Wil McCarthy (born September 16, 1966) is an American science fiction novelist, president and co-founder of RavenBrick (a solar technology company), and the science columnist for Syfy. He currently resides in Colorado. Rich Man's Sky won the 2022 Prometheus Award. Beggar's Sky is a finalist for the 2025 Prometheus Award.
Wil McCarthy popularized the concept of programmable matter, which he calls wellstone.
Bibliography
Novels
Bloom (1998) Antediluvian (2019)
Aggressor Six Aggressor Six (1994) The Fall of Sirius (1996)
The Queendom of Sol
The Collapsium (2000) Nebula Award nominee. The Wellstone (2003) Lost in Transmission (2004)
Rich Man's Sky Rich Man's Sky (2021) Poor Man's Sky (2023) Beggar's Sky (2024) Thieves' Sky (forthcoming, July 2026)
Short fiction
StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted. TitleYearFirst publishedReprinted/collectedNotesWyatt Earp 2.02016Novella
"Amerikano Hiaika", Aboriginal Science Fiction, May/June 1991. "Dirtyside Down", Universe 3, 1994. "The Dream of Houses", Analog, November 1995.Appeared on the Locus recommended reading list. "The Dream of Castles", Analog, April 1997. "The Dream of Nations", Analog, October 1998. "Once Upon a Matter Crushed", Science Fiction Age, May 1999.Theodore Sturgeon Award Nominee.Became the first portion of The Collapsium. "No Job Too Small", Aboriginal Science Fiction, Spring 2001. "Pavement Birds", Analog, July/August 2002. "He Died that Day, in Thirty Years", Once Upon a Galaxy, 2002 "Garbage Day", Analog, December 2002.Became part of The Wellstone.
Non-fiction "Programmable Matter" (AKA "Programmable Matter: A Retrospective"), Nature, October 6, 2000. . "Ultimate Alchemy", Wired 9.10, October 2001 Hacking Matter (2003), "This Looks Like a Job for...Superatoms", IEEE Spectrum, August 2005
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Other media Radio plays I Love Bees, writer
Radio appearances Coast to Coast AM, "Programmable Matter", April 18, 2003 Coast to Coast AM, "Quantum Dots", April 26, 2004
References
External links WilMcCarthy.com
Wil McCarthy U.S. patents