Author David Gerrold Joins Donovan Street Press

Well, this is kind of exciting

Jan 29, 2025

Being the 49th edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press Inc.

Author David Gerrold Joins Donovan Street Press Inc.

We are super excited to announce that author David Gerrold has joined the growing ranks of Donovan Street Press Inc. authors. We will be publishing his short story collection Shadows and Reflections, to be edited by Ira Nayman.

I say “super excited” but that doesn’t even begin to describe it. I mean, holy cow, it’s David Gerrold! As Robert J. Sawyer writes in the intro to Gerrold’s The Man Who Folded Himself, this is a man who has “written words that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock” spoke. (I highly recommend Sawyer’s introduction to that book for a really informed and comprehensive take on David. More on that book in a bit.)

You may not know the name, but almost certainly you have seen David’s work. I’ll let him describe all that in his official bio below. Or you can just take a second and Google him now. It’s okay; I’ll wait.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I have been a fan of David’s work since about the age of six, which is probably when I began watching Star Trek. But he’s accomplished a great deal since then (again, I refer you to his official bio).

A little anecdote. As a big fan of time travel science fiction, I’ve made it a point to seek out the best time travel books, movies, and TV shows. One day I came across mmention of David’s book The Man Who Folded Himself. It was touted as one of the best books about time travel ever written. As Sawyer writes in the introduction, it’s “rigorous in its extrapolation and absolutely unflinching in its characterization.” It also challenges “people’s expectations of gender and sexuality,” as Mark Oshiro wrote of David in Lightspeed Magazine. It may be one of the first books he wrote that really delved into his own personal experience; readers will find this employed to great effect in Shadows and Reflections.

This was before the age of Amazon and social media. I could not find the book in any local bookstores. I had only just begun attending science fiction conventions, but I knew they typically featured vendors rooms in which you could generally find (among other things) someone selling a wide range of science fiction books. So, attending a Star Trek convention in Toronto, I popped into the vendor’s room to see if I could find a copy. Honestly, I figured the odds of what was essentially a travelling book store carrying a copy of this book to be close to zero.

I approached the first table I saw with a lot of books on it, and asked the vendor, “You wouldn’t happen to have a copy of David Gerrold’s The Man Who Folded Himself, would you?”

The vendor said, “Not only do I have the book, but the man who wrote it is standing right beside you.”

I turned to my left, and sure enough David Gerrold was standing right there.

I greeted him awkwardly, told him how much I was looking forward to reading his book, and he graciously signed it for me. That’s my copy below, with his signature. I don’t expect David remembers this; it would just be one fan encounter among many thousands, I’m sure.

(It has been pointed out to me that the odds of both David and his book being present at this convention were probably not as low as I’d thought; it was a Star Trek convention, after all. But I still think it was pretty darned cool.)

We don’t have a date for publication of Shadows and Reflections yet, but as soon we do, I will let you know. I can tell you with absolute certainty that it will be a terrific book, and I cannot wait to see it available for everyone.

Here’s David’s official bio:

David Gerrold has been writing science fiction for more than half a century. He has written for Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Babylon 5, Sliders, Land Of The Lost, and other SF television series.
His published works include The War Against The Chtorr series (A Matter For Men, A Day For Damnation, A Rage For Revenge, A Season For Slaughter), The Dingilliad Trilogy (Jumping Off The Planet, Bouncing Off The Moon, Leaping To The Stars), and The Star Wolf Trilogy (The Voyage Of The Star Wolf, The Middle Of Nowhere, Blood And Fire). His other novels include the Hugo-nominated When HARLIE WAS ONE, and the Hugo and Nebula-nominated The Man Who Folded Himself. His most recent novels are thirteen, fourteen, fifteen o'clock, Jacob, and Hella.
In 1994, Gerrold shared the adventure of how he adopted his son in The Martian Child, a semi-autobiographical tale of a science fiction writer who discovers his adopted child might be a Martian. The Martian Child won the science fiction triple crown: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus Poll. It was the basis for the 2007 film "Martian Child" starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet. (The book is better.)
Despite all that, David Gerrold is best known as the man who created tribbles for Star Trek, and Sleestaks for Land Of The Lost.

Hope of the Wasteland (Presale!)

I love this cover by Bibliofic Designs, illustrated by Erin Mahoney

What's scarier than a post-apocalyptic wasteland? 12-year-old Huey is about to find out.

It’s been two weeks and Huey’s father still hasn’t returned from a supply run to the Square.

His dad’s Number One Rule is posted on the wall of the bunker where they live: “HUEY DO NOT GO INTO THE WASTELAND ALONE” – and Huey has no desire to break the rules because that might set off his anxiety. But he’s running out of food... and what if his father is in trouble? It’s time for him to take action.

Huey sets out into the wasteland on a dangerous adventure where he'll face new challenges like mutants, giant scorpions, and most intimidating of all: a feisty, pre-teen girl named Hope.

Hope of the Wasteland is an engaging choice for readers who enjoy science fiction, humorous narratives, and stories set in the future. Ideal for kids ages nine and up, it appeals to both boys and girls, as well as adults who appreciate a well-crafted science fiction adventure. This book offers something for anyone seeking a compelling and imaginative read.

Podcast

Re-Creative: a podcast about creativity and the works that inspire it.

Featuring Episode 6 “O Lucky Man: It feels appropriate to feature this episode of our podcast today, featuring author and editor Ira Nayman, who is editing David Gerrold’s book for us.

It’s a wide-ranging and mind-bending conversation about the multiverse, theories of time travel, the nature of satire, and, of course, cannibalism.

Ira considers O Lucky Man! a “cinematic version of Candide.” Directed by Lindsay Anderson, and starring Malcolm McDowell, the film is the second in Anderson’s Mick Travis trilogy, but stands on its own. It’s the kind of movie that needs to be experienced, but IMDB says of it: “An ambitious coffee salesman has a series of improbable and ironic adventures that seem designed to challenge his naive idealism.”

Nayman informs the conversation with his breadth of knowledge about the history of media, his studies of the nature of satire, and his great sense of humor.

Ira Nayman on Re-Creative

All previous episodes are available online, comprising the first 3 seasons, over 60 conversations with creative people from all walks of life about the art stoking their imaginative fires.