Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido (born April 18, 1969) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer (using Keith R. A. DeCandido), 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."Star Trek books and comics" , Dead link as of July 14, 2017
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."So Who is Keith R.A. DeCandido, Anyhow?" , Dead link as of July 14, 2017
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 (Spider-Man, X-Men), movies (Cars, Serenity, Alien), role-playing games (Dungeons & Dragons), and video games (World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Command & Conquer, Resident Evil). 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 that debuted in 2025 from the Weird Tales Presents imprint of Blackstone Publishing.
He has also edited or co-edited various anthologies, including OtherWere (with Laura Anne Gilman), Urban Nightmares (with Josepha Sherman), Imaginings, Double Trouble: An Anthology of Two-Fisted Team-Ups (with Jonathan Maberry), The Four ???? of the Apocalypse (with Wrenn Simms), the Doctor Who collection Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership, and the Star Trek anthologies New Frontier: No Limits (with Peter David), Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table. Among his other editorial accomplishments are editing the Marvel novels published by Berkley Books from 1994 to 2000 and the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series of monthly eBook novellas from 2000 to 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.The Fourth Annual Scribe Awards (2009) , International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, accessed July 15, 2011. In 2026, he was awarded the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction, also known as the Skylark.NESFA Presents Skylark, Gaughan Awards at Boskone 63
He has written rewatches for Reactor Magazine (formerly Tor.com) since 2011, including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation," Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch" Retrieved July 8, 2013 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch" Retrieved August 26, 2013. Star Trek: Voyager,"Star Trek: Voyager Rewatch" Retrieved October 19, 2022. Star Trek: Enterprise,"Star Trek: Enterprise Rewatch" Retrieved October 19, 2022. 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, Section 31, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
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 (a rock/blues band that played science fiction conventions, clubs, and fairs) from 1994 until the band broke up in 2000. He has played with David Honigsberg, Steven Rosenhaus, the Randy Bandits, and the Chris Abbott Band, 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 (first-degree black belt) in 2009, and has been a yondan (fourth-degree black belt) since 2021.
Bibliography
Star Trek novels The Next Generation - Diplomatic Implausibility (2001), Deep Space Nine - Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness (2001), The Brave and the Bold (2002), (Book 1), (Book 2) The Lost Era - The Art of the Impossible (2003), I.K.S. Gorkon - A Good Day to Die (2003), I.K.S. Gorkon - Honor Bound (2003), The Next Generation - A Time for War, A Time for Peace (2004), Ferenginar: Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed in Worlds of Deep Space Nine Volume 3 (2005), I.K.S. Gorkon - Enemy Territory (2005), Articles of the Federation (2005), The Mirror-Scaled Serpent in Mirror Universe - Obsidian Alliances (2007), The Next Generation - Q&A (2007), (nominee, Best Speculative Fiction Novel, Scribe Awards) Klingon Empire - A Burning House (2008), A Gutted World in Myriad Universes - Echoes and Refractions (2008), A Singular Destiny (2009), (nominee, Best Speculative Fiction Novel, Scribe Awards)
Star Trek novellas, short stories, comic books, etc. The Next Generation - Perchance to Dream (four-issue comic book miniseries, art by Peter Pachoumis and Lucian Rizzo, with Scott Benefiel, February–May 2000) -- collected in Enemy Unseen (2001), , alongside "The Killing Shadows" and "Embrace the Wolf" "Horn and Ivory" in Gateways: What Lay Beyond (2002), "Broken Oaths" in Deep Space Nine - Prophecy and Change (2003), "Revelations" in New Frontier - No Limits (2003), "The Ceremony of Innocence Is Drowned" in Tales of the Dominion War (2004), "loDnIpu' vavpu' je" ("Brothers and Fathers") in Tales from the Captain's Table (2005), "Letting Go" in Voyager - Distant Shores (2005), "Four Lights" in The Next Generation - The Sky's the Limit (2007), "Family Matters" in Mirror Universe - Shards and Shadows (2009), Alien Spotlight: Klingons: Four Thousand Throats... (comic book, art by JK Woodward, 2009; winner, Best Single Issue of a Comic Book, TrekMovie.com) -- collected in Alien Spotlight Volume 2 (2010), , alongside Q, Romulans, Tribbles, and Cardassians. "The Unhappy Ones" in Seven Deadly Sins (2010) Captain's Log: Jellico (comic book, art by JK Woodward, 2010) -- collected in Captain's Log (2011), , alongside Sulu, Pike, and Harriman. The Klingon Art of War (2014), several chapters of Star Trek Adventures: Klingon Empire Core Rulebook (2020) Star Trek Adventures: Incident at Kraav III (with Fred Love, 2022) "You Can't Buy Fate" in Star Trek Explorer #7 digital supplement (2023) -- collected in "The Mission" and Other Stories (2024) "The Kellidian Kidnapping" in Star Trek Explorer #8 (2023) -- collected in "A Year to the Day I Saw Myself Die" and Other Stories (2024) "Work Worth Doing" in Star Trek Explorer #9 (2023) -- collected in "A Year to the Day I Saw Myself Die" and Other Stories (2024) "Attempted Break-In" in Star Trek Explorer #11 digital supplement (2024) "The Sirius Snarl" in Star Trek Explorer #12 (2024)
Star Trek eBooks S.C.E. (Starfleet Corps of Engineers) series (2000–2006) Fatal Error (2000) Cold Fusion (2001) Invincible Books 1-2 (w/David Mack, 2001) Gateways epilogue: Here There Be Monsters (2001) War Stories Books 1-2 (2002) Breakdowns (2003) Security (2005) What's Past Book 6: Many Splendors (2006) The Next Generation - Slings and Arrows Book 6: Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment (2008)
Precinct novels Dragon Precinct (2004), , a high fantasy police procedural story and DeCandido's first original novel Unicorn Precinct (2011), , sequel to Dragon Precinct Goblin Precinct (2012), , sequel to Unicorn Precinct Gryphon Precinct (2013), , sequel to Goblin Precinct Tales from Dragon Precinct (2013), , short-story collection Mermaid Precinct (2019), , sequel to Gryphon Precinct Phoenix Precinct (2022), , sequel to Mermaid Precinct Dragon Precinct: Origins (forthcoming), second short-story collection Manticore Precinct (forthcoming), sequel to Phoenix Precinct More Tales from Dragon Precinct (forthcoming), third short-story collection
Precinct short stories "Getting the Chair" in Murder by Magic (2004; reprinted in Tales from Dragon Precinct, 2013), "Crime of Passion" in Hear Them Roar (2006; reprinted in Tales from Dragon Precinct, 2013), "House Arrest" in Bad-Ass Faeries (2007; reprinted in Tales from Dragon Precinct, 2013 and The Best of Bad-Ass Faeries, 2017) "A Clean Getaway" in Pandora's Closet (2007; reprinted in Tales from Dragon Precinct, 2013) "Fire in the Hole" in Dragon's Lure (2010; reprinted in Tales from Dragon Precinct, 2013) "When the Magick Goes Away," Kickstarter-supported (2012; reprinted in Tales from Dragon Precinct, 2013) "Catch and Release" in Tales from Dragon Precinct (2013) "Brotherly Love" in Tales from Dragon Precinct (2013) "Blood in the Water" in Tales from Dragon Precinct (2013) "Heroes Welcome" in Tales from Dragon Precinct (2013) "Gan Brightblade vs. Mitos the Mighty," Kickstarter-supported (2014) "Baker's Dozen," Kickstarter-supported (2017) "Chaos Theory" in reissue of Gryphon Precinct (2018) "The Fall of Iaron," Kickstarter-supported (2019) "The Midwinter of Our Discontent" in Release the Virgins! (2019) "Used to Be" in Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles (2019) "The Gorvangin Rampages," Indiegogo-supported (2020) "Dispatches from Myverin: Torin ban Wyvald’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "The Shipment: Iaian’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "Ambush: Dru & Hawk’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "Bank Holiday: Amilar Grovis’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "Demon Swarm: Manfred & Arn Kellan’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "The Show Must Go On: Dannee Ocly’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "Assassin’s Creed: Aleta lothLathna’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026) "Disruptions: Danthres Tresyllione’s Story," in Dragon Precinct: Origins (2026)
Other novels Spider-Man: Venom's Wrath (written with Jose R. Nieto, 1998), Young Hercules: Cheiron's Warriors (1999), Young Hercules: The Ares Alliance (1999), Farscape: House of Cards (2001), Andromeda: Destruction of Illusions (2003), Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets (2005), (reprinted in Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours Omnibus, 2021, World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred (2006), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blackout (2006), StarCraft Ghost: Nova (2006),