Pierce Brown

Pierce Brown is an American science fiction author who writes the Red Rising series, consisting of Red Rising (2014), Golden Son (2015), Morning Star (2016), Iron Gold (2018), and Dark Age (2019). Pierce Brown grew up in seven different states. His mother, Colleen Brown, was the President and CEO of Fisher Communications and the Chairman of American Apparel's Board of Directors. His father, Guy Brown, is a former local banker.

Brown graduated from Pepperdine University, where he majored in political science and economics. After graduation, he worked a variety of jobs in politics and startup tech companies. Brown was working for the NBC Page Program in Burbank, California, and living in his former political science professor's garage when he sold Red Rising in 2012. Brown wrote six novels and faced rejection from over 120 agents before selling Red Rising. He wrote the novel in two months above his parents' garage in Seattle, Washington.

Red Rising, published in 2014, received widespread positive reviews and hit #20 on The New York Times Best Seller list. The 2015 sequel, Golden Son, hit #6 on the same list and was equally praised by critics. In 2016, Morning Star reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list in Adult Hardcover, Digital Book, and cumulative. It also reached #1 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

In February 2014, shortly after the release of Red Rising, Universal Pictures acquired the rights for a film adaptation in a 7-figure auction. Marc Forster is set to direct, with Brown writing the screenplay. Brown told Entertainment Weekly that after completing the original trilogy, "I took a meager little break, mostly to stretch my screenwriting muscles."

Brown announced a sequel trilogy in February 2016, to begin with the novel Iron Gold, in August 2017. A prequel comic book series, Red Rising: Sons of Ares, debuted in May 2017. Brown also noted the popularity of his novels among the LGBT community, saying, "It's amazing that they have found a home in these books ... All these lost souls in my books have connected with people, and I find it incredibly moving."