Keith DeCandido


Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, martial artist, and musician, who works on comic books, novels, role-playing games and video games, including numerous media tie-in books for properties such as Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Andromeda, Farscape, Leverage, Spider-Man, X-Men, Sleepy Hollow, and Stargate SG-1.

Early life

DeCandido was born in the Bronx in New York City, the son of Robert L. DeCandido and GraceAnne Andreassi DeCandido. He claims to have been a Star Trek fan even before his birth, as his parents were fans of Star Trek: The Original Series.
DeCandido attended New Rochelle Academy and Halstead School, and then Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx before attending Fordham University. While attending Fordham University, DeCandido worked as an editor and writer of one of the college newspapers, called simply the paper.

Career

After graduation, DeCandido worked as editor at several publishing companies, most notably for the various book packaging companies owned by Byron Preiss. Along with John S. Drew, in the 1990s he co-produced a public-access television cable TV show in Manhattan about science fiction called The Chronic Rift, which he also co-hosted. DeCandido and Drew and others revived the show as a podcast in 2008. DeCandido also used to host his own monthly podcast, Dead Kitchen Radio, on hiatus as of February 2019.
While DeCandido spent much of the early part of his writing career penning Star Trek fiction, he has written tie-ins for other popular sci-fi and fantasy series as well, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1, Sleepy Hollow, Farscape, and Leverage as well as comic books, movies, role-playing games, and video games. He has also written fiction in universes of his own creation: Dragon Precinct and its sequels, a high-fantasy police procedural; urban fantasy short stories set in Key West about a weirdness magnet named Cassie Zukav, who learns she is a Dís; the Adventures of Bram Gold, urban fantasy novels set in the Bronx; Super City Cops, novels, novellas, and short stories featuring cops in a city filled with superheroes; and Supernatural Crimes Unit: NYPD, an urban fantasy series debuting in 2025 from the Weird Tales Presents imprint of Blackstone Publishing.
He has also edited or co-edited various anthologies, including OtherWere, Urban Nightmares, Imaginings, Double Trouble: An Anthology of Two-Fisted Team-Ups, The Four ???? of the Apocalypse, the Doctor Who collection Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, and the Star Trek anthologies New Frontier: No Limits, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table. Among his other editorial accomplishments include editing the Marvel novels published by Berkley Books from 1994-2000 and the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series of monthly eBook novellas from 2000-2008. He continues to do freelance editorial work for personal clients.
In 2009, DeCandido was named Grandmaster by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.
He has written rewatches for Reactor Magazine since 2011, including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate, Batman 1966, "4-Color to 35-Millimeter: The Great Superhero Movie Rewatch," about every live-action superhero movie based on a comic book, and Babylon 5. DeCandido also writes reviews and commentary for Reactor, including reviews of many of TV adaptions of comic books and of the new Star Trek shows Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Prodigy, Short Treks, and Section 31.

Personal life

DeCandido is an avid baseball fan, particularly of the New York Yankees. He has contributed in the past to both the Replacement Level Yankees Weblog and Pinstripe Alley, and he currently serves as an occasional freelance editor for the Society for American Baseball Research.
DeCandido is a percussionist. He was with the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players from 1994 until the band broke up in 2000. He has played with David Honigsberg, Steven Rosenhaus, and the Randy Bandits, and since 2006 has been a member of the Maryland-based parody band Boogie Knights, who are a fixture of several east coast science fiction conventions.
Since 2004, DeCandido has trained in Kenshikai Karate. He achieved his shodan in 2009, and has been a yondan since 2021.

''Star Trek'' novels

  • The Next Generation - Diplomatic Implausibility,
  • Deep Space Nine - Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness,
  • The Brave and the Bold, ,
  • The Lost Era - The Art of the Impossible,
  • I.K.S. Gorkon - A Good Day to Die,
  • I.K.S. Gorkon - Honor Bound,
  • The Next Generation - A Time for War, A Time for Peace,
  • Ferenginar: Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed in Worlds of Deep Space Nine Volume 3,
  • I.K.S. Gorkon - Enemy Territory,
  • Articles of the Federation,
  • The Mirror-Scaled Serpent in Mirror Universe - Obsidian Alliances,
  • The Next Generation - Q&A,
  • Klingon Empire - A Burning House,
  • A Gutted World in Myriad Universes - Echoes and Refractions,
  • A Singular Destiny,

    ''Star Trek'' novellas, short stories, comic books, etc.

  • The Next Generation - Perchance to Dream -- collected in Enemy Unseen,, alongside "The Killing Shadows" and "Embrace the Wolf"
  • "Horn and Ivory" in Gateways: What Lay Beyond,
  • "Broken Oaths" in Deep Space Nine - Prophecy and Change,
  • "Revelations" in New Frontier - No Limits,
  • "The Ceremony of Innocence Is Drowned" in Tales of the Dominion War,
  • "loDnIpu' vavpu' je" in Tales from the Captain's Table,
  • "Letting Go" in Voyager - Distant Shores,
  • "Four Lights" in The Next Generation - The Sky's the Limit,
  • "Family Matters" in Mirror Universe - Shards and Shadows,
  • Alien Spotlight: Klingons: Four Thousand Throats... -- collected in Alien Spotlight Volume 2,, alongside Q, ''Romulans, Tribbles, and Cardassians.
  • "The Unhappy Ones" in Seven Deadly Sins
  • Captain's Log: Jellico -- collected in Captain's Log,, alongside Sulu, Pike, and Harriman.
  • The Klingon Art of War,
  • several chapters of Star Trek Adventures: Klingon Empire Core Rulebook
  • Star Trek Adventures: Incident at Kraav III
  • "You Can't Buy Fate" in Star Trek Explorer #7 digital supplement -- collected in "The Mission" and Other Stories
  • "The Kellidian Kidnapping" in Star Trek Explorer #8 -- collected in "A Year to the Day I Saw Myself Die" and Other Stories
  • "Work Worth Doing" in Star Trek Explorer #9 -- collected in "A Year to the Day I Saw Myself Die" and Other Stories
  • "Attempted Break-In" in Star Trek Explorer #11 digital supplement
  • "The Sirius Snarl" in Star Trek Explorer'' #12

    ''Star Trek'' eBooks

  • S.C.E. series
  • *Fatal Error
  • *Cold Fusion
  • *Invincible Books 1-2
  • *Gateways epilogue: Here There Be Monsters
  • *War Stories Books 1-2
  • *Breakdowns
  • *Security
  • *What's Past Book 6: Many Splendors
  • The Next Generation - Slings and Arrows Book 6: ''Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment''

    ''Precinct'' novels

  • Dragon Precinct,, a high fantasy police procedural story and DeCandido's first original novel
  • Unicorn Precinct,, sequel to Dragon Precinct
  • Goblin Precinct,, sequel to Unicorn Precinct
  • Gryphon Precinct,, sequel to Goblin Precinct
  • Tales from Dragon Precinct,, short-story collection
  • Mermaid Precinct,, sequel to Gryphon Precinct
  • Phoenix Precinct,, sequel to Mermaid Precinct
  • Dragon Precinct: Origins, second short-story collection
  • Manticore Precinct, sequel to Phoenix Precinct
  • More Tales from Dragon Precinct, third short-story collection

    ''Precinct'' short stories

  • "Getting the Chair" in Murder by Magic,
  • "Crime of Passion" in Hear Them Roar,
  • "House Arrest" in Bad-Ass Faeries
  • "A Clean Getaway" in Pandora's Closet
  • "Fire in the Hole" in Dragon's Lure
  • "When the Magick Goes Away," Kickstarter-supported
  • "Catch and Release" in Tales from Dragon Precinct
  • "Brotherly Love" in Tales from Dragon Precinct
  • "Blood in the Water" in Tales from Dragon Precinct
  • "Heroes Welcome" in Tales from Dragon Precinct
  • "Gan Brightblade vs. Mitos the Mighty," Kickstarter-supported
  • "Baker's Dozen," Kickstarter-supported
  • "Chaos Theory" in reissue of Gryphon Precinct
  • "The Fall of Iaron," Kickstarter-supported
  • "The Midwinter of Our Discontent" in Release the Virgins!
  • "Used to Be" in Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles
  • "The Gorvangin Rampages," Indiegogo-supported

    Other novels

  • Spider-Man: Venom's Wrath,
  • Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors,
  • Young Hercules: The Ares Alliance,
  • Farscape: House of Cards,
  • Andromeda: Destruction of Illusions,
  • Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets, ,
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blackout,
  • StarCraft Ghost: Nova,
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Deathless,
  • Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars,
  • Supernatural: Nevermore,
  • CSI: NY: Four Walls,
  • Supernatural: Bone Key,
  • Mack Bolan, Executioner: Code of Honor,
  • Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon
  • Mack Bolan, Executioner: Deep Recon
  • Dungeons & Dragons: Under a Crimson Sun,
  • Super City Police Department: The Case of the Claw
  • The Scattered Earth: Guilt in Innocence
  • Leverage: The Zoo Job,
  • Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution,
  • Stargate SG-1: Kali's Wrath,
  • Marvel's Thor: Dueling with Giants, Book 1 of the Tales of Asgard trilogy,
  • Marvel's Sif: Even Dragons Have Their Endings, Book 2 of the Tales of Asgard trilogy,
  • Marvel's Warriors Three: Godhood's End, Book 3 of the Tales of Asgard trilogy,
  • A Furnace Sealed, Book 1 of the Adventures of Bram Gold,
  • To Hell and Regroup, Book 3 of Sherman's "18th Race" trilogy
  • Animal,
  • Feat of Clay, Book 2 of the Adventures of Bram Gold,
  • Supernatural Crimes Unit Book 1: The Thin Blue Ley-Line
  • The Inflictors Book 1