Hugh Howey

Born in 1975, Hugh Howey spent the first 18 years of his life getting through the gauntlet of primary education. While there, he dabbled in soccer, chess, and tried to write his first novel (several times).

Out of school, Howey became fascinated with computers, repaired them for a brief stint, then moved to Charleston, SC and attended college. To save money, he purchased a small sailboat to live on, and nearly got himself killed bringing it down from Baltimore with a friend.

After his junior year of college, possibly out of fear of the real world, Howey left my safe little harbor and sailed South. He hopped around the islands for a while, went through two hurricanes, and spent the last of his cruising funds re-stepping his mast. It was time to head back to the States, where Howey began a career as a yacht captain.

This began an exciting phase of his life, traveling all over the East coast and Caribbean, from Barbados to Chicago. Howey worked on boats in New York, the Bahamas, even Canada. One of these adventures brought him together with his wife, who was able to lure Howey away from his vagabond ways, dropping anchor and buying a house.

Physically settled, his mind continued to roam, concocting adventures and whisking him off to fantastic places. Some of these tales seemed worth sharing, so he tapped into his love of books and decided to write them down. Howey's first stories detail the life of a character that he'd been mulling over for quite some time. Her name is Molly Fyde, and she draws inspiration from the awesome women in his life.

Howey's "Wool" series became a sudden success in the Fall of 2011. Originally just a novelette, the demand from Amazon reviewers sent him scurrying to write more tales in this subterranean world. The resulting "Omnibus" has spent considerable time in the Amazon top 100, has been a #1 Bestseller in Science Fiction on Amazon, and was optioned by Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian for a potential feature film. The story of its success has been mentioned in Entertainment Weekly, Variety, and Deadline Hollywood among many others.

When Howey's not writing, he like to go for hikes with his family, take a stroll on the beach, and keep up with his reading. He currently lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife Amber and their dog Bella.