John’s Other Writing
Radio
For several years, I wrote commentaries for Chicago Public Radio and, on occasion, for NPR’s All Things Considered. The text of those radio pieces can be found here.
Let It Snow
I wrote a long short story called “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” in the book Let It Snow, which also features lovely stories from Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. This book has been published in translated editions as well.
Anthologies
I’ve written stories for several anthologies. These include “The Great American Morp” in 21 Proms, “The Approximate Cost of Loving Caroline” in Twice Told, and “Freak the Geek” in Geektastic.
This Is Not Tom
I wrote this novella hidden behind insanely complex riddles called “This Is Not Tom.” TINT is unfinished (it will be finished eventually, I hope). TINT is free and available to the public, but the only way to read the story is to solve the riddles, which unfortunately is basically impossible without crowdsourcing. (A good place to start, however, would be the TINT youtube channel.)
For more information about other stuff I’ve written, including book reviews and the books I cowrote for the awesome people at mental_floss, visit the “Other Writing” FAQ page.
{ 179 comments… read them below or add one }
looking for alaska was an amazing book
it was really good :) sometimes i get sad because i miss reading it..
I hate to say it, but I am a 17 year old guy and I actually did cry while reading where she…you know… it is the only time I have actually cried while reading a book
I cried too, but I am weepy when it comes to books (good books that is)
don’t be ashamed I am a 17 year old guy too and i cried.
I cried so hard. You know a good writer when they can make you feel the pain in your heart just like the characters Miles and Chip did. I felt like all of them were my best friends too. This book truly touched my heart and because of that I will never forget to mention how wonderful it is to every person I have the chance to bring it up to in a conversation. I’m going to buy a copy of “Looking For Alaska”for Christmas and send it to my best friend who is at a different college than me.
John Green, your book changed my life, seriously.
You deserve the best in life for sharing your work with so many of us so we can enjoy it as well.
Looking for alaska is a truly amazing book.
I am so sad that i have actually finished it now. Best book ive ever read. so inspiring. Truly beautiful. John Green you have an amazing talent and i hope to be able to write as well as you some day.
You have definitely fed my desire to be a writer!
I dont think i’ll ever find a book which will top that one.
Truly escaped into it.
i actually didnt really cry during looking for alaska cause i saw it coming
Dude, do not feel bad about that one! I read it when I was 19 and I cried. Like you, that was the first time I ha cried while reading a book. I’m in love with Alaska. Rest in Awesome, Alaska.
I have to wonder if this is the beautiful Danielle that i met.
A year after I read Looking For Alaska, I went back to the library to search for more John Green books.
I’m proud to say he is now my favorite author, and I will get on my knees and beg for more. An Abundance of Katherines, Paper towns, and Looking For Alaska have quite literally changed my life.
I’m only 16, and I have learned so many life lessons. I think he has me properly prepared for the future, or the present.
possibly my favorite book of all time
Try Catcher in the rye if you love John’s books.
Oh my gosh, Looking For Alaska was amazing. I never cry in books, but I did in this one. It was definitely the best book I’ve ever read. John Green is amazing. :)
I cryed , it was the best book ever
I wish there were an easier way to find the TINT story.
OMIFREAKINgosh,
YOU WROTE FREAK THE GEEK?
I loved that story! I mean, there were some really beast stories in that anthology, so it’s understandable that it wasn’t my exact favorite, but I loved it! I did! Sorry, I’m fangirling, but WHOA.
i gave up on the thisisnottom puzzles after the first one haha. it’s sooo difficult! and i can’t help wondering how many puzzles there are and how long it will take me to solve them. puzzles like that can get addicting haha (:
I had pre ordered Will Grayson Will grayson from amazon, and it arrived the day in which I had had two exams (maths and science) needless to say, it made my day. I did my happy dance – and the neighbours saw as they were walking past… It was an amazing book!! Thank you both. :]
I was wondering, will you ever publish TINT, after it is eventually finished? That is to say after everyone who has already solved the puzzles has read it. You could do an interactive book or something.
p.s. I love all your books, especially An Abundance of Katherines, and I’ve been following “vlogbrothers” for two years now. You’ve made high school bearable.
I fully aware that by bringing this to your attention i may now be considered the pervy-ist person on your website. Be that as it may, I cannot resist taking this opportunity to tell you that this page’s icon does look just like a dildo. (Verified by two men and one woman.)
To clarify, I’m not complaining. I’m just curious is all. If you could get back to me about any prior knowledge of this and your intentions, that would help to satisfy my said curiosity.
<3 Lorraine
Actually, it does look like a d***o… Pardon my language, I’m not sure if we’re allowed to post words like that… Hold on, I’ll go back and star a few of the letters. There we go. Anyway, I think it’s a microphone and a feather, but it really does look like a d***o. Haha, wow… Now I can’t stop laughing. The bad part is that I’m not normally perverted… Sad face…
Great site, John! And you are definitely up there on my favorite authors list, right behind J.D. Salinger and right after Emilie Autumn. God, you’re awesome. :D
DFTBA
<3 Shelby
Oh my gosh!! i absolutely LOVE Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns! I just now got Abundance of Katherine’s and Will Grayson and Will Grayson i so excited because you write the BEST books ever!!! Your my favorite Aurthur and you write the best books!!!!!
i never ever ever ever ( i can not say how many “evers” i need to make you fully understand this) like reading books more than once, but i have to say i read paper towns like 5 times already. it is such a great book to read. i showed it to so many of my friends and i showed it to my techer my sophomore year and she showed it to the board and they made it one of the choices for the summer reading program thingy majig. i loved looking for alaska and an abundance of katherines as well. all of them are just amazing. and i am seriously looking forward to reading will grayson and will grayson. thanks for writing :p
I stumbled upon Looking for Alaska in January, and ever since then I have bought all your books and read all of them. All I can say is whatever comes out of your head is phenomenal and I am looking forward to your next piece of work!
Looking for Alaska was fabulous. My brother even read it. He never reads. So thanks John Green for introducing my brother to a world of something-other-than-video-games-(although-video-games-are-fantastic-too)-that-he-actually-enjoys! I can’t wait to read your other books!
Hello John,i come from Germany and i read the book looking for alaska too.It was one of the fantastic books i’ve ever read.So i want to say, that looots of people all over the worl read your books,and they find them really good.In the next days i will buy a other book from you,but until now i don’t no wich book i should buy..
At last i’ve one ‘little’ question..why you can write so great books?
I love your books they are so wonderful, when I read Looking for Alaska I can´t stop reading.
It was so incredible awesome but also ful of sadness, philosophy and great emotions.
I cried and laughed and wow I think with the book you changed m life a little bit!
My best wiches to a wonderful author!
Dear Mr. Green,
I just finished Looking for Alaska and I must say, it was beautiful. I’ve been reading ever since my Mother taught me how, but never have I read something as clever and well written as your book. For everyone there is that one piece of literature whether it is a novel or an essay that just makes them think and your book did that for me. While I was reading it, I was at Jesus Camp and there were three different speakers that just repeated everything I’d ever heard about God and religion and my parents (being bible thumpers) disagreed with me learning about other religions so when you related Christianity with Islamic and Buddhism, I drank every word as if it was water and I had been in the desert for years. Your writing is a welcomed relief from everything I’ve ever been taught and yet, I think it brought me closer to God than any Pastor or Church ever did. If you got to the end of this, I applaud you and thank you for taking the time, but you really are a fantastic artiest.
Thanks again,
Jo
Bought “Looking for Alaska” today and look forward to reading it. I can’t tell you how hard it is to find your books in Dublin bookstores (Dublin, Ireland)
I absolutely loved Paper Towns. Best book I’ve ever read.
I have read ALL of your books. I loved EVERY SINGLE one of them. They were absolutely great! My favorite one was Looking For Alaska, best book I’ve ever read, I swear. I wish I had the ability to write great stories like that. I love the fact that it is so easy to relate to your stories, it’s like you’re speaking to every single one of us. Plus, I really love your sense of humour.
Thank you, you have no idea how much you chanegd my life with your gift.
i loved this book its my favorite. and im 21 years old. im a guy and it really was sad :(. i cant wait for the movie i hope they dont ruin it… :(
omg they’re making a movie about it? I really hope they include the basketball part. i laughed so hard at that. looking for alaska is an amazing book that makes me laugh & cry DURING SCHOOL! A bit mortifying, but otherwise, amazing!
Is it weird that I want to meet and eventually marry one of the 17 year olds that cried in Looking for Alaska? and that if i have a daughter her name will be Alaska? well honostly, I don’t mind if thats weird cos thats me. (:
Your book Looking for Alaska is amazing. What was going through your mind when you wrote it? Was it your life experiences, or was it just an idea?
Looking for Alaska was absolutely the best book ever and if they make a movie- which I didn’t know they were going to do until I just read that comment up there so thank you commenteer- it is going to be awful and I’m not saying that to be mean it’s just true. Look what they did to twilight and all those based-on-books Disney movies. Awful! With the exception of Harry potter. Anyhoo, I did love your books and I wanted to know when the next one was coming out? And what it was called?
<3
I am actually thinking about going to Indian Springs (the school based off of looking for alaska) because the book was so great. I’m 12 and totally would name my daughter Alaska! This was my favorite book of all time!!!
In my opinion, paper towns was the best out of all of them.
oh my freaking god john green is a GENIUS! i think its so cool how all my favorite authors seem to be friends with each other. god i legit MUST meet these boys who cried because i will marry them.
I’ve read all your books, read or heard your radio pieces, including some not on here (too bad the WBEZ site uses .RAM–can’t mobile-stream them!)… Annnnd while Paper Towns blew my mind, Let It Snow(!!!) was just AWESOME!! I was freaking THRILLED to see it available at my library.
Now for something funny: my library does this incredible auto-delivery service for my whole highrise… Which has many elderly folks (I like quiet buildings–downtown Seattle gives me more than enough noise). I tend to get ~30, a huge mistake when Infinite Jest, Girl with Curious Hair, Buddenbrooks, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and Zeitoun are ALL both *on hold for others so no renewal* and go to the mobile services builong and pile up for one delivery. Needless to say, Let It Snow gave such relief I want to renew it because no one seems to know about it and it is awesome.
Now the funny part: because seniors are the norm for taking advantage (I broke my back and have lifting restrictions for life thanks to the titanium that is my thoracic-lumbar spine)… The awesome mobile ppl sometimes catch on to our prefs (like checking out every John Green work). This month, what is this they sent? Huh, it is this odd little 91 page comic by Jane Smith Fisher called WJHC: Hold Tight! showing kids on swings over a lake of alligators…
Whaaaaa? But…. Whyyyyyy?
Apparently trying to steal your fame is ANOTHER John Green (DO clarify if this 2005 doozy of a job was yours!!)… The “COLORIST AND LETTERER” of this downright weird “beatnik!???” comic series set at Jackson High (with its one obligatory black kid and girls of blonde, red(ginger), and black hair (one each) alongside the white boys, one “way cool” and the other the Hank Green or more aptly Charlie McDonnell minus cute curls electronics-savvy audiophile.
I lost a few brain cells just reading the introduction…
And am bummed it probably is not, in fact, your scribbling or coloring (though the total lack of color coordination and monotone hair are very Greenish).
Dear John Green,
I understand my comment is one of many you’ve received before. Although I know there is a chance I may probably never really hear a reply to this comment and there may not be any real guarantee that my comments will be read since seeing how I’m just one of many fans, that kind of makes me see how insignificant I am and how insignificant my comment may seem. I figured I’d write it anyways for the sole fact that I believe that even though my comment may not be significant, it by all means is anything but nothing, Your book Paper Towns was the first book by you that I have read and I want to say thanks to your books and videos, the doubt I had in becoming a writer is lessened, to almost nonexistent. At one point a few months ago when college applications were due I panicked almost going to an art college, that doesn’t have any majors that could lead me into a career of writing. Because of your videos and books though it is clear to me now though that although the chances of me being a writer are as high as my comment being significant and unique. Despite that fact, because of your videos, and because of an George Orwell’s essay “why I write” I have decided to risk it all. Even if I do end up being a homeless old lady living in a box. I thought it was worth a shot.
I understand I probably shouldn’t be writing this here… but I thought, I should write it anywhere, because there maybe a chance that you’d see it. Even if my comment is insignificant, the thing that brings me hope that you’ll read it and see how much you’ve effected me, is that my comment is anything but nothing.
Thanks again John Green
DFTBA
-Sarah Amburgey
we can relate to the book looking for alaska soo much!!!!! we also have to smoke with the shower on! ;)
You are the smartest man on earth! Do you like turtles?
I’m a forty-year old stay@home mom, and I’m thrilled to know that you’ve written another book (WGWG). My fav still is Katherines…and your vlogs are just as hilarious. Rock on, John.
Sometimes I wish it was my basement John Green was singing and writing books in.
GGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH YOU’RE SO FREAKING AWESOME!
Hey, where can I get a copy of TINT?
Also, I will be seeing you January 28th in Pittsburgh!
I am a new reader, and cannot wait!
I read everything John Green writes. He’s one of the few authors I would read regardless of what the book’s even about. Each book has a different effect on me. “Looking for Alaska” pretty much made me reexamine my entire view of life, it was that inspiring. “An Abundance of Katherines” I read cover-to-cover whenever I feel down because it’s so effing funny. “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” I read recently (I love David Levithan’s books too!) and enjoyed the enormous affection I felt for every character (especially Green’s Will Grayson, Jane and Tiny). I love it all! Hope more is on the way. :)
loved Looking For Alaska! but i didnt cry lol…
Hey John,
I’m a middle school English teacher, and LOOKING FOR ALASKA currently holds the “Best Book Ever” award on my Hall of Fame. A girl in my class checked the book out but wanted to turn it back in after the first chapter because it was boring. I told her it was the best book ever with one of the worst first chapters and that she should keep reading it. Reluctantly, she trusted me.
Here’s the email she sent me halfway through Thanksgiving vacation:
she ******! i cant beleive the misterious, cigerette,vannila smelled girl…******! i finished the book having cried,LAUGHED, and gasped in amazment! i should have stuck it threw the first time, because this is the best book i have EVER read! i asked for it for christmas or my birthday and i thought i should thank you for having me stick threw the book because it was absolutly life changing AMAZING!
happy thanksgiving and thank you,
*Newest Nerdfighter*
So there you have it. Keep writing, brother. Hopefully, someday I’ll see you on the other side of the agent curtain.
JS
Hi, I absolutely love your books and I was wondering if you can let us fans know any details about when you new book (desert island, girl narrator?) might be released… or anything. I just hate waiting….
Thanks :)
It’s so hard for me to find books that I’ll read till the end. One day i was at the library and randomly picked looking for alaska. After that amazing book, I bought all the others written by john green without even reading the synopsis. Hopefully he’ll keep writing cuz im currently outta books to read!
Honestly, ” An abundance of Katherines” introduced to the world of reading books !
They banned Looking for Alaska from my high school, because the content was inappropriate
I’m reading Looking for Alaska, with great expectations. I don’t wanna finish it!
what’s the deal with the zombie apocalypse novella? and the raffle, with the e copy? when are you sending those?
Looking For Alaska was a beautifully crafted novel that made me think about my Great Perhaps and my ladybrinth. Green, you’re an amazing author. You made me feel like I was in the book, like I was looking for Alaska also. In fact, I kept think to myself, ‘It’s her mother, she was going to the grave!’ I screamed when they ‘solved’ it. Amother talented author with an amazing book!
looking for alaska was actually changing my life, it was making me love english AND making me cry.
thanks, john.
I’ve read every John Green book. I loved them all! I cannot get enough of them either, the worst part of all of the books was finishing them:) I need you to come out with a new book soon! I’m going through a John Green withdrawal!
Looking for Alaska was assigned reading in my YA Lit class a year ago and it had a profound effect on my life. Three months before reading it I had a friend whose circumstances very closely paralleled those of Alaska’s. My friends and I lived out the role of Pudge, asking questions and trying to piece together what really happened. Looking for Alaska helped me come to terms with the situation and helped me accept the fact that with such events one has to live with that uncertainty. It was beautifully written and has made me a fan for life. John Green, thank you for writing such an intense book and not shying away from the emotions one truly feels in that situation.
DFTBA
I’m only 13 but I cried so much when i read looking for alaska.
John Green you have touched my life, and have solidified my dream of being an author. I want to be an author so that I can touch people with my books just as you have. I’m just annoyed that more people don’t read your books, its a real shame that they don’t read them and possibly discover more about themselves
dude that book was awsome i can relate to it cuz my bros giorlfriend killed her self lastyear by being a drunk driver cuz she for got there annniversery so she was going to see him and bamm i was 13 and i cried i thought she was awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but its done but im 14 and i stop to think about it every now and then. a nother good book is Thirteen Reasons Why
By: Jay Asher
You should change “other stuff” to “other things I’ve done” because I’ve had people ask me for the book titled “other stuff”.
Mr.Green-
After reading your books, i found that i was, and still am, unable to return to reading any of the other past books i have read that i thought were “good”. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I AM IN LOVE WITH EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT YOUR BOOKS!!!! i cant even describe to you how much i love them! I have read Alaska at LEAST eighteen times and i never get bored of it; i find myself discovering little details that i have never noticed before. Your works are INSANE. YOUUU are insane. I have written books before, and i hope to become an author too one day, but i don’t think that i could ever top you. i love how alive all of your characters are and how inspirational your books are. I always feel like i am a part of your books. To put it in simple terms: YOU ROCK! I really hope you write some more books because i don’t think i can read anything that you HAVEN’T written!
Looking for Alaska is a truly beautiful book. Of course I cried-who wouldn’t as emotions were so deeply explored and I felt like i knew Miles inside and out. If Miles Halter was real we would definitely be friends.
Your books have crossed over into utter amazingness-please write more! :)
Looking for alaska opened my eyes so much. changed my life.