Stephen Chbosky is an American novelist, screenplay writer, producer and film director. He was born on January 25th, 1970 and is best known for his coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Chbosky was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was raised Catholic. As a writer, Chbosky’s background is in screenwriting. He graduated from the University of Southern California’s screenwriting program in 1992 and had an independent film bought out by the Sundance Channel. He has also written short stories (that were published in The New Yorker) and short-films.
The Perks of Being a WallFlower was originally published in 1999. It is written in the first person singular from the perspective of Charlie. Charlie begins writing in his diary right before starting high school. He talks about his worries, his sufferings, the books he is reading. As his social life in high school evolves, Charlie touches on the relationships closest to him (present and former). The book was an enormous commercial success and has been considered a modern day equivalent of Catcher in the Rye.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower was published by MTV and has sold over five million copies. It has been translated into over 30 languages. Due to some of its content, Perks frequently makes the list of “Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books.”
In 2012, the book was made into a movie starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller. The movie was directed by Stephen Chbosky and he also wrote the screenplay.
Other works by Stephen Chbosky