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Maureen Johnson

friend author · in 149 videos (2007–2025)

YA author, close friend and recurring guest; co-wrote Let It Snow, and her blog started the "in your pants" game.

Works: Let It Snow, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Suite Scarlett, Scarlett Fever, The Bermudez Triangle, Actual John Green, The Jubilee Express, The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Name of the Star, The Vanishing Stair, I Am a Very Dangerous Person

Speaks in 12 videos; this page lists what is said about them.

Videos by year: 2007: 55 · 2008: 24 · 2009: 11 · 2010: 12 · 2011: 8 · 2012: 3 · 2013: 18 · 2014: 1 · 2016: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2025: 1

Also known as: MJ, MoJo

Threads

Also named in the threads: Hank asks John and viewers what to do with his misprinted EcoGeek business cards (2007) · Hank's 'tiny chickens' illness bit (2007) · Hank asks viewers to put stuff on their heads (2007) · Stuff on Heads: viewers send pictures and videos of stuff on their heads (2007) · Hank: embarrassing moment sock puppet theater (2007 punishment) · Top Secret Project: Nerdfighters' birthday greetings for Hank (2007) · John: return to defending intellectual freedom on Brotherhood 2.0 next week (2007) · John's 'the puff' stress habit (2007) · John asks what the opposite of a nerdfighter is (2007) · Tour de Nerdfighting 2008 edition · John secretly signs a book in a bookstore (2008) · Paper Towns Tour (2008) · LeakyCon 2009 edition · John's 'giant squid of anger' (2009) · P4A 2009 edition · Vlogbrothers in 2010: the channel's end-of-year reinvention (2009) · The Harry Potter Alliance's Helping Haiti Heal raffle (2010) · Nerd Factor 2013 edition · John: return to vlogbrothers from paternity leave on July 30 (2013) · NerdCon: Stories 2016 edition · Looking for Alaska limited series on Hulu (2018) · John: the Looking for Alaska Hulu series will really happen this time (2018)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

Let It Snow (13) · in your pants (12) · Paper Towns (14) · Julie Strauss-Gabel (3) · Peanut Butter Face (2) · Brotherhood 2.0 (8) · New York City (6) · made of awesome (3) · Stuff on Heads (2) · Punishment (5)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2007

Also named in: Brotherhood 2.0: January 16, 2007

2008

  • 2008-02-11 (said on 2008-02-12, implied) · Nerdfighters Blurbing Book Club! — recommendation: Hank picks Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes as the first book, fitting since it is a Nerdfighter's book. (hedged) — 00:02:00
  • 2008-02-26 · Best Wishes! — ask: John: To take part in the Blurbing Book Club and maybe win prizes, Nerdfighters must write a blurb of 13 Little Blue Envelopes in 10 words or less and post it as a Ning blog post by Sunday (2 March 2008) midnight. — 00:02:12
  • 2008-03-15 (said on 2008-03-14, implied) · Ruins, LOLBooks, and the Blurbing Book Club — announcement: John announces the winner of the first Nerdfighter Blurbing Book Club: a blurb that is an anagram of Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes. — 00:01:30
  • 2008-05-05 · A HORRIFYING OVERSIGHT!!!! — announcement: John: Nerdfighters in or near Grand Rapids, Michigan can hear John, Maureen Johnson and Hank talk at a library on Thursday at 6:30. — 00:01:47
  • 2008-05-11 · Nerdfighting IRL — Hank recounts that the turnout expected at the Kent library grew from a misheard 16 to 60; about 75 were there on arrival and 97 Nerdfighters by the end, in a very small room. — 00:00:00
  • 2008-08-05 · Everyone's Your Friend… — announcement: Hank announces he will be at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square at 6 o'clock the next day with special guest Maureen Johnson, who will sign her books bought there. — 00:00:46
    • Hank says they are holding the event because the Barnes & Noble in Manhattan apparently doesn't think John Green can draw a crowd, so this unsanctioned gathering will show that Nerdfighters can. (hedged) — 00:01:45
    • Hank asks viewers who want to help to come to the Barnes & Noble in Union Square at 6 o'clock the next day, which he confirms is August 6. — 00:01:45
  • 2008-08-12 · Eight Days of Awesome — Hank: The next day (6 August 2008) Hank and about 50 Nerdfighters flash-mobbed a Barnes & Noble store after a short announcement, then hung out across the street. — 00:01:09
  • 2008-09-04 · Paper Towns Tour Dates! — announcement: John announces an October 16 New York launch party for Paper Towns' release with Hank, their parents, the Yeti, Maureen Johnson and other authors; Julia Nunes is floated as a 'rumor'. — 00:01:12
  • 2008-09-25 (said on 2008-09-24, implied) · Obama llama Duck — announcement: Hank says he and John, still following the presidential campaigns, are both taking part in YA for Obama, where authors for young people write why they are voting for Obama. — 00:02:41
  • 2008-10-09 · Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow — announcement: Hank announces that Let It Snow, with stories by John, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, is available now, and teases John's top billing, which is alphabetical. (playful) — 00:01:20
  • …and 23 statements more in 2008 — all statements of 2008

2009

  • 2009-02-08 · All Aboard the Fail Boat — John says Nerdfighteria takes the attack on women's pants personally: the in-your-pants book-title joke is funny, a hoopskirt designed to rob women of power is not, and Williamson will not take his in-your-pants jokes. (playful) — 00:01:33
  • 2009-04-21 · Question Tuesday — recommendation: John recommends Maureen Johnson's brilliant Suite Scarlett, out in paperback in a few days, as a way to get her to like you (or become a puppy). (playful) — 00:02:04
  • 2009-04-28 · 10 Book Reviews in 4 Minutes — recommendation: Hank, who only just read Maureen Johnson's The Bermudez Triangle, can't believe people wanted to ban it; it should be required high-school reading, the best portrayal of friendship and sexuality he has read. — 00:02:13
  • 2009-06-01 · DFTBA Street Team In Your Pants — Maureen Johnson says she, John and E. Lockhart used to write together every day in a café. — 00:00:44
    • Maureen Johnson: As E. Lockhart sought a title for what became The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Maureen, staring at John's cream cheese, proposed adding 'in your pants' to any title; Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines came first. (playful) — 00:02:00
  • 2009-07-26 · Volunteering (In Your Pants) — John recounts that he and Maureen Johnson discovered in a coffee shop that adding 'in your pants' to book titles makes them funnier, and runs through examples. (playful) — 00:00:37
  • 2009-10-06 · Victoria Beckham In Your Pants — John restates the 'in your pants' rule: adding the words to the end of a book title often makes it funnier, and Nerdfighters keep finding examples, the last being 'Pooh Gets Stuck'. (playful) — 00:00:00
    • John says a Nerdfighter may have found an even better example: Victoria Beckham's book 'That Extra Half an Inch', subtitled 'Hair, Heels, and Everything in Between'. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:32
  • 2009-11-25 · Things I'm Not Thankful For — announcement: Hank congratulates John on Let It Snow, his book with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, becoming a New York Times bestseller, and recommends it as a wintertime 'romp'. — 00:03:06
  • 2009-12-06 · LOSERS!!!! — John thanks 'our secret brother' Dan Brown (pogobat), who made about 20,000 phone calls during the challenge, including to a trailer park, a Ben & Jerry's and a prison guard. — 00:01:54
  • 2009-12-20 · Awesome Project Is Awesome — John thanks the livestream hosts, from Maureen Johnson and Natalie Tran to several Five Awesome Girls, Liz, Karen Kavett and Alan of Fall of Autumn Distro, and the 2009 logo designer. — 00:01:22
  • 2009-12-27 · How To Be a Nerdfighter: A Vlogbrothers FAQ — John says 'in your pants' was discovered by Maureen Johnson: adding it to book titles makes them funnier, e.g. The Sun Also Rises and A Spot of Bother. (playful) — 00:02:38
  • …and 5 statements more in 2009 — all statements of 2009

2010

  • 2010-01-22 · ThisIsNotJohn — announcement: Maureen Johnson introduces herself and says she will be filling in for John while he is off being a father, for the next few days or weeks. — 00:00:00
  • 2010-01-27 · Boobs and the iPad — Maureen Johnson: At the end of last year (2009) she persuaded her publisher to give away free e-books of Suite Scarlett for a couple of weeks. — 00:01:23
    • Maureen Johnson: Maureen thinks there is a huge benefit to giving away free books and materials whenever possible. (hedged) — 00:01:23
    • Maureen Johnson: Like John, she thinks the coming revolution of e-books and other ways of delivering books will radically change the way we read, and we have to embrace it. (hedged) — 00:01:53
  • 2010-02-03 (said on 2010-02-04, implied) · Win The Awesomest Prizes EVAR! — announcement: Hank says John and Maureen will each write a 1,000-word short story on any topic the raffle winner chooses. — 00:01:46
  • 2010-02-05 · DARE TO SUCK — Maureen Johnson: Asked by a viewer afraid of sucking at writing, Maureen tells nerdfighters, who want to decrease world suck, that they should instead dare to suck. (playful) — 00:00:27
    • Maureen Johnson: Maureen says beginners will suck a lot and for a while, and feeling it is a sign they are on the right path, because learning anything means sucking at it. — 00:00:59
    • Maureen Johnson: Maureen says John is taking one more week of paternity leave with baby Henry (joking he will then make Henry get a job), so she fills in on Wednesday before John returns. (playful) — 00:03:25
  • 2010-02-10 · HOW TO GET AN AGENT — Maureen Johnson: Answering viewers who asked how a book gets published, Maureen finishes her writing series: once you have finished your work, what you need next is an agent. — 00:00:34
    • Maureen Johnson: Maureen says an agent represents you in publishing; almost every author has one because editors usually read nothing unsolicited, only what comes from agents. — 00:01:03
    • Maureen Johnson: Maureen says you get an agent by writing a one-page query letter, which must be clean, flawless and fascinating because it is your only shot at their attention. — 00:01:03
    • Maureen Johnson: Maureen relays that her agent received 3,500 query letters last year (2009) and took two clients from them. — 00:01:32
  • …and 44 statements more in 2010 — all statements of 2010

Also named in: Name My Dog!, The iPad and Dolphin Murder, 8 Things I Love

2011

2012

  • 2012-01-02 · Changes to Vlogbrothers — John says five years ago he would never have guessed there would be a Nerdfighteria, a Project for Awesome, In Your Pants jokes or an Evil Baby Orphanage (which still doesn't exist but should). — 00:00:00
  • 2012-06-19 · Solving Your Problems! — recommendation: John: To find local Nerdfighters, John points to Facebook, the Ning and Your Pants, where there are many location-specific Nerdfighter groups. (playful) — 00:03:16
  • 2012-08-14 · To Be Anything At All: Thoughts from Places, Chicago and LeakyCon 2012 — John: After time with author friends including Maureen Johnson, John read at the 'I Was a Teenage Author' panel a story about an injured firefly he wrote for his high-school literary journal. — 00:01:02

2013

  • 2013-04-02 · TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video — announcement: John says he will take a four- or possibly five-week paternity leave from Vlogbrothers and everything else, except probably Tumblr. (hedged) — 00:02:26
  • 2013-05-07 · The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour — announcement: John says he will soon be on paternity leave, but the things made in the office will continue to be made while he is away. — 00:02:51
  • 2013-05-28 · NERD FACTOR! (...And Why I Fear for Tumblr) — announcement: John names Nerd Factor winners MagicTurtle643 and Nerdy and Quirky, who will stand in for him on Tuesdays during his paternity leave. — 00:01:27
  • 2013-06-04 · A New Nerdfighter Baby — announcement: John: During the leave there will be a Crash Course US History video every Thursday, a mental floss video every Wednesday, and Swindon Town Swoodilypoopers FIFA games every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. — 00:00:55
    • Every Tuesday there will still be a 'John video' on vlogbrothers, with John played by others: Hannah Hart, Grace Helbig, Craig (WheezyWaiter), Maureen Johnson and two Nerd Factor winners. — 00:01:25
  • 2013-06-11 · How To Be John Green — announcement: Craig Benzine: Asked (in his own made-up question) when John is coming back, Craig is not sure, but says it will be a bunch of weeks with different people hosting each week. (hedged) — 00:02:19
  • 2013-07-09 · The World Needs More Magic — MagicTurtle643 introduces himself as one of the two Nerd Factor winners chosen to fill in for John during his paternity leave. — 00:00:00
  • 2013-07-16 · The Ghost of Teenaged Future — Sabrina Cruz: Sabrina introduces herself as the other Nerd Factor winner, known as NerdyandQuirky, and says that, following the pattern of previous videos, she is not John. — 00:00:03
  • 2013-07-19 · TFiOS Movie, Bees, Babies, and More! — announcement: John says he won't be back next Tuesday (23 July 2013), when viewers will see his secret sister Maureen, but the following Tuesday, which he thinks is July 30th. (hedged) — 00:03:30
  • 2013-07-23 · Watermelon Internet Trolls — Maureen Johnson says she is filling in for John Green because once again he has contributed to the birth of a human child. — 00:00:01
    • Maureen Johnson: To those who dismiss the internet as porn and animated GIFs, she replies that maybe so, but in their youth they also didn't join a political discussion with a thousand people. (playful) — 00:00:37
    • Maureen Johnson: She says we can and indeed have to talk about difficult things where our opinions differ wildly. — 00:01:54
  • …and 32 statements more in 2013 — all statements of 2013

2014

  • 2014-07-18 · EVERY VLOGBROTHERS PUNISHMENT! — Hank: In 2013 Grace Helbig became the first non-brother punished, for a video over four minutes during John's paternity leave; though it was unclear the rules applied to her, she slapped herself. — 00:02:46

2016

  • 2016-07-01 · So, I Ruptured Both my Eardrums! (Also, NerdCon: Nerdfighteria) — announcement: Hank: Guests include Charlie McDonnell, Maureen Johnson, the Perfect Strangers, George Watsky, Meghan Tonjes, Emily Graslie, Lindsay Doe and four of the Five Awesome Girls. — 00:02:52
  • 2016-07-29 · Thoughts from Comic-Con (NO MORE CHEETO MEDIA!) — announcement: Hank says John will be at NerdCon: Stories, along with guests including John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dylan Marron, M. T. Anderson, John Darnielle, Maureen Johnson and Patrick Rothfuss. — 00:03:23
  • 2016-11-14 · Who the Eff Is Hank? — Craig Benzine: Craig recalls that a few years ago he filled in for John, doing his best impression of him, and says it was well received. (playful) — 00:00:13
  • 2016-12-02 · Logging Off — Rosianna Halse Rojas: Rosianna introduces herself as John's producing partner, John and Hank's secret sister, a YouTuber and an avid user of the internet. — 00:00:02

Also named in: Decathlons, Pretension, and the Weirdest Animal I've Met: It's Question Thursday

2017

  • 2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — The description says John stuck his bare hand into a jar of peanut butter, Maureen Johnson had to leave the stage from queasiness, and Hank avoided puking in front of 3,500 Nerdfighters. — video description
    • Maureen Johnson protests that this was not in her contract and says, not joking, that she is legitimately queasy. (playful) — 00:02:33
  • 2017-11-03 · Because We're Here — John recalls the first time he saw Hank play in front of a crowd: 45 people in Grand Rapids, Michigan, almost a decade ago (May 2008). — 00:00:13

2018

2019

2022

  • 2022-10-06 · The Pizzamas Magic Is Almost Over… — John: Asked by Maureen Johnson how she should write a book, John says he doesn't know: she has written many more books than he has. — 00:03:17
    • John recalls Maureen writing Suite Scarlett across the table while he wrote Paper Towns, at a New York City cupcake restaurant where they paid $2 for coffee and stayed six hours. — 00:03:17

2023

  • 2023-12-24 · John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated — both: A Nerdfighter dictionary lightning round defines puppy-sized elephants, stuff on heads, French the llama, puff levels, Decepticons, the Giant Squid of Anger, tiny chicken disease, secret siblings, in your pants and the gang sign. — 02:18:41
    • John shows a day on the 2008 tour: early alarm, minivan drives, BlogTV broadcasts from the van, and arriving in Pittsburgh to face Maureen Johnson. — 02:31:52

2024

  • 2024-10-02 · What I learned from the weirdest day of my life — Hank: On one of the weirdest days of his life, in New York in 2008, just after his first Nerdfighter gathering and wearing a fan-made Nerdfighteria shirt under his suit, Hank made a deal to sell EcoGeek to Scientific American for money and a job. — 00:00:29

2025