# Adam Selzer

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{{short description|American author}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}}
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| name             = Adam Selzer
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| birth_place      = [Des Moines, Iowa](/source/Des_Moines%2C_Iowa), United States
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'''Adam Selzer''' (born July 13, 1980) is an American author, originally of young adult and middle grade novels, though his work after 2011 has primarily been adult nonfiction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Summary Bibliography: Adam Selzer |url=https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?130062 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=The Internet Speculative Fiction Database}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Adam Selzer |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Adam-Selzer/414230674 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Simon & Schuster |language=en}}</ref>

==Career==

Adam Selzer's first novel was ''How To Get Suspended and Influence People'', published in 2007 by [Random House](/source/Random_House). In 2009, it made national news after attempts were made to have it removed from the [Nampa Public Library](/source/Nampa_Public_Library) in Idaho;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2009/10/idaho_mom_protests_how_to_get.html|title=Idaho mom protests 'How to Get Suspended and Influence People' library book for teens|agency=Associated Press|date=October 22, 2009|website=oregonlive}}</ref> it was included in the [American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association)'s [Banned Books Week](/source/Banned_Books_Week) packet in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doyle |first=Robert P. |date=2010 |title=Books Challenged or Banned in 2009-2010 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/11213/8181 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=American Library Association}}</ref> 

His 2008 novel for younger readers, ''I Put a Spell On You: From the Files of Chrissie Woodward, Spelling Bee Detective'', was nominated for a Great Lakes Book Award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/books/great-lakes-book-awards/|title=2009 Great Lakes Book Award winners|website=The Ann Arbor News|date=2009-09-09|last=Rooney|first=Nicola}}</ref> It has been used as a teaching book for classroom reading.<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Put a Spell on You: From the Files of Chrissie Woodward, Spelling Bee Detective |url=https://school.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=13169 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=TeachingBooks |language=en-US}}</ref> 

A 2009 short film Selzer co-wrote, ''[At Last, Okemah!](/source/At_Last%2C_Okemah!)'', won an audience choice award at the 2009 Chicago Reel Shorts Film Fest as well as an Audience Award for Best Film at the 2011 [Bare Bones International Film Festival](/source/Bare_Bones_International_Film_Festival).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 6th Annual Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Fest |url=http://www.projectchicago.com/2009-festival |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20190605212307/http://www.projectchicago.com/2009-festival |archive-date=2019-06-05 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Project Chicago}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=At Last, Okemah! (Short 2009) - Awards |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1469249/awards/ |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=IMDb}}</ref>

His first nonfiction book for Random House was ''The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History'', published in 2009''.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-01 |title=THE SMART ALECK’S GUIDE TO AMERICAN HISTORY |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/adam-selzer/the-smart-alecks-guide-to-american-history/ |website=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> It was a [Junior Library Guild](/source/Junior_Library_Guild) selection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Smart Aleck’s Guide to American History |url=https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/the-smart-aleck-s-guide-to-american-hist-9780385906135j |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Junior Library Guild |language=en}}</ref> Critics have compared the humor to that of ''[The Daily Show](/source/The_Daily_Show)'' and [Mark Twain](/source/Mark_Twain).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.smartalecksguide.com/|title=Smart Aleck's Guides: Subversive Study Aids}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jacksonville.com/article/20100321/NEWS/801255273|title=Wacky U.S. history book will make trivia lovers chuckle|first=Lee|last=Scott|website=The Florida Times-Union}}</ref> It was nominated for a [YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction](/source/YALSA_Award_for_Excellence_in_Nonfiction) in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/nonfiction/2011noms|title=2011 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award Nominations|date=November 29, 2010|website=Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)|publisher=American Library Association}}</ref>

In 2009, Selzer's editor at Random House suggested he write a book based on a song Selzer had written in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-08-15 |title=Kissing Zombies and Blowing Up the World: An Interview with Adam Selzer |url=https://www.toasted-cheese.com/absolute-blank/kissing-zombies-and-blowing-up-the-world-an-interview-with-adam-selzer/ |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Toasted Cheese |language=en-US}}</ref> The resulting book, ''I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It'', was released in January 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-12-21 |title=I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It by Adam Selzer |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385735032 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> A follow-up (to both that book and ''I Put a Spell On You'') entitled ''Extraordinary*'' was released by [Delacorte Books](/source/Delacorte_Books) in 2011,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Extraordinary* |url=https://penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book/?isbn=9780375983580 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Penguin Random House Secondary Education |language=en}}</ref> the same day as Selzer published ''Sparks'' with [Flux Books](/source/Flux_Books) under the name SJ Adams.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sparks |url=https://northstareditions.com/flux/sparks/ |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=North Star Editions |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2013, ''Sparks'' was named a [Stonewall Honor Book](/source/Stonewall_Honor_Book),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morales |first=Macey |date=2013-01-28 |title=American Library Association announces 2013 youth media award winners |url=https://www.ala.org/news/2013/01/american-library-association-announces-2013-youth-media-award-winners |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref> as well as being placed on the [American Library Association Rainbow Book List](/source/American_Library_Association_Rainbow_Book_List).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-01-28 |title=2013 Rainbow Book List |url=https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/archives/1025 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Rainbow Book List |language=en-US}}</ref> 

In addition to his writing, Selzer works as a historian, tour guide, and ghost investigator in [Chicago](/source/Chicago).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-10-11 |title=Historian Adam Selzer on H. H. Holmes and His Murder Castle: Separating Fact from Fiction |url=https://scandalwaterpodcast.com/episode/historian-adam-selzer-on-h-h-holmes-and-his-murder-castle-separating-fact-from-fiction/ |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Scandal Water Podcast |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-09-03 |title=Interview with Adam Selzer |url=https://www.llewellyn.com/author_interview.php?author_id=4405&interview_id=49 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.}}</ref> In 2009, his first adult nonfiction title with a major publisher, ''Your Neighborhood Gives Me the Creeps'', told stories of his life and work as a ghost tour guide and as a skeptic in the ghost-hunting field.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prosser |first=Lee |date=2009-12-01 |title=Your Neighborhood Gives Me The Creeps: True Tales of an Accidental Ghost Hunter |url=https://ghostvillage.com/your-neighborhood-gives-me-the-creeps/ |website=Ghostvillage.com}}</ref> He previously worked for Weird Chicago Tours and Chicago Hauntings before founding his own tour company AdamChicago Tours.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABOUT ADAM |url=https://adamchicago.com/about-adam/ |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=AdamChicago |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2017, he released the first comprehensive biography of Chicago serial killer [H. H. Holmes](/source/H._H._Holmes).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-23 |title=H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil by Adam Selzer |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781510713437 |access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-04 |title=H.H. HOLMES |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/adam-selzer/hh-holmes/ |website=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref>

==List of works==

===Novels===
*{{Cite book |title=How to Get Suspended and Influence People |publisher=Delacorte Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-385-73369-4}}
*{{Cite book |title=Pirates of the Retail Wasteland |date=2008 |publisher=Random House Children's Books |isbn=978-0-385-73482-0}}
*{{Cite book |title=I Put a Spell On You: From the Files of Chrissie Woodward, Spelling Bee Detective |date=2008 |publisher=Delacorte Press |isbn=978-0-385-73504-9}}
*{{Cite book |title=Andrew North Blows up the World |date=2009 |publisher=Random House Children's Books |isbn=978-0-375-89375-9}}
*{{Cite book |title=I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It |date=2010 |publisher=Random House Children's Books |isbn=978-0-385-73503-2}}
*{{Cite book |title=Extraordinary: The True Story of My Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess |date=2011 |publisher=Delacorte Press |isbn=978-0-385-73649-7}}
*{{Cite book |title=Sparks |date=2011 |publisher=Flux |others=As S.J. Adams |isbn=978-0-738-73002-8}}
*{{Cite book |title=Play Me Backwards |date=2014 |publisher=Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers |isbn=978-1-4814-0102-9}}
*{{Cite book |title=Just Kill Me |date=2016 |publisher=Simon & Schuster BFYR |isbn=978-1-4814-3494-2}}

===Nonfiction===
*{{Cite book |title=Weird Chicago |date=2008 |publisher=Whitechapel Productions |others=With Troy Taylor and Ken Melvoin-Berg |isbn=978-1-89252-359-4}}
*{{Cite book |title=Fatal Drop: True Tales of the Chicago Gallows |date=2008 |publisher=Whitechapel Productions |others=As William Griffith |isbn=978-1-89252-362-4}}
*{{Cite book |title=The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History |date=2009 |publisher=Delacorte Press |isbn=978-0-385-73650-3}}
*{{Cite book |title=Your Neighborhood Gives Me the Creeps: True Tales of an Accidental Ghost Hunter |date=2009 |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |isbn=978-0-73871-557-5}}
*{{Cite book |title=Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Chicago h=History |date=2012 |publisher=Globe Pequot Press |isbn=978-0-7627-7291-9}}
*{{Cite book |title=The Ghosts of Chicago: The Windy City's Most Famous Haunts |date=2013 |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |isbn=978-0-7387-3611-2}}
*{{Cite book |title=Ghosts of Lincoln: Discovering His Paranormal Legacy |date=2015 |publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide |isbn=978-0-7387-4514-5}}
*{{Cite book |title=Flickering Empire: How Chicago Invented the U.S. Film Industry |date=2015 |publisher=Columbia University Press |others=With Michael Glover Smith |isbn=978-0-231-17448-0}}
*{{Cite book |title=Mysterious Chicago: History at Its Coolest |date=2016 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |isbn=978-1-5107-1342-0}}
*{{Cite book |title=H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil |date=2017 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |isbn=978-1-5107-1346-8 |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |title=Graceland Cemetery: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets |date=2022 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-05342-9}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selzer, Adam}}
Category:1980 births
Category:American children's writers
Category:Living people
Category:Novelists from Chicago

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Adam Selzer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Selzer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Selzer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.