Adam Canfield of the Slash

Michael Winerip has spent more than thirty years as a reporter. He’s covered just about everything out there, from a smile contest in Louisville, Kentucky, to a gold plumbing scandal that forced the resignation of a top school official in Miami, Florida. Armed with a collection of colorful stories and a distinct opinion regarding today’s educational system (he works as an education columnist for the New York Times), Michael Winerip’s debut book for young adults, Adam Canfield of the Slash, is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud story. This book was followed by two others: Adam Canfield: Watch Your Back and Adam Canfield: The Last Reporter. Readers who follow Adam and his fellow investigative SLASH reporters at Harris Elementary/Middle School,will experience the excitement of breaking the big story along with the characters.

Quietly and almost without notice, Michael Winerip weaves his strong ideas on education into many of the pages of the Adam Canfield books. “I’ve seen overprogrammed children at every school I visit across this country in my job as a New York Times national education columnist.” Adam’s hectic schedule is a clear example of the lifestyle the author wishes weren’t common among today’s youth. “I can’t believe how much harder kids are pushed today than when I was a kid,” he notes. Michael Winerip also believes in nurturing a love for reading. “Part of the joy of reading is starting at the front cover and when you finally get to the back cover, closing that book and putting it away with a feeling of accomplishment and a tinge of sadness; the good ones always end too soon.” He crafted his books to promote such a joy, but with a thoughtful bent, too. “Adam Canfield of the Slash is meant to be a fun read,” Michael Winerip says. “But at the same time it’s filled with all kinds of tough ethical problems that kids and adults try to puzzle through daily.”

It is with a great appreciation for the nature of children that Michael Winerip penned his first novel for young readers. “Kids are becoming. They’re more intellectually interesting.” He adds, “As a reporter, I’ve learned there are only two groups of people who will tell you the truth. One is the elderly . . . the other is kids. They don’t have that defensive shell. They’ll either tell you the truth or be blatantly dishonest, which is good.”

With the Adam Canfield books, Michael Winerip achieves what he set out to accomplish: “I hope a young reader will see that you don’t have to fly away to a faraway kingdom or ride on a magic train to find battles of epic proportion.”

Michael Winerip lives in New York with his four children and his wife.