David Barr Kirtley

Science fiction author and podcaster

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David Barr Kirtley

 

David Barr Kirtley is the host of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, for which he’s interviewed over 400 guests, including Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Margaret Atwood, Richard Dawkins, Simon Pegg, Bill Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. His interviews have been reprinted in books such as Conversations with William Gibson, Conversations with Michael Chabon, and Conversations with Nalo Hopkinson.

His short fiction appears in magazines such as Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales, Lightspeed, and Intergalactic Medicine Show, on podcasts such as Escape Pod and Pseudopod, and in books such as New Voices in Science Fiction, The Living Dead, New Cthulhu, and Fantasy: The Best of the Year. In 2022 a Japanese translation of his story “Power Armor: A Love Story” was a finalist for the Seiun Award.

His book Save Me Plz and Other Stories collects 20 of his best short stories, along with 13 illustrations and more than 40 pages of author’s notes explaining how the stories came to be written. Publishers Weekly says, “Visceral settings and robust characters will have readers marveling at how much Kirtley is able to fit into a limited page count. For SFF fans with no time to sink into a doorstopper, these concentrated doses of genre goodness will hit the spot,” and Kirkus Reviews writes, “Kirtley employs sharp, concise prose that complements his puckish sense of humor. The author’s passionate voice breathes life into this wonderful array of tales.”

David is the son of Buckley prize-winning physicist John R. Kirtley. He majored in Government at Colby College and holds a degree in fiction and screenwriting from the University of Southern California. He lives in Austin with his cat Oryx and his wife Steph Grossman.

View David’s full biography and full bibliography, and check out interviews with him in Clarkesworld, Into the Impossible, Black Gate, Sci-Fi with Jesse Mercury, and The Vocal Minority Report.

Save Me Plz and Other Stories is available now on Amazon.com. It contains the following stories: “Beauty,” “The Black Bird,” “Seven Brothers, Cruel,” “Blood of Virgins,” “Seeds-for-Brains,” “Family Tree,” “Red Road,” “Save Me Plz,” “The Ontological Factor,” “The Second Rat,” “They Go Bump,” “The Prize,” “Cats in Victory,” “Transformations,” “Power Armor: A Love Story,” “Veil of Ignorance,” “Three Deaths,” “The Disciple,” “The Skull-Faced Boy,” and “The Skull-Faced City.”

“Cats in Victory”

By David Barr Kirtley

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“Family Tree”

By David Barr Kirtley

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“The Ontological Factor”

By David Barr Kirtley

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“The Skull-Faced Boy”

By David Barr Kirtley

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Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

Geek's Guide to the Galaxy is a podcast hosted by author David Barr Kirtley and produced by Lightspeed Magazine editor John Joseph Adams. The show features conversations about fantasy & science fiction in books, movies, games, and comics, as well as related subjects such as science, history, and critical thinking. The show gets about 18,000 downloads per episode and has racked up over 6 million total … Read more

Praise for David’s Fiction

Lurches into high gear pretty much from the beginning and then goes in some truly disturbing directions, with what I thought was a killer ending.

John Langan
author of The Fisherman

I LOVED this story. Great zombie read, and I love how it's unconventional. I really loved the characters! 10/10, Pseudopod! Can we get some more from this author?

Dom
Pseudopod message board

This story is everything Pseudopod! A classic scenario with a twist. An action-driven plot with a hint of meaning. Just right for audio. Well-performed audio at that.

deflective
Pseudopod message board

Biography

I grew up in the small town of Katonah, in northern Westchester, in the suburbs of New York City, with my parents -- two PhD scientists fond of books, the outdoors, travel, current events, and classical music. When I was very young, my parents -- both fantasy & science fiction fans -- read me the novels of Robert Heinlein, Madeleine L'Engle, William Sleator, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and also (when I was a bit older) introduced me to other great writers such as Isaac Asimov and Larry Niven. Throughout my childhood I had a passion for writing and drawing, and I generated boxes full of picture … Read more

Roger Barr

My grandfather Roger Barr passed away early this morning at the age of 98. He was my mom’s father, and was my last surviving grandparent. He was being cared for by my uncle Steve (his son) and aunt Denice — both medical professionals — and was still sharp and good-humored in his final days. Yesterday […]

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David Barr Kirtley

David Barr Kirtley is the host of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast, for which he’s interviewed over four hundred guests, including George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Paul Krugman, Simon Pegg, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. His short fiction appears in the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories.
Content © 2025 David Barr Kirtley unless noted. Site by Sunray Computer.