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

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

, 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 ''Phantom 2040'' is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero ''The Phantom'', created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, ...

James Bond Jr. ''James Bond Jr.'' is an American animated television series based on Ian Fleming's ''James Bond'' franchise. It follows the adventures of James Bond's nephew, James Bond Jr. The series debuted in September 1991 and ran for 65 episodes bef ...

Little Shop ''Little Shop'' is a 1991 animated fantasy comedy television series that aired on Saturday morning cartoon, Saturday mornings on the Fox Kids, Fox Kids TV network, about a teenager and a giant talking plant. ''Little Shop'' was based on the 1960 ...

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 fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

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 assista ...

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

, and

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) 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 first created and in ...

. Gilden received an AAS in Physics from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, 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 ...

in 1970, and a BA in physics from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

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

Hour 25 ''Hour 25'' was a radio program focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and science. It was broadcast weekly on Pacifica radio station KPFK in Southern California from 1972 to 2000. In its heyday, ''Hour 25'' featured numerous interviews with famou ...

, on

KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commerci ...

radio in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

1981–1986. Gilden attended the

Clarion Workshop Clarion is a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight's and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, United States, it was founded i ...

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 (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 work, derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, Play (theatre), stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particula ...

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

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