Jeff Kinney plans sumo matches and boiling cheese for new book tour
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid creator will skip traditional Q&As in favor of physical comedy and audience participation this weekend.
By Sakura Novak ·
Author Jeff Kinney is trading standard book talks for sumo wrestling on his latest tour. The event, titled Fight or Flight, kicks off on October 26. Instead of sitting at a table to discuss his work, Kinney will settle scores with audience members on stage.
The tour promotes the 21st book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. In this installment, the protagonist Greg Heffley conducts a study on bullies. He maps their territories and hunting grounds to avoid them. Despite his research, Greg still faces the school's biggest bully. He must decide between fighting or fleeing to survive the year.
Kinney has kept specific details of the evening mostly secret. He confirmed that characters from other stories will appear. The Wicked Witch of the West and Bigfoot Jr. are expected to join the proceedings. The program includes sparring matches and a tank of boiling nacho cheese. Audience members will have the chance to join Kinney on stage for these activities.
Rainy Day Books is hosting the event. The organizer describes the night as a session of tomfoolery aimed at fans of the series. Kinney says he looks forward to seeing readers in person. He notes that he rarely gets this opportunity.
I don't get a chance to interact with my readers that often, Kinney says. This is my chance to see how they're reacting to the book and hopefully see their excitement. That's what motivates me to keep writing.
The series began with daily entries online in 2004. The first book published in 2007. Films followed starting in 2010. Kinney has spent nearly two decades creating stories about the Heffley family. Greg has dealt with renovation disasters, school closures, and family conflicts across 21 volumes.
Kinney believes there is always new material to explore in childhood. I think childhood is a big universe and there's always something undiscovered, he says. My own kids are grown, so it's been a while since I've been around elementary or middle school kids. But I get the feeling that things that were funny when I first started writing are still landing with kids these days.
Kinney plans to visit his favorite local bar, Wichita's Club Rodeo, during the tour. The venue is three hours away from his current location. He will have to settle for a stop at PBR instead.
