If a new Wimpy Kid book isn’t enough reason for a celebration, then how about the release of the twentieth title in this phenomenally popular series? Partypooper (Amulet Books, 2025) appropriately features a major milestone for character Greg Heffley: a birthday bash that takes as many unforeseen turns as fans have come to expect from their favorite series. Greg may be another year older, but he faces just as many wacky obstacles as he has in previous titles. The resulting hilarious chaos and Kinney’s quirky cartoons will leave readers eagerly anticipating book twenty-one.
Here, Kinney talks with Lisa Bullard about taking inspiration for his books from his own childhood, the book-creation process, and the impact of his books around the world.
This is your twentieth Wimpy Kid book! Congratulations on reaching this huge landmark! Having already explored so many different possibilities for this character, how did you decide what you wanted to feature in Greg’s latest adventure?
Thank you! Last year, I was on a book tour with my team, and I said to them, “What should my next book be about?” One of my team members said, “A party, obviously!” And that made sense! It was the twentieth book, which calls for a celebration. It’s the first time the idea for a book didn’t come from me.
Photos from the Partypooper book tour.
Do you sometimes struggle to come up with fresh ideas for such an established series?
I am always struggling to come up with new ideas. Some writers are bustling with ideas—not me! I have to scrap and scrape for every joke.
It probably won’t be a shock for your legions of loyal readers that Greg’s birthday celebration takes so many unexpected turns. Were there parts of the book’s creation process that surprised you as well?
I think every time I start a book, I go on a journey that surprises me. And sometimes the surprises come late in the writing process! I was writing a story about Greg’s birthday, and I had the idea that he would be wishing for a rare trading card. That was the key to unlocking the story, and it came right at the end of the writing process.
Every time I start a book, I go on a journey that surprises me.”
Could you describe your book-creation process? What’s your starting point? Is there a part of the process that you struggle with the most?
I start with the theme. Once I’ve got a good theme, I can start writing jokes, which takes a few months. After that, I write the manuscript. The drawings come last. The hardest parts for me are the first draft of the story—it’s hard to create something out of nothing—and the illustrations, which have me sitting at my desk for as many as sixteen hours a day.
Has your process changed since the first Wimpy Kid book in 2007?
Yes, my writing process has changed a bit over time. These days I bring a lot of discipline to it. In the early days, I just used to wait for good ideas to come.
The original Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Amulet Books, 2007) came out before your newest fans were even born, and yet your titles continue to resonate with young readers as strongly as ever. How have you been able to stay so closely in touch with each new crop of middle-grade readers? Have you had to change your approach to writing for this audience over the years?
Maybe there’s some part of me that’s still a kid! Honestly, I feel like there’s a part of me that’s still connected to my middle-grade self. It’s easy for me to think like Greg. I don’t really think of my readers these days as being different from my original readers—kids are kids, all over the world!
I feel like there’s a part of me that’s still connected to my middle-grade self.”
Left: Jeff, his wife, and two sons enjoy the beautiful scenery in New Hampshire (2021).
Right: Manny and the pig create quite a mess in the Wimpy Kid Studio during the CLUE: Diary of a Wimpy Kid launch party (2023).
The FAQ section on your website provides great answers to questions that I’m sure many of your fans have. One thing it says is: “The Heffley family is very loosely based on my own family. Greg is made up of all my worst parts from adolescence.” For young writers who are looking to their own lives for inspiration, what’s your best advice about turning real life into fiction?
I think everyone has a story to tell. Whenever I’m looking out over a group of kids, I feel a little jealous that they have so many stories they can share with the world if they only write them down! My best advice is to write in the genre you like best—humor, science fiction, fantasy—whatever you like to read. Writing takes practice, so you get better at it over time. It’s important to share your work with people who will give you tough, fair feedback. That’s what helps you get better.
What details about your childhood would you like to share? Were your experiences like Greg’s? Do you have a most memorable moment from your own time growing up?
I had a really ordinary childhood! I like to tell kids that I didn’t grow up as the son of a Greek god or didn’t get chosen to go to a wizarding school. Greg’s childhood is like mine—nothing special. But funny things happened all the time, and when I had the idea for writing Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I wrote down every funny thing I could remember. One funny story that happened in real life was that my friend and I wanted to build the world’s biggest snowman. But we built a snowball, and it got so heavy we couldn’t roll it anymore. But we pulled up all the grass in my friend’s lawn, and his parents got mad! Just like Greg and Rowley.
If you had a time machine, what’s the best piece of advice you would go back to give to your own middle-grade self?
I’d say to write everything down, so I could use it later on for these books!
Top left: Jeff reads an excerpt from his book Double Down to fans in Mexico City, Mexico (2023).
Top right: Jeff visits an enthusiastic crowd of fans at the Shanghai American School during his book tour in China (2018).
Middle left: Jeff visits fans on Zugspitze mountain peak in Germany where copies of The Meltdown were frozen into a solid block of ice (2018).
Middle right: The team in Poland surprised Jeff with a mega vehicle to travel in during The Getaway book tour (2019).
Bottom left: Jeff meets fans in France while visiting the Eiffel Tower and creates Parisian-themed drawings of Greg and Manny (2016).
Bottom right: Jeff meets some fans in Italy who pose with cutouts of their favorite wimpy kid, Greg Heffley (2016).
What’s your favorite part of creating books for young readers?
My favorite part is connecting with the kids who read my books all over the world. I’ve visited forty-two countries so far, and while I’ve been writing this, I just crossed over into my forty-second: Slovenia! Hopefully I will get to meet some Wimpy Kid fans along the way!
My favorite part [of creating books for young readers] is connecting with the kids who read my books all over the world. I’ve visited forty-two countries so far.”
Do you have any favorite anecdotes about your readers that you’d like to share?
Every so often I have an encounter with a fan that reminds me of why I’m writing, and I had one just recently. I met a kid who grew up with learning challenges, and my books were the first ones he really liked. Now he’s a big reader, and his family reads the books and watches the movies with him. And yesterday, in Croatia, I met some older fans who grew up on my books and said they made a big difference in their childhoods. One young woman, who is now twenty-two, said she moved to the United States for a time, and that the books really helped her connect with other kids her age. That was special!
I met a kid who grew up with learning challenges, and my books were the first ones he really liked. Now he’s a big reader.”
What’s it like for you to know that you have fans all around the world who are reading your stories in seventy different languages?
It’s really great meeting kids from countries outside the United States and seeing the impact the books have on them. Publishing is like a miracle—a person has an idea, and then if the idea is good enough, it can spread all over the world.
Can you share any details about your forthcoming books?
Yes! I’m working on a new Rowley Jefferson Spooky Stories book, which will come out in August 2026. But I have no ideas at all—not even a theme—for my next Wimpy Kid book. It will be as much of a surprise to me as it is for everyone else!
What are the best ways for educators and librarians to connect with you or to follow you on social media?
The best way is to send mail to my publisher: Jeff Kinney C/O ABRAMS, 195 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007. I also have an Instagram account: @diaryofawimpykid. Honestly, I’m not good about keeping up with communications because I’m always working on books and movies, or traveling, like I’m doing now!
You can also visit WimpyKid.com for teacher’s guides and tons of fun activities for kids.
Do Your Students Have Questions of Their Own For Jeff Kinney?
Register now for Mackin’s Storyteller Spotlight on December 19th that features a free virtual classroom visit with the Wimpy Kid creator himself! Kinney will read aloud from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper and his reading will be followed by a spirited Q&A, giving students a chance to ask questions about the new book and others that he has written.
