Gerard Van der Leun was the creator and author of the popular blog American Digest. He was an essayist, poet, humorist, and raconteur, with a long and colorful career as book editor, agent, author, magazine publisher, world traveler, and photographer. He had a larger-than-life personality, with vast stores of energy and playful humor which he freely dispensed.
A native Californian, Van der Leun spent the bulk of his years in New York City as senior editor of Penthouse magazine as well as being a literary agent, with long stays in London as international editor of Penthouse, and a stint in Boston as editor of paperbacks at Houghton Mifflin.
Earlier he had worked in radio as director of drama and literature for KPFA-FM in Pacifica, California, and in his hippie days he had founded the San Francisco magazine Organ. He was an early and avid internet user and was the original director of communications for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as an active and formidable participant in the online community “The Well.”
He authored the books The Rules of the Net and The Quotable Sherlock Holmes. His American Digest blog displayed his writing skills and artistic eye, and he had been head editor of the online platform PJ Media during its formative years.