Origins

John Green, the author of the novel Looking for Alaska, was born in Indianapolis, USA in 1977. As a child, he wrote a story called "The Best New Year's Resolution Ever Happy New Year Streamers". In this story, family members tell each other what their New Year's resolution is. Topics that are later found in his novels already emerge in this story.

Green attended Glenridge Middle School and Lake Highland Prep before eventually transferring to Indian Springs boarding school. He then studied English and comparative religion at Kenyon College in Ohio. Because he planned to become a pastor, Green worked as a chaplain at a hospital for children. When he realized that this job was taking too much out of him, he decided to become a writer.

Green started working at the Booklist newspa...