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DOCUMENT TITLE: RE: NOVEL MAN, THE ENDANGERED SPECIES SUBJECT: Memo purportedly from L. Ron Hubbard concerning a new novel and copyright attorneys PARTIES: Purportedly L. Ron Hubbard; Doreen Gillham; Mary Sue Hubbard (M); Laurel Sullivan (Snr PPRO); Unknown (R Accts); Gale Irwin (Gale; Deputy Commanding Officer Commodore's Messenger Organization International [CMO Int]); Forrest Ackerman BACKGROUND AND NOTES Purportedly a memo, unsigned, dated 26 October 1980 from the then-missing (or "in seclusion") L. Ron Hubbard to one of his messengers named Doreen Gillham giving advance notice of a new novel about to arrive from him called "Man the Endangered Species." This work would later be called "Battlefield Earth." This is one of the infamous "R-Advices," unsigned typed dispatches that appeared in organizations, supposedly from the missing Hubbard, but only ever "signed" with a typed "R" or "*" or "#" symbols. Supposedly, this was for security reasons. More astute people seem to think it was for fraud reasons, to cover up the fact that there was no longer an L. Ron Hubbard anywhere around. This memo was posted in a usenet newsgroup and a former staff member named Gerald Armstrong confirmed that he had seen this while inside the organization and asserted that it was in fact "from Hubbard." Of note is that the memo refers to "my copyright attornies." This is within approximately a month of the law firm of Lenske, Lenske & Heller being set up, and Sherman Lenske has sworn in a Declaration that he and his brother Stephen Lenske had been handling L. Ron Hubbard's "business interests" since 1977. If they aren't the "copyright attornies" being referred to, then the next most likely candidate would almost certainly be the firm of Norton S. Karno, himself appointed as Executor of Hubbard's estate at the time of this memo. DOREEN (Hand-drawn arrow) 26 Oct. 1980 cc: M Snr PPRO R Accts Gale RE: NOVEL MAN, THE ENDANGERED SPECIES Dearest Doreen; Coming to you shortly, when proofing is complete, is a full length, brand new science fiction novel: MAN, THE ENDANGERED SPECIES. It is 428,750 words long and just possibly could be the biggest sf novel ever written. It is in a brand new modern style, is very fast-paced. Such a property must not be confused with old reprint novels from magazines and yesteryear. It is a very valuable property and if not mishandled or downgraded in marketing could be worth half a million. The field is starved for modern science fiction: what there is is mixed up stuff. Yet there is a tremendous reading public for it, not just a specialized sf public. The box office of "Star Wars" has created quite a market along with other popular films and this has not been backed up on the stands with new sf novels. The market is major-publisher- wide open. My name has value in that field still. It does not matter if the boffs in it have knocked me - they always did. I worked out how it could be published under my own name. (snip) Now here are the things _to_ do: I enclose a list of major publishers. There are check marks after those that might have interest. These are your tergeted [sic] xxxxxx [crossout] people. You want this to go out first as a hard cover, then as a paperback. Serialization is possible - it would make a good serial but I know of no mags that would be able to do it. The hard book publisher might. Any sales contract to be drawn by my copyright attornies with all clauses end rights safeguarded. Powers of attorney will be sent to you and to Mike Smith to empower you to sign it. I am sending you two, proofed copies of the book. Use one of these to get several copies typed. Work with the other one meanwhile. I suggest the one on the paper marked "copy" be used for the working copy and the original be used for the retype. This is because the original was xxx [crossout] the one proof-read first and the one marked "copy" was proofed from the original so the original may be found to be more accurately proofed. Contact Forrest Ackerman and have a talk with him. (snip) The writing and publication of a major sf work occurs half a century after my first becoming a pro, paid writer. It's a celebration of a golden wedding with the muse in 1930. Few writers turn out a major work fifty years after they began and then turn it out in modernized style and make it what may be the largest single work between two covers in its field. The PR angles are good. Push them. The ms will be along. It only needs its proofing finished. So, over to you. And get it in the bookstores and on the newstands [sic] in big bright lights. Love, |
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