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

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which went viral and became the basis of a

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

screenplay.

Personal life

Erwin was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

. He attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. He currently lives in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. In 2009, Erwin was a two-time

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champion.

As an author

Erwin's first book, a historical encyclopedia about

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

movements in the United States titled ''Declarations of Independence'', was published in 2007. He worked as a

technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...

. He wrote a second historical encyclopedia in 2010 but it was never published due to the sale of the publisher,

Facts on File Infobase is an American publishing company, publisher of databases, reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent ...

. He came to public notice when he created the story Rome Sweet Rome, under the alias Prufrock451, in response to a question on

. The story quickly went viral. Featured in national media, the story came to the attention of producer

Gianni Nunnari Gianni Nunnari (born August 10, 1959) is an Italian American film & television producer and executive. Early life After completing his studies, he followed the footsteps of his father, Alexander Nunnari, and began his career in the film busine ...

, as well as the motion picture studio

. Warner Brothers bought a screenplay based on the short story, and Erwin became the subject of profiles and interviews in

Wired Magazine ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

, FT,

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, and other media. In 2013, it was revealed that Apollo 18 screenwriter Brian Miller had been hired by Warner Brothers to write a second draft of the screenplay. By 2018, the screenplay had been languishing in

development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...

for five years since the most recent script rewrite of 2013 and has yet to be picked up for further development. Erwin parlayed his success into a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign for his first novel ''Acadia''.

Bibliography

Novels

* (2014) ''Acadia'',

Nonfiction

* (2007) ''Declarations of Independence: Encyclopedia of American Autonomous and Secessionist Movements'', * (2012) ''Facts on File Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Actions'',

Short stories

* (2011) '' Rome Sweet Rome'' * (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

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erwin, James Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Writers from Iowa People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Contestants on American game shows Writers from Des Moines, Iowa University of Iowa alumni American science fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people)