Andy Weir is an American novelist born on June 16, 1972. His 2011 novel The Martian was adapted into a 2015 film, and he received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2016. His 2021 novel Project Hail Mary was a finalist for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel and was adapted into a 2026 film.
๐ถ Early Life
Andy Weir was born in Davis, California, and grew up in Livermore, California. His father was a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and his mother was an electrical engineer. He was an only child, and his parents divorced when he was 8.
Weir grew up reading classic science fiction by Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. He attended Livermore High School and began working as a computer programmer for Sandia at age 15.
๐ Education and Career
After high school, Weir studied computer science at the University of California, San Diego, but did not graduate. He worked as a programmer for several companies, including AOL, Palm, MobileIron, and Blizzard, where he worked on Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
Weir was fired from Blizzard in 1995 for poor performance. He later complained that the company’s early structure did not provide adequate job training.
โ๏ธ Early Writing
Weir began writing science fiction in his twenties and published work on his website for years. He authored a humor web comic, Casey and Andy, from 2001 to 2008. He also briefly worked on another comic, Cheshire Crossing, from 2006 to 2008.
His first work to gain significant attention was “The Egg”, a 2009 short story. It has been adapted into YouTube videos, a one-act play, and is the overarching concept of a 2017 album by rapper Logic.
๐ The Martian
Weir wrote The Martian to be as scientifically accurate as possible, researching orbital mechanics, Mars conditions, human spaceflight history, and botany. Originally published as a free serial on his website, readers requested it on Amazon Kindle.
First sold for 99 cents, the novel made the Kindle bestsellers list. Weir was approached by a literary agent and sold rights to Crown Publishing Group. The print version debuted at No. 12 on The New York Times bestseller list in 2014.
๐ Later Novels
In 2015, Weir announced his second novel, provisionally titled Zhek, described as “a more traditional sci-fi novel with aliens, telepathy, faster-than-light travel, etc.” He later moved to another hard sci-fi novel, Artemis, set on the Moon in the 2080sโ2090s.
Artemis received mixed reviews. Weir considered a sequel but decided against it due to the lackluster reception. In May 2021, he released Project Hail Mary, which won the 2022 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year and was nominated for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
๐ฌ Adaptations and Other Work
The Martian was adapted into a 2015 film starring Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain. In 2017, CBS picked up a pilot written by Weir titled Mission Control. A film adaptation of Cheshire Crossing was announced in November 2019 from Amblin Partners and Walt Disney Pictures.
Ryan Gosling stars as Grace in the film adaptation of Project Hail Mary, with Lord and Miller directing. Lord and Miller also intend to direct Artemis in the future.
๐ Personal Life
In 2015, Weir lived in Mountain View, California, in a rented two-bedroom apartment. Due to his fear of flying, he never visited the set of The Martian film adaptation in Budapest. In 2015, with therapy and medication, he flew to Houston and San Diego.
Weir is married to Ashley Weir, whom he met while in Los Angeles to pitch a TV series. They have one son, born in 2021. Weir described himself as agnostic and his political views as fiscally conservative and socially liberal in 2012. He has mentioned having aphantasia.
| Novel | Year | Film Adaptation | Award/Nomination |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Martian | 2011 | 2015 | John W. Campbell Award (2016) |
| Artemis | 2017 | In development | Mixed reviews |
| Project Hail Mary | 2021 | 2026 | Hugo Award finalist (2022) |
| Cheshire Crossing | 2019 (graphic novel) | Announced | N/A |