- Daniel H. Wilson
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For other people named Daniel Wilson, see Daniel Wilson (disambiguation).
Daniel H. Wilson 
Daniel H. WilsonBorn March 6, 1978
Tulsa, OklahomaOccupation Writer Nationality American Ethnicity Native American Alma mater Carnegie Mellon University University of Tulsa Period 2005 - present Notable work(s) How to Survive a Robot Uprising, Robopocalypse
danielhwilson.comDaniel H. Wilson (born March 6, 1978 in Tulsa, Oklahoma[1]) is a New York Times best selling author,[2] television host and robotics engineer. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. His most recent novel, published on June 7, 2011, is Robopocalypse.
Contents
Background and education
Daniel H. Wilson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, the eldest of two children. Wilson's father owns Howard's Auto Top & Body Shop and his mother is a nurse.
Wilson attended Booker T. Washington High School, graduating in 1996. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Tulsa in 2000, spending one semester studying philosophy abroad in Melbourne, Australia at the University of Melbourne. He completed an M.S. in Robotics, another M.S. in Machine Learning, and his Ph.D. in Robotics in 2005 at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His thesis work, entitled Assistive Intelligent Environments for Automatic Health Monitoring focused on providing automatic location and activity monitoring in the home via low-cost sensors such as motion detectors and contact switches. He has worked as a research intern at Microsoft Research, the Xerox PARC, Northrop Grumman, and Intel Research Seattle.
Writing
2005
Wilson's first book was published during his final year of graduate school in late 2005. How to Survive A Robot Uprising won a Rave Award from Wired and was optioned by Paramount Pictures. A screenplay was written by Tom Lennon and Ben Garant, and produced by Mike DeLuca. Mike Myers was attached to star;[3] however, the option eventually expired.
2006
In 2006, Wilson began as a columnist for Popular Mechanics magazine and is now a contributing editor, called the "Resident Roboticist".[4]
2007
In 2007, Wilson published Where's My Jetpack?. The book was a GQ Media Pick for 2007 and Simon Reynolds of Salon.com said: "The research is top-notch and fascinating... the best material entails a sort of archeology of stillborn or prematurely abandoned futures."[5]
Later in the year, Wilson made a two book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing Children's division, agreeing to deliver a humorous guide to sibling rivalry in Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown and then a middle reader that takes place in an abandoned robotic world, called A Boy and His Bot. In August 2007 (well before publication), Bro-Jitsu was optioned by Nickelodeon Movies (a subset of Paramount Pictures) and Wilson hired to write the screenplay.[6]
2008
Wilson followed up How to Survive a Robot Uprising with a sequel called How to Build a Robot Army. The book was optioned by Paramount Pictures and chosen by the American Library Association (ALA) as a 2009 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. The New York Post called the book required reading.[7]
Also in 2008, Wilson co-authored a humorous book with psychologist Anna C. Long, entitled The Mad Scientist Hall of Fame: Muwahahaha! (Citadel, 2008). In a blurb, Mike Myers, the actor of Dr. Evil fame, called it "An exhaustive study of the evil mind. A great book!".
2009
Wilson's first short story, called The Nostalgist, was published by Tor.com.[8]
In November 2009, Wilson sold his novel Robopocalypse to Doubleday, with Jason Kaufman (editor of Dan Brown, among others) coming on as editor. One day before rights to the novel were purchased, Wilson sold film rights to DreamWorks SKG, with Steven Spielberg officially signing on to direct.[9]
Robopocalypse was published on June 7, 2011 and the movie is slated for release in 2013.
2010
Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown was published in April, 2010. The book was delayed more than a year due to problems with the original illustrator.
In October 2010, How to Survive A Robot Uprising was optioned by Steve Pink (writer of the films High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank) and actor Jack Black.[10]
In November 2010, Wilson sold his novel AMP to Doubleday, again working with editor Jason Kaufman.[11] Film rights to the novel were sold to Summit Entertainment, with Alex Proyas (Dark City; The Crow; I, Robot) attached to direct.[12]
2011
Wilson's first novel, a middle reader called A Boy and His Bot, was published on January 4, 2011. The book, written for nine to twelve-year-olds, follows the adventures of a boy named Code Lightfall who discovers an abandoned world populated entirely by robots, including an "Atomic Slaughter-bot" named Gary.
His second novel Robopocalypse was published on June 7, 2011.
Television
Wilson hosted a series on the History Channel entitled The Works, which debuted on July 10, 2008. Ten episodes of The Works aired, in which Wilson explained the hidden workings of everyday items, including Sneakers, Guns, Beer, Garbage, Robots, Skydiving, Power Tools, Steel, Motorcycles, and Tattoos. He has also appeared as himself in Modern Marvels and Countdown to Doomsday.
Works
- How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion, humor (New York: Bloomsbury, 2005)
- Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived, humor (New York: Bloomsbury, 2007)
- How To Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Aliens, Ninjas, and Zombies, humor (New York: Bloomsbury, 2008)
- The Mad Scientist Hall of Fame: Muwahahaha!, humor (New York: Citadel, 2008)
- The Nostalgist, fiction (Tor.com, 2009)
- Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown, humor (New York: Bloomsbury Children's, 2010)
- A Boy and His Bot, fiction (New York: Bloomsbury Children's, 2011)
- Robopocalypse, techno thriller (New York: Doubleday, 2011)
- AMP, techno thriller (New York: Doubleday, 2013)
References
- ^ Dean, C: If Robots Ever Get Too Smart, He'll Know How to Stop Them. The New York Times, Feb 14, 2006.
- ^ Best Sellers - Hardcover Fiction. The New York Times, June 26, 2011.
- ^ Fleming, M: Myers leads Par 'Uprising', Variety, April 26, 2006
- ^ Wilson, D: Top 5 Robots That Own You, Popular Mechanics, October 1, 2009.
- ^ Reynolds, S: Back to the Future, Salon.com, May 12, 2007.
- ^ Fleming, M: Nickelodeon Strikes 'Bro-Jitsu' Deal Variety, May 16, 2007.
- ^ Heller, B: Required Reading, New York Post, Jan 13, 2008.
- ^ Wilson, D.H.: The Nostalgist Tor.com', Jul 1, 2009.
- ^ Fleming, M: Steven Spielberg Commits to Direct Robopocalypse Deadline Hollywood, Oct 22, 2010.
- ^ Anders, C.J.: A Robot Uprising Comedy from Jack Black and the Director of Hot Tub Time Machine, io9, Oct 22, 2010
- ^ Deahl, R.: A Hollywood Favorite Awaits his Publishing Moment, Publishers Weekly, Dec 20, 2010.
- ^ White, J.: Alex Proyas Nabs AMP: Another Daniel H. Wilson Cyber-tome Hits, Empire Online, Dec 2, 2010.
External links
- Daniel H. Wilson Official Blog
- How to Survive a Robot Uprising Official Website
- History Channel's The Works Official Website
- 2011 Interview on io9's Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast
- If Robots Ever Get Too Smart, He'll Know How to Stop Them book review in The New York Times February 14, 2006
- Par leads 'Uprising' Variety April 26, 2006
- Myers leads Par 'Uprising' Variety April 26, 2006
- Survive a Robot Attack interview on This Week in Science July 25, 2006
- 'Where's My Jetpack?' Looks for the Missing Future interview on NPR Weekend Edition with Scot Simon May 5, 2007
- Back to the Future book review in Salon.com May 12, 2007
- Nickelodeon strikes 'Bro-Jitsu" deal Variety May 16, 2007
- Required Reading book review in New York Post January 13, 2008
- Robots, Today and Tomorrow interview on Coast to Coast AM February 10, 2008
- What Happened to our Moonbases and Jetpacks? interview on NPR Weekend Edition with Liane Hansen July 19, 2009
Categories:- 1978 births
- Living people
- Writers from Oregon
- People from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- University of Tulsa alumni
- Carnegie Mellon University alumni
- American television personalities
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