Mel Gilden (born July 3, 1947) is a US writer of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

, predominately known for his ''Fifth Grade Monsters'', ''Zoot Marlowe'', ''Cronyn & Justice'', and ''Cybersurfers'' fiction series. Gilden has written numerous episodes for animated television programs, including The Mask: Animated Series, Phantom 2040, James Bond Jr., Little Shop,

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy television comedy, comedy puppet television series about interconnected so ...

Defenders of the Earth ''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assistan ...

, Centurions,

The Flintstone Kids ''The Flintstone Kids'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is an alternative incarnation of the studio's original animated series ''The Flintstones''. The series depicts juvenile versions of the main characte ...

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' (often referred to simply as ''He-Man'') is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show was one of the most popular an ...

, and

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...

. Gilden received an AAS in Physics from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

in 1970, and a BA in physics from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

in 1974. He was co-host of the science-fiction interview show, Hour 25, on

KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, which serves Southern California. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network. KPFK 90.7 FM be ...

radio in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

1981–1986. Gilden attended the

Clarion Workshop The Clarion Workshop is an American six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight's and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writer's Workshop, Milford Writer's Conference, held at their home in Milfo ...

in 1970, with his short story "What About Us Grils?" appearing in the first Clarion anthology.

Select Bibliography

Cronyn & Justice

* ''Dangerous Hardboiled Magicians'' (2011) * ''The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be'' (2012)

Cybersurfers

* ''Pirates on the Internet'' (1995) with Ted Pedersen * ''Cyberspace Cowboy'' (1995) with Ted Pedersen * ''Ghost on the Net'' (1996) with Ted Pedersen * ''Cybercops & Flame Wars'' (1996) with Ted Pedersen

Fifth Grade Monsters

* ''M Is for Monster'' (1987) * ''Born to Howl'' (1987) * ''The Pet of Frankenstein'' (1988) * ''Z Is for Zombie'' (1988) * ''Monster Mashers'' (1989) * ''Things That Go Bark in the Park'' (1989) * ''Yuckers!'' (1989) * ''The Monster in Creeps Head Bay'' (1990) * ''How to Be a Vampire in One Easy Lesson'' (1990) * ''Island of the Weird'' (1990) * ''Werewolf, Come Home'' (1990) * ''Monster Boy'' (1990) * ''Troll Patrol'' (1991) * ''The Secret of Dinosaur Bog'' (1991)

Star Trek Universe

The Starship Trap ''The Starship Trap'' is a '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' novel written by Mel Gilden. Plot While traveling to an important diplomatic meeting, the USS ''Enterprise'' is attacked by a Klingon warship. Managing to secure a truce, Kirk d ...

(1993) * ''Boogeymen'' (1991) * ''The Pet'' (1994) with Ted Pedersen * ''Cardassian Imps'' (1997)

Zoot Marlowe

* ''Surfing Samurai Robots'' (1988) * ''Hawaiian U.F.O. Aliens'' (1990) * ''Tubular Android Superheroes'' (1991)

Standalone Novels

* ''The Return of Captain Conquer'' (1986) * ''Outer Space and All That Junk'' (1989) * ''The Planetoid of Amazement'' (1991) * ''The Pumpkins of Time'' (1994) * ''Britney Spears Is a Three-Headed Alien'' (2001) * ''The Jabberwock Came Whiffling'' (2013) * ''The Accidental Time Cadet'' (2015) * ''The Coincidence Couch'' (2017)

Beverly Hills, 90210

Novelizations A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

of scripts from the television show. # ''Beverly Hills 90210'' (1991) # ''No Secrets'' (1992) # ''Which Way to the Beach?'' (1992) # ''Fantasies'' (1992) # ''Tis the Season'' (1993) # ''Two Hearts'' (1993) # ''Where the Boys Are'' (1993) # ''More Than Words'' (1993) # ''Summer Love'' (1993) # ''Senior Year'' (1993) # ''Graduation Day'' (1994) # ''College Bound'' (1994)

References

External links

* * American speculative fiction writers Living people 1947 births {{US-publish-bio-stub