Dork diaries author biography in the back

Rachel Renée Russell is an American author of the humorous children’s book series, Dork Diaries.

Life[]

Rachel Renée Russell was born and raised in Saint Joseph, Michigan, a small city on the shore of Lake Michigan, and currently resides in northern Virginia. She is the oldest child and has two younger twin brothers and two younger sisters. She wrote her first unofficial book in 6th grade as a birthday present for her twin brothers.

In addition to writing children’s books, Russell is an attorney.

Russell's Dork Diaries series dramatically chronicles the daily life of Nikki Maxwell as she struggles to both fit in and survive middle school. It is written in a diary format and includes doodles, drawings and comic strips.

According to the author’s website, the Dork Diaries books are based on Russell’s experiences in middle school, as well as those of her two daughters, Erin and Nikki. Her older daughter, Erin, helps with writing and her younger daughter, Nikki, helps with illustrations.

Currently, there are over 50 million copies of the Dork Diaries books in print in the United States. Publishing rights have been sold in 32 countries with translation into 28 different languages.

The other book series she has written is The Misadventures of Max Crumbly.

Work[]

Dork Diaries[]

• Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Fabulous Life was released on June 2, 2009. It has spent 42 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers list and 7 weeks on the USA Today Best Sellers list. The book was also awarded the 2010 Children’s Choice Book of the Year Award for the 5th/6th grade division. On February 10, 2011, it was nominated as Book of the Year by the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards.
• Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Popular Party Girl was released on June 8, 2010. It has spent 42 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers list and 12 weeks on the USA Today Best Sellers list.
• Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Talented Pop Star was released on June 7, 2011. I

Ever since she stumbled upon the Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell, my daughter has been hooked.  

The books are similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in that they're written diary-style with a font that looks like handwriting, along with doodles, drawings, and cool text features. The Dork Diaries series opens up tons of relevant and meaningful discussion with tweens, which is one of the things I really appreciate about the book. Chatting with your child about the book can lead to conversations about trust, friendship, and what's really important in life. 

And who is the superstar author behind this awesome series? Let's have your Dork Diaries fan do the research — and remember to print out the Cool Facts About Hot Authors printable to help her learning stay focused. 

Name: Rachel Renée Russell 
Born: March 13, 1959 
Grew Up In: Saint Joseph, Michigan 
Current Home: Northern Virginia 

Russell is the oldest of five children and has two younger sisters and two younger twin brothers. 
She wrote her first book in 6th grade as a birthday gift for her brothers. 
In addition to being a best-selling author, she is an attorney. 
She has two daughters and her youngest daughter helps her will illustrations in the Dork Diaries series! 

Find Rachel Renée Russell on Social Media and more: Facebook Page, Twitter Page, Instagram Page and Official Author Website. Plus, listen to music inspired by Dork Diaries.

MORE: Check out other author profiles your kids might like: Mary Pope Osborne and Rick Riordan

Rachel Renee Russell is the author of Dork Diaries. With her daughters Nikki and Erin, they work together by drawing forth their own experiences. With Nikki doing illustrations and Erin helping with ideas and writing.

She claims to have been, and still considers herself to be a total dork!

Bio[]

Rachel Renee Russell is an attorney who prefers writing tween books to legal briefs. With hobbies consisting of growing purple flowers and doing useless crafts, such as making a microwave oven using popsicle sticks, glue, and glitter. She lives in northern Virginia and has two pet dogs, a spoiled Yorkie and a miniature poodle. 

Trivia[]

• She grew up in Saint Joseph, Michigan and has two younger sisters and two younger twin brothers.
• Her first book she wrote and illustrated was back in the 6th grade as a present.
• She keeps stuffed animals on the top of her computer cabinet and is often pelted with them by her Yorkie.

Gallery[]

Book series by Rachel Renée Russell

Dork Diaries is a children's book series written by Rachel Renée Russell and illustrated by Nikki Russell and Rachel Renée Russell.

The series, written in a diary format, uses drawings, doodles, and comic strips to chronicle the daily life of its 14-year-old protagonist, Nikki Maxwell.

As of December 2024, more than 55 million copies of the Dork Diaries books have been sold. The books have been published in 52 countries with translations into 45 different languages.

Books