Sean McMullen quit scientific computing to become a full time author in 2014. Prior to that, as an after-hours author, he established his international reputation with his pioneering steampunk novel Souls in the Great Machine, which was published in over a dozen languages, and won fifteen awards. He also came runner-up in the 2011 Hugo Awards with his novelette "Eight Miles." His six book children's fantasy series, The Warlock's Child, was jointly written with Paul Collins and published in 2015. He is currently a judge for the Norma Hemming Award.