David Barr Kirtley (born 1977) is an American short story writer and the host of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast.

Early life & education

He is the son of physicist John R. Kirtley and grew up in Katonah, New York. From 1996-2000, he attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he majored in government, with a minor in creative writing. In 1997, he won the Dell Magazines Award for undergraduate science fiction. In 1999 he attended the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University. In 2009 he received an MFA in fiction and screenwriting from the University of Southern California.

Writing

His short fiction appears in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy and Weird Tales, in online magazines such as Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show and Lightspeed, and on podcasts such as Escape Pod, Pseudopod, and The Drabblecast. In 2003, he was selected for the anthology New Voices in Science Fiction. In 2008, his story "Save Me Plz" was chosen for the anthology Fantasy: The Best of the Year. He was profiled in the 2008 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market as part of "Speculative Fiction: The Next Generation."

Podcasting

Kirtley co-hosted the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast along with fantasy and science fiction editor John Joseph Adams. Kirtley is now the sole host, though Adams makes guest appearances.

Partial bibliography

Magazines

Anthologies