Sondra Marshak

Sondra Hassan Marshak (born 15 June 1942)[3] is an American science-fiction writer. She is most well known for her work with writing partner Myrna Culbreath, and for the fandom reference book Star Trek Lives! (1975), co-written with Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and television producer Joan Winston. She was an early promoter of Star Trek fan culture, and a publisher of fan fiction.

Sondra Marshak
BornSondra Hassan
(1942-06-15) 15 June 1942[1]
United States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience Fiction
Years active1973—83
SpouseAlan Marshak[2]
ChildrenJerry Marshak[2]
Relatives
  • Albert Hassan (father)
  • Anna Tornheim (mother)

Upon being introduced to Star Trek, she was struck by the "powerful relationship between Kirk and Spock and the focus on moral and philosophical issues."[4] Marshak is an avowed objectivist (a devotee of Ayn Rand), and she believes Star Trek advances objectivist ideals.[5]

Early life

Marshak was born to Albert Hassan and Anna Tornheim in 1942.[1] Little is known of her early life. In an interview for Voyages of Imagination (2006) by Jeff Ayers, Myrna Culbreath explained that Marshak had earned a master's degree in history, with "straight-A honors," prior to their meeting, and that Marshak had planned to enter a doctoral program.[4] She married LSU professor Alan Marshak, and had one son.[2]

Fannish activity

Following her introduction to Star Trek, Marshak was explored to the series' fandom via a growing network of fan-published magazines. She began writing fiction based on the series, and submitted it to fanzines, where she met Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Marshak's first fan-published work was Spock's Decision, originally written by Lichtenberg in 1971. The new edition contained extensive rewrites by Marshak, and was anthologized in the fanzines Berengaria #2 (January 1974)[6] and Kraith Collected #4 (June 1974).[7] Her other writings, also with Lichtenberg, were set in the Kraith alternate Star Trek universe.

During the mid-to-late 70's, Marshak along with her writing partner Myrna Culbreath was a regular guest of honor at science fiction conventions, often joined by her mother, whom she addressed as "Mama."[8][2]

Career

Marshak's first professional publication was the reference work Star Trek Lives! (1975), co-written with Lichtenberg and Joan Winston. The ninth chapter, "Do-It-Yourself Star Trek," discussed structure and themes in fan fiction and how they may reflect the cultural and sexual ideas of the fans who write them. The book, and in particular the book's final chapter, inspired Francesca Coppa to call Marshak and her fellow authors "the foremothers of 'fanfiction scholarship'" in The Fanfiction Reader (2017).[9]

Marshak co-wrote six Star Trek tie-in books with her writing partner, Myrna Culbreath, in addition to the William Shatner biography Shatner: Where No Man… (December 1979). In Voyages of Imagination, both Culbreath and Marshak described their writing partnership as "virtually a Vulcan mind-meld."[4] She also contributed trivia to The Star Trek Puzzle Manual (1976) by Jeff Razzi.

In the author's notes for The Fate of the Phoenix (1979), several projects were listed as forthcoming. In addition to follow-ups to The New Voyages series, Marshak and Culbreath announced a fictional travel guide, Mr. Spock's Guide to the Planet Vulcan, a new novel co-written by Nichelle Nichols, Uhura!, and a non-Star Trek science fantasy novel co-written by William Shatner, The Power. None of the books were realized, nor published if completed.[10]

Marshak has not published any new fiction since 1983, nor has she given any interviews since 2006. She was interviewed by the Orange County Business Journal in 2000 where she promoted Culbreath's PhonicsOpoly (1999) reading game.[11] Jacqueline Lichtenberg wrote a comment on a blog written by literary critic Steve Donoghue in 2012 concerning Marshak's lack of an online presence.[12]

Bibliography

Non-fiction
  • Star Trek Lives! (July 1975), with Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Joan Winston. Bantam Books #Y2151.
  • The Star Trek Puzzle Manual (November 1976), with Jeff Razzi and Myrna Culbreath. Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-01054-9.
  • Shatner: Where No Man…: The Authorized Biography of William Shatner (December 1979), with William Shatner and Myrna Culbreath. Ace ISBN 0-441-88975-1.

Editor

Fiction
  • The Price of the Phoenix (July 1977), with Myrna Culbreath. Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-10978-2.
  • The Fate of the Phoenix (May 1979), with Myrna Culbreath. Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-12779-9.
  • The Prometheus Design (March 1982), with Myrna Culbreath. Pocket Books ISBN 0-671-83398-7.
  • Triangle (March 1983), with Myrna Culbreath. Pocket Books ISBN 0-671-83399-5.

Short fiction
  • "Surprise!" Star Trek: The New Voyages 2 (January 1978) with Nichelle Nichols and Myrna Culbreath.
  • "The Procrustean Petard," Star Trek: The New Voyages 2 (January 1978) with Myrna Culbreath.

References
  1. "United States Public Records, 1970-2009". FamilySearch. Sondra H Marshak, Residence, Beverly Hills, California, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 2017-12-21.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. "Star Trekon '77". Star Trekon '77 (convention program). Kansas City, Missouri. 24 Jun 1977.
  3. Clute, John; Lanford, David, eds. (4 Apr 2017). "Authors : Marshak, Sondra". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  4. Ayers, Jeff (14 Nov 2006). Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 11–12. ISBN 1-4165-0349-8.
  5. Lichtenberg, Jacqueline; Marshak, Sondra; Winston, Joan (Oct 1975). Star Trek Lives!. Y2151. New York: Bantam Books.
  6. Lichtenberg, Jacqueline; Marshak, Sondra (Jun 1974) [1971]. Kirlin, Vicki; Heim, Richard (eds.). "Spock's Decision". Berengaria. Vol. 2. Quei-Starmerian Network. p. 3.
  7. Lichtenberg, Jacqueline; Marshak, Sondra (Jun 1974) [1971]. Goldstein, Deborah Kay (ed.). "Spock's Decision". Kraith Collected. Vol. 4. p. 28.
  8. "Welcome to Star Trekon '76". Star Trekon '76 (program book). Kansas City, Missouri. 30 Aug 1976.
  9. Coppa, Francesca (2 Mar 2017). "Introduction: Five Things That Fan Fiction Is, and One Thing It Isn't". The Fanfiction Reader: Folktales for the Digital Age. University of Michigan Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-472-07348-1.
  10. Marshak, Sondra; Culbreath, Myrna (Apr 1984). "About the Authors". The Fate of the Phoenix. New York: Bantam Books (published May 1979). ISBN 0-553-24638-0.
  11. Cruz, Sherri (29 May 2000). "LearnByGames Hopes to Bring Phonics to Business". Orange County Business Journal. p. 10.
  12. Lichtenberg, Jacquiline (17 Apr 2012). Donoghue, Steve (ed.). "Notes for a Star Trek Bibliography: The End of an Era!". Stevereads (blog). Disqus comment (published 1 Feb 2011). Retrieved 2017-12-21.
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