The air was filled with chatter and excitement as the audience waited for author Jeff Kinney to deliver a lecture. A little more than 1,000 kids screamed and waved their Wimpy Kid paraphernalia as Jeff took centerstage. The author, who is currently on tour to promote his 11th book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down, was in India as part of the Penguin Annual Lecture, in association with Landmark.
The second highest paid author in the world after J.K. Rowling, according to Forbes, Jeff built his business — 11 books, three movies, a musical headed for Broadway, and an upcoming movie — based on the socially awkward and intelligent Greg Heffley. His coming-of-age book maybe a bestseller but he has had his share of disappointments too.
Aspiring to be a cartoonist at a young age, Jeff told the audience that he started off his long and arduous journey to the top with his first comic strip titled Igdoof. He tried to get the cartoon syndicate with this “strange looking character” but for three years, he was rebuffed. His failure finally got him to start his own book — “I realised I was a bad illustrator but a good joke writer. I am a cartoonist but I can’t draw. I could become a cartoonist if I pretend to be a kid, draw cartoons and turn them into books.”
When he placed a sample packet of his work at the New York Comic Con in 2006, an editor with a web comic, who spotted it, was impressed with his work. The next year, he published his first book.
Greg’s brother in the book, Rodrick Heffley, is a caricature based on his siblings. The Cheese Touch, a mouldy piece of cheese that has been left on the grounds of Greg’s school for years, has been a part of his books. “Most things in the books happened in truth or in spirit, but mostly in spirit,” he explained. “I try to put it all through the fiction blender and hopefully get a joke out of it.”
Midway through the lecture, Jeff presented the audiences his process of creating popular characters like Jeff and Rowley. But the author created much mirth when he failed to recreate his characters with his eyes closed. “This is where my readers doubt my capabilities and ask me if I really am the author!” he explained, before breaking into a laugh.
Before Jeff could attend the lecture, he mentioned that he took some time off to visit the parents of a young Delhi boy, Pranav, who lost his life to a rare disease. The young boy contacted the author last year, and even had a video chat last Christmas. “We spoke at length about the book. This time, I took some time off to meet his family,” he said. “This is what I love about cartooning. You don’t have to be an American to understand the book. It’s our teachers, parents, upbringing and situations that connect our lives.” The author has even dedicated The Long Haul from The Wimpy Series to the child, where the first page reads, “To Pranav.”
