Lars Pearson (born 1973, Iowa) is an American writer, editor, and journalist. He is the owner/publisher of Mad Norwegian Press, a publishing company specializing in reference guides to television shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Doctor Who, plus the Faction Paradox range of novels and comic books.
Pearson's writing career started as an editor for a newspaper then moved to magazines. He attained a position with Wizard Entertainment as the price guide editor for the magazine The Comics Magazine, a magazine about comic books. He later worked for collectables magazines including ToyFare about collectible action figures and InQuest Gamer, a magazine devoted to collectible card games. While working at ToyFare, he was interviewed by U.S. News & World Report for his expertise in collectables.
Pearson later moved in to writing guide books for television shows. He wrote Redeemed: The Unauthorized Guide to Angel, a guide book about the television series Angel. He has also written guides for the cartoon series Transformers and G.I. Joe.
Pearson's guides have been used by other authors as in the case when author Robert G. Weiner used the G.I. Joe guide and Transformers guide to help write Marvel graphic novels and related publications: an annotated guide to comics.
Many of the books Pearson writes are unauthorized, meaning they are not approved by the companies that produce the shows and cannot include their pictures.
Mad Norwegian Press
Pearson started his own publishing business, Mad Norwegian Press in 2001. The main focus of the business are guide books to science fiction. It also produces novels from freelance writers such as Harlan Ellison, Steve Lyons and Peter David. In order to keep expenses low, the company only employs two people, Pearson and his wife.
In 2002, Mad Norwegian started producing the book series Faction Paradox, about a group of time travelers. Pearson acts as editor for the series.
Pearson became a fan of Doctor Who when he saw it broadcast on Iowa's public television station IPTV. His fondness of the show lead him to write his first book, I, Who: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who Novels. He uses the books to provide insight in to the TV series as well as facts.
Pearson has written 12 books on the television series Doctor Who and is considered an expert on the show. The Des Moines Science Fiction Society has labeled him "one of the foremost experts on 'Doctor Who' in North America."
Pearson's expertise on Doctor Who makes him sought out by fans of the show and science fiction conventions and he has hosted Doctor Who pledge drives on public television. Pearson is often a featured speaker at Doctor Who festivals and appears at many major science fiction conventions.
2001 ... The Twelfth Regeneration of Gallifrey One (Van Nuys, CA)
2001 ... Chicago TARDIS (Chicago, IL)
2003 ... Gallifrey One: Episode XIV - The Faction Paradox (Van Nuys, CA)
Pearson's book About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 7 to 11) (2nd Edition) was nominated for a BSFA award for non-fiction in 2009.
Pearson is a resident of Des Moines, Iowa and is married to Christa Dickson. Dickson helps develop and maintain Iowa Pulic Televisions's websites and also helps run Mad Norwegian Press. She graduated from Coe College in 2001.
I, Who: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who Novels, 1999 ISBN 0-9673746-0-X
I, Who 2: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who Novels and Audios, 2001 ISBN 1-57032-900-1
Prime Targets: The Unauthorized Story Guide to Transformers, Beast Wars & Beast Machines, 2001 ISBN 1-57032-901-X
Now You Know: The Unauthorized Guide to GI Joe TV & Comics, 2002 ISBN 1-57032-902-8
I, Who 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who Novels and Audios, 2003 ISBN 0-9725959-1-0
Dusted: The Unauthorized Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (with Lawrence Miles and Christa Dickson) 2003 ISBN 0-9725959-0-2
AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe (written by Lance Parkin with additional material by Pearson), 2006 ISBN 0-9725959-9-6
Redeemed: The Unauthorized Guide to Angel (with Christa Dickson), 2006 ISBN 0-9725959-3-7
AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe [Second Edition] (written by Lance Parkin with additional material by Pearson), 2007 ISBN 0-9759446-6-5
About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 7 to 11) (2nd Edition) (written by Tat Wood, Lawrence Miles, Lars Pearson (Editor)), 2009 ISBN 978-0975944677
About Time 6: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 22 to 26, the TV Movie) (written by Tat Wood with additional material by Pearson), 2007 ISBN 0-9759446-5-7
Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to X-Files, Millennium and The Lone Gunmen (written by Robert Shearman, with additional material by Pearson), 2009 ISBN 978-0-9759446-9-1
Fluid Links: The Unauthorized Guide to the Doctor Who Novels and Audios (successor to 'I, Who', co-written with Robert Smith?, Michael D. Thomas and Anthony Wilson (forthcoming)
