Darren Aronofsky, the director whose movies are generally not meant for young eyes, will make his children’s literature debut with a middle-grade novel coming this summer.
HarperCollins will publish Monster Club, the first book in a planned series, the press announced in a news release. The book is co-written with Ari Handel, a screenwriter and producer who has collaborated with Aronofsky in the past, and illustrated by Ronald Kurniawan.
Aronofsky made his film debut in 1998 with Pi, which he followed up two years later with Requiem for a Dream, his controversial, famously explicit movie about the lives of four drug addicts. His other films include The Wrestler, Black Swan, and mother!
Monster Club follows Eric “Doodles” King, an 11-year-old boy in Coney Island who creates a role-playing game and finds he can bring the monsters in it to life by drawing them in magical ink. HarperCollins calls the book “a hilarious, heartfelt adventure…that fans of Last Kids on Earth and Spy School are sure to love.”
Aronofsky announced the book on Instagram, writing, “YES you read that right! yours truly the filmmaker behind requiem and mother! wrote a book for kids! don’t worry moms and dads i got a few different flavors up my sleeves. this is a story i’ve been dying to tell you for a long time.”
Monster Club is scheduled for publication on Sept. 13.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
