
Meet Homer Hickam
Winner of the prestigious University of Alabama’s Clarence Cason Award and the Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Award for his memoirs and fiction plus many other writing awards including an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Marshall University, Homer Hickam is probably best known for his # 1 New York Times best-selling memoir Rocket Boys which was adapted into the ever-popular movie October Sky.
Home of the Rocket Boys
Homer Hickam’s short article about his life as a young boy growing up in Coalwood, WV and aspiring to be a rocket scientist was called “The Big Creek Missile Agency” and was written for Air & Space Magazine in 1994. It received so much acclaim and interest, he was asked to write a book detailing the whole story. Rocket Boys: A Memoir was published by Delacorte Press in September 1998 and the movie based on it, October Sky premiered nationwide on his birthday February 19, 1999. The title of the paperback released at the same time was changed to the movie title, which is an anagram of Rocket Boys! It is also available in abridged audio book, electronic book, large print and is a Reader’s Digest Condensed Book.
Rocket Boys has been translated into eight languages and has received many awards. It was selected by the New York Times as one of its Great Books of 1998 and was an alternate Book-of-the-Month selection for both the Literary Guild and Doubleday book clubs. It was also nominated by the National Book Critics Circle as Best Biography of 1998.
Books by Homer Hickam include
- Carrying Albert Home, October 2015
- Crater Trueblood and the Lunar Rescue Company, June 2014
- From Rocket Boys to October Sky, Kindle Single and print copy 2013
- Crescent (a Helium-3 series) June 2013
- Paco: The Cat Who Meowed in Space, Kindle Single 2012
- Crater (a Helium-3 series) 2012
- The Dinosaur Hunter, 2010
- My Dream of Stars (with Anoushe Ansari) 2010
- Red Helmet, 2008
- The Far Reaches, 2007
- The Ambassador’s Son, 2005
- The Keeper’s Son, 2003
- We Are Not Afraid, 2002
- Sky of Stone, 2001
- The Coalwood Way, 2000
- Back To The Moon, 1999
- Rocket Boys/October Sky, 1998
- Torpedo Junction, 1989
Learn more about Homer Hickam and his books at homerhickam.com
