Melinda Marilyn Snodgrass (born November 27, 1951) is an American
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
writer for print and television. In February 2021 Melinda was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual
Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.
Life
Snodgrass lives in
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
. In her spare time she is an
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
*Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
who competes in
dressage
Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...
competition.
Snodgrass holds a degree in history from the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
, as well as a law degree from the
University of New Mexico School of Law
The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1947, it is the only law school in the st ...
. Her experience as a lawyer informed the Linnet Ellery series she published under the pen name Phillipa Bornikova (''This Case Is Gonna Kill Me'', 2012; ''Box Office Poison'', 2013; ''Publish and Perish'', 2018, all by Tor Books).
Career
Snodgrass wrote several episodes of ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation''
while serving as the series' story editor during its second and third seasons. She has also contributed produced scripts for the series ''
Odyssey 5
''Odyssey 5'' is a Canadian science fiction television series, which was shown in 2002 on Space in Canada and on Showtime in the United States. The premise involves five space travelers who witness the destruction of the Earth; they are given ...
'', ''
The Outer Limits
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', ''
SeaQuest DSV
''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon for NBC. It aired between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was re ...
'', and ''
Reasonable Doubts
''Reasonable Doubts'' is an American police drama television series created by Robert Singer, which broadcast in the United States by NBC that ran from September 26, 1991, to April 27, 1993.
Synopsis
''Reasonable Doubts'' is primarily about ...
''; she was also a consulting producer on ''
The Profiler''.
She has also written
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novels and short stories, notably the ''Circuit'' trilogy and is the co-editor and a frequent story contributor to
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...
's long-running ''
Wild Cards
''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' shared world series.
Snodgrass helped recover a version of the award-winning ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "
The Measure of a Man" by saving an old
VHS cassette
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Magnet ...
.
This allowed a new version to be reconstructed from existing film shots, and an extended cut with 13 minutes of additional footage was released in HD in 2012.
Works
Television
'' Star Trek: The Next Generation''
* "
The Measure of a Man" (1989)
* "
Pen Pals" (1989)
* "
Up the Long Ladder
"Up the Long Ladder" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the syndicated American science fiction television show '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 44th episode overall, first broadcast on May 22, 1989.
Set in the 24t ...
" (1989)
* "
The Ensigns of Command" (1989)
* "
The High Ground" (1990)
''
L.A. Law
''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994.
The series cente ...
''
* "Dances with Sharks" (1991)
'' Beyond Reality''
* "Enemy in Our Midst" (1991)
''
Reasonable Doubts
''Reasonable Doubts'' is an American police drama television series created by Robert Singer, which broadcast in the United States by NBC that ran from September 26, 1991, to April 27, 1993.
Synopsis
''Reasonable Doubts'' is primarily about ...
''
* "FAP" (1992)
* "Silence" (1992)
* "Legacy" (1993)
* "The Ties That Bind" (1993)
''
The Outer Limits
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
''
* "
The Sandkings" (1995) (from a story by
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...
)
* "Living Hell" (1995)
Short stories
* Wild Cards series
** "Degradation Rites" (1987) in ''
Wild Cards
''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
''
** “Relative Difficulties” (1987) in ''
Aces High Aces High may refer to:
*Aces High (comics), ''Aces High'' (comics), a comic book series by EC Comics
*Aces High (video game), ''Aces High'' (video game), a combat flight simulator/massively multiplayer online game
*Aces High (film), ''Aces High'' ...
''
** “Mirrors of the Soul” (1988) in ''
Aces Abroad''
** “Blood Ties” (1988) in ''
Down and Dirty''
** “The Devil's Triangle” in ''One-Eyed Jacks''
** “Lovers Parts I-VI” (19) in ''Jokertown Shuffle''
** "Galahad in Blue" (2014) in ''Lowball''
* “The Wayfarer’s Advice” (2010) in ''
Songs of Love and Death'', anthology edited by
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...
and
Gardner Dozois
Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of '' The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fict ...
*"No Mystery, No Miracle" (2011) in ''
Down These Strange Streets
''Down These Strange Streets'' is an urban fantasy anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois and released on October 4, 2011.
Contents
* “The Bastard Stepchild” (Introduction) by George R. R. Martin
* “Death by Dahlia” b ...
'', anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
*"Written in Dust" (2013) in ''
Old Mars
''Old Mars'' is a "retro Mars science fiction"-themed anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, published on October 8, 2013. According to the publisher Tor Books, the collection celebrates the "Golden Age of Science Fiction", a ...
'', anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
*"The Hands That Are Not There" (2013) in ''
Dangerous Women'', anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Novels
''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''
* ''
The Tears of the Singers'' (1984)
Circuit
* ''Circuit'' (1986)
* ''Circuit Breaker'' (1987)
* ''Final Circuit'' (1988)
Stand-alone
* ''Queen's Gambit Declined'' (1989)
Wild Cards
''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
* ''Double Solitaire'' (1992)
The Edge
* ''The Edge of Reason'' (2008)
* ''The Edge of Ruin'' (2010)
* ''The Edge of Dawn'' (2015)
The Imperials Saga
* ''The High Ground'' (2016)
* ''In Evil Times'' (2017)
* ''The Hidden World'' (2018)
* ''Currency of War'' (2019)
* ''The Thucydides Trap'' (2023)
Writing as Phillipa Bornikova
=Linnet Ellery series
=
* ''This Case Is Gonna Kill Me'' (2012)
* ''Box Office Poison'' (2013)
* ''Publish and Perish'' (2018)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snodgrass, Melinda M.
1951 births
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American short story writers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
American science fiction writers
American women short story writers
American women novelists
Living people
Star Trek: The Next Generation
University of New Mexico alumni
University of New Mexico School of Law alumni
Screenwriters from Los Angeles
American women science fiction and fantasy writers
American women television writers
American television writers
20th-century American screenwriters
Novelists from Los Angeles
Pseudonymous women writers
21st-century pseudonymous writers