Tim Federle 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