Timothy Michael Federle (born March 24, 1980) is an American author, theater librettist, director and screenwriter whose best-known works include the novel Better Nate Than Ever, the cocktail recipe book Tequila Mockingbird, the Golden Globe Award and Academy Awards nominee (for Best Animated Feature) Ferdinand, and Disney's High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Biography
Federle wrote the middle-grade novel Better Nate Than Ever and its two sequels and the cocktail recipe book Tequila Mockingbird and its two follow-ups, and was co-writer of the book for the Broadway musical adaptation of Tuck Everlasting, also titled Tuck Everlasting.
Federle was born in Foster City, California, on March 24, 1980, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the setting for much of his fiction. Prior to his writing career, Federle appeared in the original casts of The Little Mermaid and Gypsy (2003 Bernadette Peters revival), as an actor, dancer and singer. He worked on the resident choreographic staff of Billy Elliot the Musical, serving as dance captain.
Works
In literature
Fiction
Better Nate Than Ever (2013, Simon & Schuster): Federle's debut novel for middle graders, Better Nate Than Ever, tells the story of 13-year-old Nate, who sneaks away from his home in Pennsylvania to audition for E.T: The Musical on Broadway. In a CNN article about the book, Federle said: "I think so often when you're a kid, we mellow out those more interesting edges in order to coast through middle school quietly. By the time you get to high school, you're left asking, who the heck am I? I would encourage kids to try and figure out the thing that sets you apart, not publicly but that you're passionate about internally." Nate was published to critical acclaim and has gone into multiple printings since its release. Described by the Huffington Post as "Judy Blume as seen through a Stephen Sondheim lens," and The New York Times as "inspired and inspiring," Better Nate Than Ever has been celebrated as unique for being a "book where teenage sexuality is treated with a light touch". The novel was an Amazon Best Book of 2013, a New York Times Notable Book of 2013, a Stonewall Book Award Honor Book, and a Lambda Literary Award finalist. The audio book was an Odyssey Award Honor Book, and was narrated by Federle. In 2021, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures announced a film adaptation of the book with Federle himself serving as both writer and director for the film. It was later announced that Better Nate Than Ever would debut on Disney+ in the spring of 2022.
Five, Six, Seven, Nate! (2014, Simon & Schuster): In December 2013, Entertainment Weekly ran an excerpt of Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, Federle's follow-up to Better Nate Than Ever. The sequel charts Nate's continued adventures in New York City as he navigates his role in the creation of a major Broadway musical. A Kirkus Reviews starred review called the novel an "Encore performance that will leave them standing in the aisles." Five, Six, Seven, Nate! was chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection, an Amazon Best Book of 2014, and an American Booksellers Association Best Book for Children. Federle won his second Odyssey Honor Book award for the audio book edition. Five, Six, Seven, Nate! was also a 2015 LGBT Children's/Young Adult LAMBDA Literary Award Winner.
Summer Days and Summer Nights (2016, St. Martin's Press): On March 3, 2015 young adult fiction author Stephanie Perkins announced on Twitter that she will be editing a forthcoming YA anthology, Summer Days and Summer Nights, featuring twelve new stories from bestselling authors Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith. According to a Publishers Weekly announcement, St. Martins Press is set to release the collection in summer 2016. The anthology is a follow-up to Perkins' My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, published to acclaim in 2014.