BORN OF THE STARS [book proposal; novel]. TYPED MANUSCRIPT (TMs). 39 leaves, computer dot matrix printout on rectos of plain letter-size paper. Together with cover letter for same, TYPED LETTER SIGNED (TLS), 1 page, dated 20 June 1988, carbon copy with original ink signature, to David Hartwell ("Dear Dave"), from Richard A Lupoff ("With all best, Dick"), on plain letter-size paper with author's Berkeley, Calif. address at top. Together with TYPED MANUSCRIPT (TMs) of revised book proposal, BORN OF THE STARS, 48 leaves, photocopy, typed on rectos only of plain letter-size paper. Together with cover letter for same, TYPED LETTER (TL), 1 page, photocopy (original signed, not copy), dated 3 July 1990, to David Hartwell ("Dear Dave"), from Henry Morrison ("Best wishes, H."). Lupoff had a successful career writing science fiction in the 1970s but it faded as the 1980s wore on and he switched to writing mysteries. His proposal here is for a science fiction trilogy (BORN OF THE STARS, TO FIND THE STARS, and THE STARS BE NOT DARKENED). Lupoff notes in his letter that his present publisher (Bantam) had made an offer for the series of books but he was not happy with their recent performance with his books, so he was contacting Hartwell, who was at that time an editor at Arbor House. Lupoff evidently didn't like Arbor's offer either. As he wrote in a 1995 autobiographical piece, "I am frequently asked why I quit science fiction, and when or whether I will ever return to it. The fact is, I didn't quit, I was fired. When I returned to the field after my forced, temporary retirement of the early 1980s, the earlier interest that readers and editors had shown in my work was no longer present. My grand project, a massive work called Born of the Stars, exists as a lengthy, detailed synopsis. Several publishers have considered it, but only one saw fit to offer me a contract. And in that case, the price offered was an affront and the terms and conditions of publication showed the publisher's attitude clearly: I was supplying yard goods. I had my agent return the contract unsigned." His agent's covering letter to the revised proposal notes that he had made "a lot of major and beneficial changes." Summing up his sf career, one critic notes that "there still remains in RAL's work a sense of focus frustrated, of ambition deferred." - Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), p. 742. As the birth of BORN OF THE STARS seems unlikely, these proposals are, for all intents and purposes, the final product, of which very few copies are likely to be circulating. Rust staining and indentations from old paper clips, otherwise everything in about fine condition. (#104814).
Price: $300.00
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