book, citing his current writing experience as, "this intense pressure, like people were watching over my shoulder while I was writing." Despite the difficulties, he finished and submitted the first draft to his editor Julie Strauss-Gabel, before editing the book together for another year. On June 22, 2017, it was announced that Green's fifth solo novel would be titled ''Turtles All the Way Down''. It was released on October 10, 2017, and debuted at number one on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. The story centers on 16-year-old Aza Holmes, an Indianapolis high school student with
obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...
and
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, and her search for a fugitive billionaire as she begins a relationship with that billionaire's son. Speaking about the novel, Green said, "This is my first attempt to write directly about the kind of mental illness that has affected my life since childhood, so while the story is fictional, it is also quite personal." Like his previous books, Green signed the first 200,000 copies of the book, as part of the initial run of 1.5 million copies. Upon the release of his book, he and his brother Hank went on a
book tour A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical a ...
. In May 2018, Green was interviewed by then-
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
for the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during hi ...
after ''Turtles All the Way Down'' was named a selection for the Andrew Luck Book Club. They discussed the book and their relationships with anxiety and stress for the event that promoted the PBS series ''The Great American Read''.


''The Anthropocene Reviewed''

In January 2018, Green launched ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'', a solo podcast where he reviews different facets of the
Anthropocene The Anthropocene ( ) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change. , neither the International Commissio ...
, the
epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided ...
that includes significant
human impact on the environment Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact) refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the need ...
, on a five-star scale. This can include completely artificial products like
Diet Dr. Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Europe ...
, natural species that have had their fates altered by human influence like the
Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
, or phenomena that only influence humanity such as
Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
. Episodes typically contained Green reviewing two topics, accompanied by stories on how they have impacted his life. At the end of 2018, Complexly partnered with
WNYC Studios WNYC Studios is a producer and distributor of podcasts and on-demand and broadcast audio. WNYC Studios is a subsidiary of New York Public Radio and is headquartered in New York City. History In May 2015, WNYC began distributing its shows ''R ...
to bring all of their podcasts, including ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'', to the distributor. Green adapted the essays into a book, '' The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet'', which was published by Dutton Penguin on May 18, 2021. The book was Green's first nonfiction book and sixth solo publication. The book received positive reviews and debuted at number one on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. The book featured revised versions of many of the essays from the podcast, as well as new original essays, ordered chronologically through Green's life to give the book the approximate structure of a memoir. Green wrote about living through the
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 ...
in many of the essays. As he had done with many of his previous books, Green signed all 250,000 tip-in sheets of the first printing for the United States and Canada. He wrote a review of the experience on the final signed page. This review was later revised and expanded on for an episode of the podcast released on the same day as the book. Green subsequently ended the podcast in August 2021 after 36 episodes. In May 2021, Green hosted a virtual book tour for ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'', with guests
Clint Smith Clinton James "Snuffy" Smith (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and head coach best known for his time spent in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a player with the New York Rangers and the Chic ...
,
Latif Nasser Latif Abdul Nasser (born July 21, 1986) is a Canadian-American researcher, writer and presenter. He is the Director of Research and co-host at ''Radiolab'' and host of the Netflix show ''Connected''. Early life and education Nasser was born to ...
, Sarah Urist Green, Hank Green, and Ashley C. Ford making appearances at the various shows. In April 2022, ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'' was chosen to be the 2022 common read at the
University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...
. Green gave a
keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...
address at the university's annual fall convocation.


Further adaptations

Green had sold the film the rights for ''Looking for Alaska'' in 2005 to Paramount, which hired
Josh Schwartz Joshua Ian Schwartz (born August 6, 1976) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Schwartz is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama series ''The O.C.'' which ran for 4 seasons. Schwartz is also known for ...
as writer and director. However, after five years with no progress on the project, Green told fans that, while he "desperately loved" the screenplay, there seemed to be little interest at Paramount. In 2012, the book reached ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for children's paperbacks. Finally, in May 2018, it was announced that ''Looking for Alaska'' would be made into a
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
series with Schwartz and others on board. The casting was announced in October 2018. ''
Looking for Alaska ''Looking for Alaska'' is American author John Green‘s debut novel, published in March 2005 by Dutton Juvenile. Based on his time at Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel as a result of his desire to create meaningful young adult fiction ...
'' was released to Hulu on October 18, 2019. The series was critically well-received, with Kathryn VanArendonk of ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' calling it a "rare adaptation that dismantles the original in order to build something that works better." In 2019, ''Let It Snow'' was adapted into a film of the same name by
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, it has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In 2017, Green authorized a
stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...
adaptation of ''The Fault in Our Stars''. The play was written by theatre director Tobin Strader of
Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School (BJPS) is a private college-preparatory school founded by the Jesuits and located on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It is a part of the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus and geographically located w ...
in Indianapolis and four students at the high school. It was performed in 2019. In August 2014, India's
Fox Star Studios Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star, part of the Disney International Operations segment of The Walt Disney Company. Th ...
announced it would adapt ''The Fault in Our Stars'' into an Indian
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language film, with the working title of ''Kizie Aur Manny''. Filming began in July 2018, in
Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...
, with first-time director
Mukesh Chhabra Mukesh Chhabra (born 27 May 1980) is an Indian film director, casting director, acting workshop director, and actor who has cast several actors for movies including director Vikas Bahl's Chillar Party, Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, Abhi ...
and lead actor
Sushant Singh Rajput Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. He starred in a number of commercially successful Hindi films such as ''M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'' (2016), ''Kedarn ...
and lead actress Sanjana Sanghi. This adaptation ages up the characters and changes the main setting to India. The title of the movie was later changed to ''
Dil Bechara ''Dil Bechara'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romance film directed by Mukesh Chhabra in his directorial debut, and produced by Fox Star Studios, with a script written by Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengputa. Based on Joh ...
'' (''The Helpless Heart"'') and is named after one of the original songs written for the movie. Music composer A. R. Rahman composed the background music and songs of the movie. The film was scheduled to be released on May 8, 2020, after having been initially scheduled in November 2019, but was later postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
. It was released on July 24, 2020, on
Disney+ Hotstar The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and was met with mainly positive reviews. The 2020 Chinese film ''
A Little Red Flower ''A Little Red Flower'' () is a 2020 Chinese romantic-drama film directed by Han Yan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jinliang Han, Han Li, Jia Jia Wei, and Yu Yonggan. It stars Jackson Yee as Wei Yihang, a teenager who has been in remission ...
'' has been noted for having significant similarities to ''The Fault in Our Stars'', which was never theatrically released in China. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' reported on January 13, 2021, that
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
had attempted to create a Chinese remake to ''The Fault in Our Stars'' in 2016, with the former president of Fox International Productions, Tomas Jegeus, confirming that a remake was indeed in development at the studio with Yin Lu and Han Yan producing and Yu Yonggan writing the film's script. Shortly after, two official film notices announced that the remake was in the works, but after the
acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...
, the studio decided to drop the film in 2018 to work on ''Dil Bechara''. In 2018, a notice was released by the
China Film Administration The Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also known as the Propaganda Department or Central Propaganda Department, is an internal division of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in charge of spreading C ...
for a project titled ''Hopeless in Love'', which would be produced by HG Entertainment and Lian Ray Pictures, with a premise similar to the original remake that had been in development. In 2020, ''A Little Red Flower'' was released from the same production companies, and with Yin Lu producing, Yu Yonggan co-writing, and Han Yan directing, but with no credit or mentions to Fox. However, Han said that many of the scenes portrayed in the story were inspired by real-life events that he witnessed himself. Both Disney, who acquired Fox, and ''A Little Red Flowers co-producer Lian Ray have declined to comment on the matter. In December 2017, Green announced that Turtles All the Way Down (film), a film adaptation of ''Turtles All The Way Down'' was in development by Fox 2000 and
Temple Hill Productions Temple Hill Entertainment or Temple Hill Productions is an American film and television production company, established in 2006 by producers Wyck Godfrey Wyck Godfrey is an American producer and executive. He is best known for producing ''The ...
. In May 2018, Green confirmed that the film adaptation would be written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the screenwriters for ''Love, Simon''. In January 2019, it was announced that Hannah Marks would direct the movie. After Fox 2000 was closed as part of the
acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and ...
, the film was put on hold. In March 2022, it was announced the film had switched studios to New Line Cinema and would be released on the streaming service HBO Max. The film is set to star Isabela Merced and began filming in April 2022. Green and Rosianna Halse Rojas have served as executive producers.


Partners In Health

Since the mid-2010s, John and Hank Green and their families have supported the international public health nonprofit Partners In Health (PIH). Beginning with the annual Project for Awesome fundraiser in 2013, Partners In Health received $50,000 as one of the community-chosen charities. The charity was first selected as one of the "designated charities" the following year, meaning Green and the other organizers had chosen for it to receive approximately half the money raised during the first 24 hours of the 48 hour event, totaling $291,000. It was again selected as a designated charity in 2016 before becoming a permanent designated charity in every iteration of the fundraiser since 2018. In October 2018, Green founded the Life's Library book club with
Rosianna Halse Rojas Rosianna Halse Rojas (born 15 August 1991) is a British writer, video blogger, social media manager, and online personality. Rojas is best known for working with vlogger and novelist John Green, initially as his personal assistant, later produci ...
. The book club read a book approximately every 6 weeks, with online discussion occurring on the Life's Library Discord (software), Discord. Green and Rojas alternated choosing books, with guest curators occasionally making selections. Life's Library was free to participate in, with paid options available to receive digital or physical subscriptions, containing additional materials such as a discussion podcast, or a version of the book itself. All profits from Life's Library were donated to Partners In Health Sierra Leone. The Life's Library project ended in March 2022 and the discussion Discord was archived. John and Sarah Urist Green visited Sierra Leone in April 2019 after John was inspired by a December 2017 profile in ''The New Yorker'' on PIH co-founder Ophelia Dahl. In October 2019, Green announced that he, Hank, and their families would be donating $6.5 million to
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
's branch of Partners In Health, as part of an initiative to raise $25 million over the following five years. The goal of the initiative is to help fight
maternal mortality Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pre ...
, specifically in the country's Kono District, where the money will be used to staff and support the Maternal Center of Excellence, among other primary care centers and health workers. In August 2019, John and Hank performed live versions of their own podcasts on stage, with John presenting a new episode of ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'', as well as a live episode of their shared podcast ''
Dear Hank & John ''Dear Hank & John'' is a podcast hosted by the Green brothers: musician and author Hank Green and young-adult novelist John Green. The podcast is produced by Rosianna Halse Rojas and edited by Josef "Tuna" Metesh. First released in June 2015, ...
'', with all profits going to Partners In Health. The live performances returned in March 2020 with a planned three-city tour including stops in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
and Carmel, Indiana, with a third performance set for Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, the third performance was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In November 2020, John and Hank started the "Awesome Socks Club", a monthly subscription service where members receive a pair of socks designed by independent artists. All post-tax profits are donated to the charity, in a business model similar to Newman's Own products. , the Awesome Socks Club had 45,000 members. The Maternal Center of Excellence broke ground in April 2021, with a planned opening in 2023. In March 2022, the brothers started the "Awesome Coffee Club", with an identical business model and goal to the Awesome Socks Club. The coffee is Fair trade coffee, ethically sourced from Columbia via the brothers' sourcing partner Sucafina. The beans are then roasted in St. Louis, Missouri and distributed through DFTBA's fulfillment center in Missoula, Montana. In August 2022, Hank Green reported that the Awesome Socks Club had over 40,000 subscribers and the Awesome Coffee Club had over 10,000 subscribers. After receiving $429,000 from the Project for Awesome in 2021 and over $100,000 from that year's Pizzamas, Partner in Health received over $1 million during the 2022 Project for Awesome. The week prior to the 2022 Project for Awesome, Partners In Health co-founder Paul Farmer unexpectedly died at the age of 62. Green wrote a tribute to Farmer for ''The Washington Post''. Green became a member of the board of trustees for Partners in Health in 2022.


Appearances and side projects

On January 1, 2017, Green began a YouTube series titled "100 Days" in collaboration with his friend Chris Waters. The pair endeavored to get fit and establish healthy habits, while avoiding emphasis on weight loss. Near the end of the effort, Green fundraised for a 10K run, 10K charity runner, charity run for Exodus Refugee Immigration, an Indianapolis-based refugee resettlement organization. In February 2018, Viacom (2005–present), Viacom acquired VidCon, with the Green brothers, particularly Hank, still being involved in its operation. Hank Green released his debut novel ''An Absolutely Remarkable Thing'' in September 2018. To promote his brother's book, John Green started a surprise campaign to promote Hank's novel, including renting several billboards near their hometown of Orlando, sponsoring four FIRST robotics teams and a college rugby club in Montana, and making ''An Absolutely Remarkable Thing'' the official Kit (association football), training kit sponsor of
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The ...
, among other advertisements. John also joined Hank for six of his book tour stops. At the end of 2018, John Green chose to leave social media for a year, including Twitter, where he had more than 5 million followers. In January 2019, Green wrote an op-ed for ''The Washington Post'' on his decision, saying "I had noticed over the past couple of years that my attention had become more fractured. I found it harder to lose myself in a book, for instance, without feeling the urge to check my phone or open my laptop." In December 2022, Green exited the platform in response to the policy changes made Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk#Post-acquisition, after Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. In March 2019, Green moderated a discussion with former First Lady of the United States, First Lady Michelle Obama on her memoir ''Becoming (book), Becoming'' as part of a YouTube-sponsored event titled "BookTube". In April 2019, Green recorded a live version of the podcast ''Harry Potter and the Sacred Text'' at the Indianapolis Central Public Library. Green gave a virtual commencement address to all graduates in May 2020 during the beginning months of the
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 ...
. Green created a TikTok account in 2020, which has over 2 million followers and 48 million views . In September 2021, Green continued his advocacy for refugees, writing an op-ed in ''The Independent'' on the need for education for refugee children. In October 2022, Green gave the opening lecture at Harvard University's 2022 William Belden Noble Lecture series, titled "How the World Ends".


Influence and reception


Books

Green's books have been translated into 55 languages with more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'', which is one of the best-selling books of all time. Green's idiosyncratic voice and rapid rise to fame in 2014 are credited with creating a major shift in the young adult fiction market. While reviewing the Andrew Smith young-adult novel, ''Winger'', A. J. Jacobs of ''The New York Times'' used the term "GreenLit" to describe young adult books that contain "sharp dialogue, defective authority figures, occasional boozing, unrequited crushes, and one or more heartbreaking twists." According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', "[s]ome credit him with ushering in a new golden era for contemporary, realistic, literary teen fiction, following more than a decade of dominance by books about young wizards, sparkly vampires, and dystopia. A blurb or Twitter endorsement from Mr. Green can ricochet around the Internet and boost sales, an effect book bloggers call 'the John Green effect'." Zareen Jaffery, executive editor of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers said: "What I really like about what people are calling 'the John Green effect' is that there's more of an interest in authentic, genuine, relatable characters." Some readers and authors have been critical of the terms. Green himself voiced his disagreement with the idea that he is single-handedly responsible for launching or promoting any one individual's career. All of Green's book have received positive critical reception, beginning with his first two novels ''Looking for Alaska'' and ''An Abundance of Katherines'', which received the Printz Award and was named a Printz Honor book respectively. All of his books have also appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list, albeit his first two novels debuting on the list years after their initial release. ''The Fault in Our Stars'' in particular received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. Critics mostly praised the book for its humor, strong characters, language, themes and new perspective on cancer and romance. ''The New York Times'' review of the book called it "a blend of melancholy, sweet, philosophical and funny" and said that it "stays the course of tragic realism", while noting that the book's unpleasant plot details "do nothing to diminish the romance; in Green's hands, they only make it more moving". ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' called ''The Fault in Our Stars'' "damn near genius" and named it as the number one fiction book of 2012. ''USA Today'' described it as an "wikt:elegiac, elegiac comedy" and gave the book a rating of four out of four stars. Critics have also noted Green's evolution as an author. With the release of the ''Turtles All the Way Down'' in 2017, several reviewers referenced a dismissive perception of Green's now very popular ''œuvre'' as "sad teen books", which had emerged since the success of ''The Fault in Our Stars''. Despite this, they praised ''Turtles All the Way Down'' as truthful and authentic enough to transcend these imagined drawbacks. Matt Haig of ''The Guardian'' wrote, "[''Turtles All the Way Down''] often dwells in cliché, but only as pop songs and epic poems do, mining the universal to create something that speaks to the familiar rhythms of the heart. It might just be a new modern classic." Likewise, with the release of ''The Anthropocene Reviewed'' book in 2021, Scott Neumyer of Shondaland wrote that, "Green may have made his name by writing fiction (and for good reason), but this first foray into nonfiction is his most mature, compelling, and beautifully written book yet." Green has received criticism for his perceived writing of "
Manic Pixie Dream Girl A Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) is a stock character type in films. Film critic Nathan Rabin, who coined the term after observing Kirsten Dunst's character in '' Elizabethtown'' (2005), said that the MPDG "exists solely in the fevered imaginatio ...
s", a term coined by Nathan Rabin to describe a female character that, "exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures". ''Paper Towns'' and the character of Margo Roth Spiegelman have often been cited as a deconstruction of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" trope, and Green has stated he specifically wrote her as such. In October 2022, Green tweeted, "I think basically all criticisms of my work are correct and justifiable other than the most popular one, 'he writes manic pixie dream girls,' which is just so stupid. ..THE WHOLE POINT OF THE NOVELS is the danger of such misimagining, hence the eventual revelation: 'Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl.' It's not like I made it subtle." Despite this, some critics have questioned whether the story adequately deconstructed the trope, or merely perpetuated it. Green has readily discussed what he believes to be flaws in his novels when he looked at them in retrospect. Additionally, in response to a fan's Twitter, tweet, Green apologized for using the word ''retard (pejorative), retarded'' in ''Paper Towns'', stating, "Yeah, I regret it. At the time, I thought an author's responsibility was to reflect language as I found it. Still, now... eight years later, I don't feel like a book about humanizing the other benefited from dehumanizing language." Several of Green's books have been the subject of book banning attempts. ''Looking for Alaska'' was named the most challenged book of 2015 by the American Library Association, with some people complaining about the book's "offensive language" and "sexually explicit descriptions". In September 2022, a group of parents attempted to ban the novel from all Orange County, Florida school libraries, a district Green had attended as a child.


Online ventures

As John and Hank Green began uploading YouTube videos regularly in 2007, they became part of the early culture of YouTube as the modern content creator industry was born from the YouTube Partner Program. ''The New York Times'' noted John as having, "[an] uncanny knack for channeling the voice of marginalized but smart, self-identifying nerds, a gift he has turned into a YouTube empire." Many others have come to regard the brothers and their YouTube empire as pioneering in the online video space. In 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' named the Green brothers as the most important people on YouTube. The Vlogbrothers' content has received positive reception from commentators and fans alike, especially for the shared values expounded by their videos. Amelia Thomson-Deveaux writing for ''The American Prospect'' commented that, "what makes Nerdfighteria so potent does seem to be the moral imperative that the Brothers Green throw at their bajillion viewers' feet: to take their weirdness and anxiety and turn it into empathy. It's become kind of a culture." The ''Crash Course'' project has also been successful in its reach, with the John Green-hosted "World History" series alone having attracted millions of viewers.


Personal life and interests

Green is married to Sarah Urist Green, with whom he has two children: Henry (born 2010) and Alice (born 2013). John and Sarah met when they both attended the same preparatory school in Indian Springs, Alabama. They became reacquainted eight years later in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, when Green began dating Sarah's boxing partner; after they broke up, John became friends with Sarah. The two became engaged in April 2005 and married in May 2006. In early videos on the VlogBrothers channel, Sarah is referred to as "the Yeti" due to her not appearing visibly on camera, though she no longer is referred to as such. Green was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...
and has lived there since 2007. The city has served as the setting for several of his novels, and he wrote a review of it in his podcast and book of essays ''The Anthropocene Reviewed''. Green often speaks of his love for the city. On July 14, 2015, Greg Ballard, the mayor of Indianapolis, proclaimed that that day would be "John Green Day" in his city. That month, Teresa Jacobs, the mayor of Orange County, Florida, declared that July 17 would also be John Green Day. Green is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopalian Christian, and was married in a Catholic church. Green is an avid sports fan. Green drove the pace car at the 2016 Indianapolis 500, and was honorary co-chairman of the 500 Festival Host Committee that year. He is also a supporter of the English association football, football club Liverpool F.C. of the Premier League and an official sponsor of the English EFL League Two, League Two club
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The ...
. Starting in 2011, Green had a gaming series on YouTube where he played FIFA (video game series), ''FIFA'', first as the "Swoodilypoopers", a fictionalized version of Swindon Town F.C., and then, starting in 2013, as the "Wimbly Womblys," a fictionalized version of AFC Wimbledon. Advertising revenue from the series was donated to the team.


Works


Books

* '' Looking for Alaska'' (2005) * ''
An Abundance of Katherines ''An Abundance of Katherines'' is a young adult novel by John Green. Released in 2006, it was a finalist for the Michael L. Printz Award. The novel includes an appendix by Daniel Biss, a close friend of Green, that explains some of the more c ...
'' (2006) * '' Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances'' (2008) – with
Maureen Johnson Maureen Johnson (born February 16, 1973) is an American author of young adult fiction. Her published novels include series leading titles such as ''13 Little Blue Envelopes'', ''The Name of the Star'', ''Truly Devious,'' and ''Suite Scarlett''. ...
and
Lauren Myracle Lauren Myracle (born May 15, 1969) is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has written many novels, including the three best-selling "IM" books, ''ttyl'', ''ttfn'' and ''l8r, g8r''. Her book ''Thirteen Plus One'' was released May 4, 20 ...
* '' Paper Towns'' (2008) * ''
Will Grayson, Will Grayson ''Will Grayson, Will Grayson'' is a novel by John Green and David Levithan, published in April 2010 by Dutton Juvenile. The book's narrative is divided evenly between two boys named Will Grayson, with Green having written all of the chapters for o ...
'' (2010) – with
David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written nume ...
* '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012) * ''This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl'' (2014) – Introduction only * '' Turtles All the Way Down'' (2017) * '' The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet'' (2021)


Short stories

* "The Approximate Cost of Loving Caroline," ''Twice Told: Original Stories Inspired by Original Artwork'', illustrated by Scott Hunt (2006) * "The Great American Morp," ''21 Proms'', edited by
David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written nume ...
and Daniel Ehrenhaft (2007) * "Freak the Geek," ''Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd'', edited by Holly Black (2009) * "Reasons," ''What You Wish For: A Book for Darfur'' (2011)


Other

* ''Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets'' (2006), ''Mental Floss'' gift book for which Green served as an editor and contributor * ''Scatterbrained'' (2006), ''Mental Floss'' gift book for which Green served as an editor and contributor * ''What's the Difference?'' (2006), ''Mental Floss'' gift book for which Green served as an editor and contributor * ''Thisisnottom'' (2009), an interactive novel hidden behind riddles. * ''Zombicorns'' (2010), an online Creative Commons licensed zombie novella."Didn’t get your chance to get your hands on John Green’s Zombie Apocalypse Novella?"
. EffYeahNerdFighters.com.
* ''The War for Banks Island'' (2012), a sequel to ''Zombicorns'', released as a Project for Awesome donation perk. * ''The Sequel'' (2012), an unfinished novel, much of which was reworked into ''The Fault in Our Stars''. The first 6,000 words were released as a Project for Awesome donation perk. * ''Space'' and ''The Cat and the Mouse'' (2013), stories released as Project for Awesome donation perks * ''An Imperial Affliction'' (2014), extracts used as a prop in the film adaptation of ''The Fault in Our Stars'' and later released as a Project for Awesome donation perk.


Filmography


Awards


See also

* List of YouTubers


References


Primary sources


External links

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