James Erwin (author)

James Erwin
Born Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
Occupation Author
Genre history, science fiction

James Erwin is an American author. He has written several works of history and science fiction. He came to public notice by creating Rome Sweet Rome, a short story on Reddit which went viral and became the basis of a Warner Brothers screenplay.

Personal life

Erwin was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the University of Iowa. He currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa. In 2009, Erwin was a two-time Jeopardy! champion.[1]

As an author

Erwin's first book, a historical encyclopedia about secessionist movements in the United States titled Declarations of Independence, was published in 2007. He worked as a technical writer. He wrote a second historical encyclopedia in 2010 but it was never published due to the sale of the publisher, Facts on File.[2]

He came to public notice when he created the story Rome Sweet Rome; written in response to a question on Reddit, the story quickly went viral. Featured in national media, the story came to the attention of producer Gianni Nunnari, as well as the motion picture studio Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers bought a screenplay based on the short story, and Erwin became the subject of profiles and interviews in Wired Magazine, Time, FT, and other media.[3]

Rome Sweet Rome remains popular; it was later revealed that Apollo 18 screenwriter Brian Miller had been hired by Warner Brothers to write a second draft of the screenplay.[4]

Erwin parlayed his success into a Kickstarter campaign for his first novel Acadia.[5]

Aside from his fiction and full-length works, Erwin has contributed articles to over a dozen other historical encyclopedias. He is also a freelance writer for outlets like Wired, Mental Floss, Boing Boing, and Slate.com.[6]

Bibliography

Novels

  • (2014) Acadia

Nonfiction

  • (2007) Declarations of Independence: Encyclopedia of American Autonomous and Secessionist Movements
  • (forthcoming) Facts on File Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Actions

Short Stories

  • (2013) Rising Sun, in Europa Universalis IV: What If? the Anthology of Alternate History
  • (2014) The Khan, the Caliph, and the King, in Crusader Kings II: Tales of Treachery

Screenplays

  • (2012) Rome Sweet Rome

References

  1. ↑ "How One Response to a Reddit Query Became a Big-Budget Flick". Wired Magazine. March 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  2. ↑ "How One Response to a Reddit Query Became a Big-Budget Flick". Wired Magazine. March 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  3. ↑ "Interview: James Erwin On Selling 'Rome Sweet Rome' To Warner Bros". Screenrant.com. October 2011. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  4. ↑ "What Happens to a Reddit Thread When It Becomes a Hollywood Movie?". TIME. January 17, 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  5. ↑ "Acadia: A New Sci-Fi Novel from James Erwin". September 1, 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  6. ↑ "So I sold a Reddit reply to Warner Brothers a few years back: My first novel Acadia comes out today. AMA!". September 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
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