Hugh Howey

Hugh Howey is a best-selling author and entrepreneur who has used his platform to empower other authors to create a successful and lucrative career as an independent published author. A passionate outdoorsman and former roofer, Howey has found success writing and marketing his own works. He is best known for his sci-fi self-published series Wool and its associated Wool trilogy.

Born in 1975 in Jupiter, Florida, Howey began his working life as a roofer. In 2010, he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of writing, signing up to a nanofiction site where he began to hone his craft. By 2011, he had written and self-published his novella Wool, introducing the reader to the evocative and dystopian world of the Silo and its inhabitants. Wool become a huge success, topping Kindle bestseller lists, being republished by a major publisher in both the United States and the United Kingdom and being optioned for film.

In 2012, Howey continued to use his platform of success to further benefit other independent authors. He used his blog to discuss the opportunities for self-publishing authors, detailing ways to make the most of their work and get the most out of their e-book sales. He set up a charity, the US Indies Initiative, which helps independent authors become long-term authors, with an emphasis on aiding those who are unable to purchase new electronic fields through traditional means.

Howey is a proponent of the audiobook, starting his own audio publishing company, Broad Reach. He is an active member of the audiobook community, regularly speaking on the PubCrawl podcast and at conventions like Audio Talks and doing panels with other popular authors and audio narrators. In addition, he narrates his own work and even has a series of audiobook bestsellers. He is also an outspoken advocate for authors’ rights, including participating in the Kickstarter campaign for the bestselling novel The Martian, where author Andy Weir and publishers Simon & Schuster shared profits with the crowdfunding backers.

In 2017, following the success of Wool, Howey released a companion series set in the same universe, entitled Sand. The novel continued to explore the thought-provoking themes familiar to Wool readers, such as the consequences of genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and the idea of a generation who will never know a world without the silo.

Howey’s life is rooted in both his home and his literary successes, his focus ever at the heart of giving other independent authors the same chance at success he achieved. He continues to spread the word of his works, hosting ever-popular book signings, lectures and book festivals around the US and beyond.

Hugh Howey is an independent author and entrepreneur who, since 2011, has used his platform of success to benefit other independent authors. Through his work, Howey has established himself as a successful author and audiobook narrator, as well as an advocate for independent authors and their rights. Wool, its associated Wool trilogy, and his 2017 novel Sand have received both critical acclaim and commercial success, proving that the world of self-publishing can indeed be a rewarding one.