Patrick Carman (born February 27, 1966 in Salem, Oregon) is an American writer. Carman is a graduate of Willamette University. In his twenties, Carman founded an ad agency, then ran it for a decade, overseeing a staff of eight and art directing projects for the health, technology, and film industries. He sold the agency in 1999 and founded a technology company that grew into a multimillion-dollar business. Carman sold his second company in 2003 and began writing books for young adults and children. He lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with his wife Karen and two daughters, Reece and Sierra, and splits his time between publishing and film projects.
Carman’s first book, The Dark Hills Divide, was published in 2003[2] The book, and the subsequent books in the same series (The Land of Elyon), were all New York Times bestsellers,[3] and spent a combined nine months on the list. The Land of Elyon has been translated into over twenty languages and has millions of readers in the United States and around the world. The series was nominated for many state and national awards.
Carman followed the five book Elyon series with the critically acclaimed Atherton trilogy, which was shortlisted for the Texas Bluebonnet (the best book for children), and enjoyed many other awards.
Carman is a multimedia pioneer who uses technology, videos, and games to bring wired kids back to books. Millions of young readers have read, watched, and played books Carman has produced including The 39 Clues, Skeleton Creek, Trackers, and Dark Eden.
Carman is a prolific public speaker who presents at national events throughout the year including the National Book Festival, the LA Book Festival, and the School Library Journal Summit. He has also spoken to hundreds of thousands of students at over 1200 schools across the country. On March 5, 2011 Patrick Carman gave a TED talk about 21st Century literacy. He started an annual event in his own hometown, Walla Walla Kids Read, as a blueprint for literacy in rural communities.