Daedalus Howell (DAY-de-lus howl) is a writer and filmmaker who began his career in letters as a paperboy for his hometown newspaper. Since then, he’s clocked hundreds of bylines, written novels and screenplays, and created over 40 short films, music videos, branded entertainments, and conceptual art installations. His latest is the feature film Pill Head, which the Press Democrat says is “…Satirically off-the-wall…”
He is the author, most recently, of Quantum Deadline, a “…noirish, sci-fi-lite detective story with a heap of self-parody,” according to one critic. He’s written premium content for Medium, wine stories for Men’s Health, and produced arts coverage for the San Francisco Chronicle among other national and regional publications. Since 2019, he’s been the editor of the North Bay Bohemian and Pacific Sun. He blogs at daedalushowell.com.
In 2023, Howell’s second feature film, Wolf Story, is coming to a screen near you from FMRL.
Member of the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors.
Amazon Author Central | IMDb | LinkedIn | Muck Rack | Wikipedia
In the Media
Below are blips on the media radar either about my work or that I’m quoted within. If you’re a media maven interested in a chat, click here. Thanks! DH
Wolf Story Bites Into Post-Production
Lycan or not, werewolves are back. Meeting the moment, tooth and nail is writer-director Daedalus Howell with his upcoming campy horror-comedy Wolf Story, now in post-production. — Horror News Net
Pill Head — The Feature Film Art House Sci-Fi Comedy is…
A recent interview with Alex Ferrari, host of the Filmtrepreneur® Podcast, on “Selling Art House Films with the Regional Cinema Model with Daedalus Howell” — a free-wheeling, deep dive of a conversation.
‘Pill Head’ in Top 10 films made in ‘Backlot Petaluma’ — Horror Screams Video Vault
“Possibly the most bizarre film ever made in Petaluma…” — Petaluma Argus-Courier
“…Dives into the deep end of cinema’s absurdity pool with arthouse flair.” — North Bay Bohemian
“…Satirically off-the-wall…” — Press Democrat
“…Far outside mainstream movies…” — Marin Independent Journal
“…Mind-bending…” — Sonoma Valley Sun
“…Whimsical…Hitchcockian…Screened to a sold-out crowd (and a delirious standing ovation)…”—Petaluma Argus-Courier
Airport Bar in the Bohemian
Airport Bar invites the public to ‘acknowledge what it means to be trapped in the bureaucratic purgatory of international travel in the only place where humanity still feels as one when traveling,’ with drinks and whimsical fun.” — North Bay Bohemian
Stairwell Video Revives Lost VHS Rental Experience in Petaluma
This week, in honor of the end of the VCR, local conceptual artists Daedalus Howell and Karen Hell are hosting the nostalgic interactive art installation Stairwell Video.Read More
‘Spotlight,’ Wine & Deadlines
Thanks to pal David Templeton and the Pacific Sun for including me in a Talking Picture column about the film Spotlight and journalism in general. Naturally, I’ve pleased with Templeton’s namedrop of Quantum Deadline and his plug of my reading at The Depot.
…A kind of nourishing, comedic, satirical sci-fi mystery…
That’ll do, Temp. Thanks! In the meantime, I heartily encourage you to read the article to, in the very least, dig some J-school-worthy cheerleading of the trade and what we should demand as news consumers. Read More
Drinking, Weeping & Writing
“Playfully meshes stylistic conventions with a sardonic self-deprecating protagonist…Fast-paced…”
…says Bruce Robinson, a host at local NPR affiliate KRCB. Somehow, I managed to admit that my creative process amounts to drinking a bottle of wine and weeping.
Humor & Verve
It’s great when the local press throws you a bone – especially for a book that draws so much inspiration from its surrounding environs. But when a paper puts your book on its front page – well, suffice it to say, I’m over the moon. Special thanks to the North Bay Bohemian and editor Stett Holbrook for showcasing Quantum Deadline this week! Some of my favorite quotes:
“The Lumaville Labyrinth is hard to categorize. Let’s call it a noirish, sci-fi-lite detective story with a heap of self-parody that’s by turns poignant, witty and comic.”
“With humor and verve, the novel takes up some of the experiences and struggles within Howell’s personal and professional life.” – Stett Holbrook
Wonderful Blend of mystery, Science Fiction and Dark Comedy
Gotta love any review that has this line: “The offbeat references and extensive vocabulary don’t serve as off-putting, but rather paint a stunning portrayal of Howell’s stubbornly pretentious personality.” Bingo. The “blurb,” however, is this awesome bit:
“A wonderful blend of mystery, science fiction and dark comedy that keeps readers from putting the story down.” – Carly Fjeld, SciFi Bloggers
From an Alternate Universe
This piece was written by an intern at the first paper I ever worked at professionally. And, yes, it was awkward that the book is, in part, concerned with the suicide of a newspaper intern.
As the protagonist and setting of “Quantum Deadline” are enigmatically realistic, so is the bigger shift Howell said is happening at the center of Lumaville and of “Quantum Deadline” — the shift from print to online journalism. – Quinn Pieper, Petaluma Argus-Courier
Building a Celebrity Brand Through YouTube
Got tapped for some expert advice on the Personal Branding Blog:
“I think we’ll see more entertainment industry successes coming out of the YouTube fray once two points become accepted – that YouTube is now part of the entertainment industry and that it isn’t a means to an end, it is the end.” – Daedalus Howell
Red Wine Pills: Buyer Beware
Here’s a brief chat with Allison Aubrey of NPR’s Morning Edition wherein I riff on red wine and resveratrol.
Awards
2nd Place, Writing Category, California News Publishers Association, 2023. When San Rafael’s Bedrock Music and Video store announced the end of its 34-year run in early 2022, Pacific Sun editor Daedalus Howell penned an ode to yet another end of the video rental era noting that it “successfully delivers a rueful dose of nostalgia.”
Best Local Radio Show | Host Daedalus Howell and producer Takeshi Lewis’ The Morning Show (KSVY 91.3 FM), was voted “Best Local Radio Show” in the Sonoma Valley Sun 2017 Readers Poll.
Gold Adrian | In 2012, Howell and collaborator Raymond Scott Daigle won a Gold Adrian Award from Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) for achievements in marketing and public relations on behalf of their client the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau.
NNA | In 2011, Howell also won first place in the National Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest for “Best Humorous Column” for his contributions to the Sonoma Index-Tribune
CalTIA | The California Tourism Industry Association (CalTIA) awarded Howell first place for his Inside Sonoma series in October, 2008.
AAN | In 2007, Howell placed first in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ national “Altweekly Awards” for Food Writing/Criticism (circ. 60,000 or less) for his wine column in the North Bay Bohemian.