Mark Peter Hughes (photo by Adam Fenster)
Mark Peter Hughes was born in Liverpool, England in the Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, the same hospital as John Lennon. His family moved to the U.S.A. when he was one year old and most of his childhood was spent in Barrington, Rhode Island. As a teenager he worked as a gas station attendant, fast food zombie, beach sticker enforcer, dishwasher (he was fired after only two days), clam factory worker, and movie theater usher, among other jobs. After college he fronted an off-kilter rock band in the Boston area.
In 2005, soon after the publication of his first novel, I Am the Wallpaper, Mark began working on a novel that tapped into his experience playing in oddball rock bands and working closely with others to make music and change the world. After reading the interwoven interviews of the fab four in The Beatles Anthology, Mark got the idea of writing his fictional high school band’s tale in a similar way—letting the five main characters tell their own stories in their own voices. In March of 2005 Lemonade Mouth was published to wide acclaim. It has now been made into a Disney Channel Original Movie, premiering on April 15, 2011.
Mark’s third novel, A Crack in the Sky
More fun facts:
Like Mo, Mark has always felt like he was from two cultures and yet didn’t quite fit into either.
Like Olivia, Mark carries secrets and can be shy about talking about his work.
Like Stella, Mark wants to change the world.
Like Charlie, Mark has sometimes struggled to find the courage to follow his own path. Mark talks about this in a National Public Radio commentary. You can listen to it here.
Like Wen, Mark loves to write music and can be oblivious about obvious things around him.
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Sample Interviews
Wzra TV, May 2011
Video Blogs
The new tween-edition of the Lemonade Mouth book, adapted by the author to be age-appropriate for middle-grade/ Disney-age readers, is now in stores! Get yours 
