Joe Ballarini

Joe Ballarini is an American screenwriter, director, and novelist best known for his middle-grade adventure series A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, including A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting #3: Mission to Monster Island. He wrote the Netflix film adaptation A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, based on the first book in his trilogy. Ballarini’s earlier screenwriting work includes the cult zombie comedy Dance of the Dead, and he has contributed as a writer to animated and family projects such as Turbo, Epic, Ice Age, Scoob!, and My Little Pony: The Movie.

Born in Rhode Island and raised in Boca Raton, Florida, Ballarini moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a degree in film production, complemented by a minor in creative writing. His work frequently blends fantasy, horror, and comedy for younger audiences and families, and he continues to write for film and television while developing new genre projects.