Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney: ‘I’ve sold 300 million books.’ What’s next? | books

WWatching Jeff Kinney’s books is like watching a masterful piece of performance art. Backstage at the Chester Theatre, where the author continues his UK tour, three folding tables are buckling under the weight of thousands of copies. Kenny wheels around the table on a swivel chair, anticipating as he moves. It is an image of total concentration.

Today Kenny is signing copies of Partypooper, the twentieth book in the hugely successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Each copy bears the phrase, “More than 300 million books sold.” To put that into perspective, Kenny sold more books than Led Zeppelin sold albums. If you have – or have been – a reading-age child at any point in the past two decades, Kenny is a rock star. And nowhere was this more evident than at his sold-out concert later that evening, where he munched on custard pie while a crowd of 800 children and parents screamed with excitement.

Kenny’s shows are a far cry from the usual author engagements. This is a performance, with animated characters and audience participation so enthusiastic that one poor mother nearly tore herself in half while trying to do the splits. It’s impressive stuff, especially since Kenny claims he’s not normal. “I’m not the type of person who needs to stand in the spotlight,” he insists backstage. “I’m a writer. I chose this profession because I’m an introvert. So it’s strange to be on stage, but these days, if you’re a children’s writer, you also need to learn how to be an artist.”

A former software engineer, Kenny first created Wimpy Kid — about the various adventures of the titular middle school student Greg Heffley — for the browser gaming website Funbrain. Three years later, the first book was released and immediately became a sensation, thrilling children with its relatable characters and sheer intensity of jokes. The Wimpy Kid books read like exceptionally well-crafted observational comedy routines, something that will appeal to kids who are hesitant to delve into, say, a brick-and-mortar fantasy series laden with lore.

Kenny is now 54, has graying hair at the temples, is very tall and very polite. For someone who should be richer than God, this is natural and unshakable. He could easily be seen as a friendly teacher, or someone who runs a small pottery business.

However, at this stage of his career, Kenny feels untouchable. Each new Wimpy Kid book is an event, and while the pressure of maintaining such a beloved series for so long may get to some authors, Kenny takes it lightly. “I have a whole world that I feel responsible for, and I have employees. People have jobs that come from that engine, so I definitely need to keep the engine running. I’m aware of that, but I don’t call it pressure. It’s a nice place to be.”

Although the series has been around since 2007, Partypooper is as funny and action-packed as any of his previous books, with a delightful darkness lingering around the edges. Greg Heffley remains perhaps the most beloved psychopath in all of children’s literature; One scene in the new book sees him blowing out a funeral candle in a mad attempt to make a wish come true.

“Every year I ask the big questions,” he says. “What am I doing? Why am I doing this? Three days ago I was trying to set my goals. Consistency and longevity at a high level in comedy is my current goal. I think about Bob Dylan a lot. I’m definitely not trying to compare myself to Bob Dylan, but he’s just moving forward. And I think that’s a beautiful model.”

Kenny became the guardian of the entire franchise. In addition to the books and raucous shows he shoots all over the world (once Chester’s show ends, he travels to Germany), he also writes the scripts for all of Disney’s Wimpy Kid movies (the latest, The Last Straw, was released in early December). He credits working across multiple mediums for his ability to keep books fresh.

“My first few books are like a bunch of jokes,” he smiles. “I never cared much about telling a good story. But when those books were adapted for the screen, I started to recognize the structure. I didn’t even try to tell a good story until the ninth book. I didn’t start to understand it until the twelfth book. The first book I’m proud of as a narrative is my nineteenth, which came out just last year.”

If that’s not enough to juggle things, Kenny also has a side role as a city planner. As his books began to spread, he used some of the money to open a bookstore—an unlikely story—in his hometown of Plainville, Massachusetts. When the store achieved success, he decided to branch out and apply the same formula to the entire area.