Hugh Howey

Hugh C. Howey (born 1975 ) is an American writer. He is the author of the books Wool, Shift and Dust, that the science fiction series Silo (Apple TV) is based upon. He published the books independently through Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing system. Although he has since signed distribution deals with large publishing houses around the world, he has continued to maintain the publishing rights and direct control over all e-book publishing.

Personal life Howey was born in 1975 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was raised in Monroe, North Carolina. Before publishing his books, he worked as a book store clerk, yacht captain, roofer, and audio technician.

In mid-2015, Howey moved to St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He commissioned the construction of a sailing catamaran, on which he sailed from Cape Town to Australia. In November 2022, Howey married pilot and former model Shay Londre. They live in New York City.

Wool

Howey began the series in 2011, initially writing Wool as a standalone short story. His first book was initially published with a small press. After that, he decided to publish through Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing system because of the freedom of self-publishing. After the series grew in popularity, he began to write more entries for it. Howey began soliciting international rights in 2012, including signing a deal for Brazil. Film rights to the series were sold to 20th Century Fox; Lionsgate also expressed interest.

In 2012, Howey signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to distribute Wool to book retailers across the US and Canada. The deal allowed Howey to continue to sell the book online exclusively. He turned down seven-figure offers in favor of a mid-six figure sum, in return for maintaining e-book rights.

He has also signed publishing contracts with Random House Century UK for UK distribution of both his Wool and Sand series, published as novels of the same names.

Howey became closely tied to Amazon and Kindle Direct Publishing, and self-publishing as a leader. He opened up his Silo Saga to other authors, formalizing that effort when he signed with Kindle Worlds. Though authors like Fredric Shernoff (Atlantic Island), Jason Gurley (Eleanor), and Michael Bunker (Pennsylvania) all experienced some degree of success that can be attributed to Howey, Wool, and the Kindle Worlds project, nobody was able to replicate Wools success either through tie-in books or those authors' original stories.