The Martian Child

"The Martian Child" is a novelette by David Gerrold. It won the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, Locus Award and HOMer Award and the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and was nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon award for best short fiction.

The original novellete hast been expanded into a novel, and a film of the same name was subsequently produced.

Plot

A widower who writes about Mars adopts a son who claims he is from Mars.

Background

The story is based on the author's own experiences as a single adoptive parent, with most of the key moments drawn from actual events. The main difference between the story and Gerrold's own experience is that David Gerrold's son never actually believed he was a Martian; the Martian identity was simply a game that the two of them played. The initial idea for the story actually came from a remark the author overheard about a child who told her teacher that she was really a Martian. Although nothing specifically science fictional occurs in the story, Gerrold does drop some otherworldly hints. A novel version was published in 2002.

An important difference between the novelette/movie and the novel is the fact that David Gerrold was out about his homosexuality when he adopted his son. The movie does not include this information; however, the 2002 novel does bring it up.