California Writers Club Tri-Valley Branch Meeting, Saturday, May 16

Andy Weir shares his journey from self-published author to a print deal as the guest speaker for the California Writers Club Tri-Valley Branch on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton, 5115 Hopyard, Pleasanton.

Andy Weir was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martian is his first novel. It was originally self-published in 2011 after which Crown Publishing purchased the rights and re-released it in 2014. A science fiction novel, the story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars and must improvise in order to survive. It has been described as an Apollo 13 meets Cast Away. The Martian, a film to be directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, is scheduled for release in November 2015.

Andy compares himself to his story’s hero, Mark Watney, by saying he is on the same level of a smart-a**. “It was a really easy book to write; I just had him say what I would say. However, he’s smarter than I am and considerably more brave.” Find out more at andyweirauthor.com.

The CWC Tri-Valley Branch invites writers of all genres and experience levels to learn about their craft at its monthly meetings. The meeting will be Saturday, May 16, 2015, 2:00- 4:00 p.m. (registration at 1:30).The cost for CWC Members is $12, non-members, $17. Anyone interested in the program or the organization may attend with no obligation to join. Reservations requested by email to reservations@trivalleywriters.org no later than Wednesday, May 13, 2015

For more information about California Writers Club Tri-Valley Branch, contact Jordan Bernal at president@trivalleywriters.org or visit www.trivalleywriters.org.