12 Facts About Ernest Cline

Ernest Christy Cline was born on March 29,1972 and is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter.

Ernest Cline wrote the novels Ready Player One, Armada, and Ready Player Two and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg.

Ernest Cline worked in information technology in his twenties and worked on screenwriting during his spare time.

Ernest Cline co-wrote the screenplay for Fanboys, based on a storyline he had developed in the late 1990s while his mother was dying of cancer.

Ernest Cline shot some low-budget scenes himself and shared his screenplay draft with Harry Knowles, whose connections in the film industry helped Ernest Cline get the film produced.

From 1997 to 2001, Ernest Cline performed his original work at Austin Poetry Slam venues.

Ernest Cline was the Austin Poetry Slam Champ in 1998 and 2001 and competed on the Austin Poetry Slam Teams at the 1998 Austin National Poetry Slam and the 2001 Seattle National Poetry Slam.

In 2001, Cline self-published a chapbook collection of his spoken-word writing, The Importance of Being Ernest, and released an album, The Geek Wants Out.

In June 2010, Ernest Cline sold his first novel, Ready Player One, a book that takes place in a dystopian vision of the 2040s.

Ten months later, with the hardcover release coinciding with the paperback release, Ernest Cline revealed on his blog that both the paperback and hardcover editions of Ready Player One contain an elaborately hidden Easter egg.

Ernest Cline revealed that the competition's grand prize would be a 1981 DeLorean.

From 2003 to 2013 Ernest Cline was married to author Susan Somers-Willett, with whom he has one daughter.