Andy Weir author photo
Image via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Andy Weir

Born: June 16, 1972 – Davis, California, United States

Andy Weir is an American science-fiction novelist whose work centers on hard science, space exploration, and problem-solving under extreme conditions. He is best known for The Martian, later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film, and for Artemis and Project Hail Mary, novels that helped make him one of the most widely read contemporary SF writers.

Biography & Author's Journey

Andy Weir grew up in California in a household shaped by science, read classic science fiction early, studied computer science and engineering at UC San Diego, and then spent roughly two decades working as a software engineer before fiction became his full-time career. That background gave his writing its defining structure. He tends to build stories the way an engineer builds systems: start with constraints, honor the physics, and let character emerge through problem-solving. Even after literary success, his public persona has remained closely tied to scientific curiosity rather than literary mythmaking. ((https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/interview-andy-weir/))

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Quotes

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I’m a nerd
-How science made me a writer
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Science creates plot!
-How science made me a writer
quote
There’s nothing better than knowing you’re going to outwit the reader
-How science made me a writer
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The most important thing in any book, especially a book that has one single, central character, is the reader has to identify with and care about and root for that character
-An Interview with Andy Weir
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I think that we are an awesome and amazing people as a species, and we accomplish incredible things
-An Interview with Andy Weir
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I wanted to write a story about the first human settlement off of Earth
-Colonizing the Moon
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Mostly it's just me and Google
-Andy Weir is back with Artemis
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For each of them to independently develop life, it just seemed to strain credibility
-Project Hail Mary Is The Martian, Again
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I suspect the first manned exploration will actually be sophisticated robots on the surface and humans in orbit
-How to Get to Mars ... And Maybe Even Live There
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The moon is made of moon bases with some assembly required
-Science Friday: How Andy Weir Engineered A Lunar City In Artemis

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Community Voices

"Andy Weir isn't just living a publishing dream. He may have also saved the space program in the process"

The Washington Post

"Author Andy Weir launched himself to massive success with a Mars survival tale"

Inverse

"Andy Weir is Mark Watney"

Ars Technica

"The Martian's Andy Weir Is All Buddy-Buddy With NASA"

WIRED

"Andy Weir, an avid science fiction fan and a space enthusiast, has always had a flair for research"

Observer

"The Martian' author Andy Weir aims for the stars with new sci-fi thriller 'Project Hail Mary"

Space.com

"Andy Weir's 'The Martian' was a huge hit. And now he's hoping he's not a one-hit wonder"

Los Angeles Times

"If there is a poet laureate of the 'you can just do things' crowd, it's novelist Andy Weir"

Reason

"The Martian' author Andy Weir: Private space travel is 'critical"

Engadget

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