L. Ron Hubbard
A Biographical Chronology
Final Years

L. Ron Hubbard
A Biographical Chronology
Final Years

L. Ron Hubbard

Celebrating 50 years as a writer

“Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life so crammed with busy years, and I decided to amuse myself by writing a novel that was pure science fiction.”

During 1980-1981, L. Ron Hubbard produces two million words of fiction. Among his writings are two feature-length screenplays, Ai! Pedrito! and A Very Strange Trip. Both screenplays are later adapted and released as full-length novels and become New York Times bestsellers. He also produces the largest single-volume science fiction novel ever written, Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000, and his masterpiece of comic satire, Mission Earth—an unprecedented 1.2-million-word science fiction novel in ten volumes, for which he coins the term dekalogy.

1982

From his California ranch, Ron researches and releases his latest and final discoveries in Scientology. His own literary agency, Author Services, is established and he sees Battlefield Earth become an international bestseller after its 1982 release. He composes music and lyrics for Battlefield Earth—the first time a recorded “soundtrack” is created to directly accompany a bestselling novel. Shortly thereafter he composes twenty songs for the Mission Earth series.

1983

L. Ron Hubbard launches an international science fiction and fantasy short story and novelette competition for new and aspiring writers, which he calls the Writers of the Future Contest. The Illustrators’ Contest is founded in 1988 to encourage the speculative fiction artist in much the same way the Writers’ Contest has been doing for authors.

1985

The first volume of L. Ron Hubbard’s Mission Earth is published in October and becomes an instant bestseller. As each volume of the dekalogy is released through forthcoming years, each becomes a bestseller. The successive appearance of these volumes on the New York Times bestseller list constitutes a first in publishing history. Also an international bestseller is the May 1987 reprint of L. Ron Hubbard’s first novel, Buckskin Brigades. All told, there are twenty-one consecutive bestsellers in the 1980s—more than for any other author.

L. Ron Hubbard passes away on January 24, 1986, but the impact of his literary legacy continues to grow. In response to demands for his work, an ongoing schedule to republish his earlier fiction and to publish previously unpublished stories is initiated by Author Services. The first two works released, Final Blackout and Fear, promptly leap onto bestseller lists, repeating their popularity of fifty years earlier and underscoring his enduring stature as a master storyteller.

To read more about L. Ron Hubbard, visit LRonHubbard.org.


Other articles and resources you may be interested in:

Bibliography of L. Ron Hubbard’s fiction in chronological order

L. Ron Hubbard Fiction Books by genre

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