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Homer Hickam

Homer Hickam

Master Storyteller & Best-Selling Author of October Sky

Homer Hickam is a legendary story-teller in the tradition of the people of the Appalachian Mountains where he was raised. He tells gentle, humorous stories of the people of Coalwood and his days as the original Rocket Boy. His appreciative audiences are laughing one moment and holding back tears the next. It is for this reason he was chosen to give the keynote address for the miners lost in the 2006 Sago mine tragedy. This address, broadcast worldwide, struck a chord with national and international audiences. Astonished at the sheer poetry of Homer’s heartfelt paean to the fallen miners, as well as working men and women everywhere, ...

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Bio

Full Bio

Homer Hickam burst onto the national scene in 1999 when his memoir Rocket Boys (aka October Sky) reached #1 on the New York Times best-selling list. The story of his life growing up in the little mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia, and especially his high school years when he built high-flying rockets, the memoir has gone on to become a classic. Rocket Boys is studied in hundreds of schools and colleges across the country as an important literary work, has been translated into eight languages, and picked by more American cities for their annual Community Reads than any other book. In short, Homer Hickam’s memoir, which was also adapted into the popular movie October Sky starring Jake Gyllenhaal as young Homer, has become an absolute phenomenon.

His 18th book, Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of a Man, his Wife, and her Alligator was published in October 2015. Carrying Albert Home tells the sweet, funny and sometimes heartbreaking tale of a young couple and their special pet on a crazy 1,000-mile journey.

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Topics

Topics

An Evening with Homer Hickam

Videos

Videos

Homer Hickam's Testimony
Rocket Boy Comes Home: A Q&A with Homer Hickam - November 5, 2021

Books

The Ambassador's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #2)
The Ambassador's Son (Josh Thurlow Series #2)
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The Far Reaches (Josh Thurlow Series #3)
The Far Reaches (Josh Thurlow Series #3)
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Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator
Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of A Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator
Read More →

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