Greg Neri

Greg Neri is an American author who has the pen name G. Neri, and is known for his work in young-adult fiction. He has written in free-verse (Chess Rumble, Hello I'm Johnny Cash), novelistic prose (Tru & Nelle, Ghetto Cowboy, Knockout Games,Surf Mules), and for graphic novels (Yummy). Neri has received multiple awards from the American Library Association (2011 Coretta Scott King Honor Award, 2012 Odyssey Award Honor, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014 ALA Notable Books) and the International Reading Association (2010 Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014 Notable Books) among other honors (2010 Cybil Award, 2011 Once Upon a World Award from Simon Wiesenthal Center, 2012 Horace Mann Upstanders Children's Book Award, 2014 Florida Book Awards, 2014 VLA Jefferson Cup). He is one of the original members of the Class of 2K7, a debut author group that featured authors like Jay Asher, Rebecca Stead, Carrie Jones, Cassandra Clare, Melissa Marr and many others. As a filmmaker, he wrote, produced, and directed the indie feature A Weekend with Barbara und Ingrid and the animated short A Picasso on the Beach.

Greg Neri was raised in Los Angeles. He moved to Santa Cruz, California to attend the University of California at Santa Cruz. Initially pursuing a career as a filmmaker, he later became Head of Production for two award-winning interactive media agencies in Los Angeles. In 2001, he illustrated his first book for Scholastic, but turned to writing in 2005. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida with wife, daughter, and cat.

Chess Rumble

Neri’s 2007 debut novella, Chess Rumble (Lee and Low Books, 2007), is about an 11-year-old inner city teen named Marcus who is one punch away from being kicked out of school. Angry at his sister's death and his absent father, Marcus fights back with his fists when he's pushed to the brink by a bully. But when Marcus meets CM, a street-wise chess master, he's challenged to fight his battles on the chess board.

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