Sleepless is a little different from your most recent novels in that there’s a light science fiction touch. How did you decide that you wanted to go in a slightly fantastical direction to tell this story?
For me, Sleepless began with the pretty mundane reflection that there’s never enough time to do everything you want to do. And when I started to explore that idea, the most obvious place for extra hours to come from was the third of our lives we all spend asleep. It’s an especially delicious premise for kids: Suddenly, you can be better at anything than everybody else you know purely by virtue of having way more time to do it. It wasn’t until I started to plot out how that might play out in a story that the science-fiction-y dimension sunk in: What is happening to us and most important of all, why?
Your books always include some great side characters and friendships. What made you want to tell this story from 5 different points of view?
This is a style I’ve been using for a while now and I absolutely love it. It doesn’t work for every novel, but when it does, I always go with it. By the time a story is done, you truly feel like you’ve examined it from every possible angle, leaving nothing unexplored. It was a no-brainer for Sleepless, since it allowed me to play around with how each of the kids felt about the sleepless phenomenon, and how they wanted to take advantage of it or, in one important case, reject it.
You started writing books while you were still in school. Have you ever considered what you would do if you weren’t a writer? What’s your favorite thing about being a writer and why have you stuck with it for so long?
I always got better grades in math and science, so I guess I’d be doing something in that area. It’s now—and don’t think this doesn’t freak me out—fifty years since the seventh-grade English assignment that became my first book. I’ve been at this more than three quarters of my life and some of my earliest fans are actually grandparents. But even though it sounds bizarre to say that, at sixty-two, I’m doing the same thing I did in middle school, I feel incredibly lucky to have fallen into this life at such a young age.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out my response to the fan letter he’d written to me when he was in fifth grade! In it, I’d encouraged him not to give up on his dream of being a writer, and now he was making a movie based on my book.”
Would you like to share a favorite anecdote about how a young reader has responded to one of your stories?
Just a couple of months ago, a kid presented me with a 3-D printed replica of my head (highly accurate, too). But—all-time favorite—I was meeting with a TV producer who had just bought film rights to my very first series. He reached into his jacket and pulled out my response to the fan letter he’d written to me when he was in fifth grade! In it, I’d encouraged him not to give up on his dream of being a writer, and now he was making a movie based on my book.
This book is dedicated to “the original Bruno” Barry Pekilis. Can you tell us about him? How did he inspire the book?
Barry was my cousin and downstairs neighbor when I was very little, growing up in Montreal. Since I’m an only child, he was essentially the big brother I never had. Nobody could ever be as funny, courageous, and cool as Barry. My first books were about characters named Bruno and Boots, roommates and best friends at a boarding school. Bruno was the daring one and I always suspected he was inspired by my cousin. Barry passed away last year, which has made me reflect that so many of the kid relationships I’ve written about over the years were spun from those early memories of Barry and me.
I love the dog on the front cover (and Baldie in the book!). Do you have a dog?
True confession: I’ve never had a dog. We were rodent people—hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, even a pair of highly intelligent white rats. Baldie is an American Hairless Terrier, a breed I fell in love with but had never even heard of before Sleepless. Allergies play a role in the novel, and hairless terriers are the most hypoallergenic dogs.
…I always encourage aspiring writers to plan and make outlines, because then you can always look forward and see at least a rough version of your path to the finish line. It’s great for writing, but I think it can apply to other things too.”
What’s your best advice for young people who have a dream or a personal challenge—like a hundred-mile wilderness hike—that they want to pursue?
I think I have to risk an “Okay, Boomer” here and go with the old “Rome wasn’t built in a day” philosophy. I meet so many kids with big ideas who run out of steam when their dreams haven’t been realized after the first few tries. That’s why I always encourage aspiring writers to plan and make outlines, because then you can always look forward and see at least a rough version of your path to the finish line. It’s great for writing, but I think it can apply to other things too.
Can you share any details about your other forthcoming books?
My next book will be The Favorite which comes out in January 2027. It’s the story of four siblings whose father is the billionaire founder of Zzazz, the hottest kids’ clothing line in the country. Dad wants one of them to be his brand ambassador to help him take Zzazz global—a star-studded lifestyle flying on private jets, meeting celebrities, and traveling the world. But there can only be one brand ambassador. How far are the siblings willing to go to wow their father and win the job?
What are the best ways for educators and librarians to connect with you or to follow you on social media?
The best way to reach me directly is through the Readers Forum of my website, www.gordonkorman.com. But I’m also on Instagram and X as @gordonkorman and on Facebook.
If you keep reading them, I promise to continue writing them!”
What’s your favorite part of creating books for young readers?
That’s an easy one—meeting my fans. Every year, I travel thousands of miles visiting schools and libraries. This summer, you can also catch me on the Sleepless tour, coming soon to a bookstore near you. It’s been a long time since the middle school project that turned into my first book, but the deal between me and my readers remains the same: If you keep reading them, I promise to continue writing them!
