Fawcett publishes the novel Phoenix Without Ashes by Edward Bryant, based upon the original premise of the short-lived early ’70s Canadian television series The Starlost, created by Harlan Ellison; Ellison himself expounds on the trials and tribulations of making that show in an extended foreword. 
Ballantine Books releases the Star Trek book Star Trek: Star Fleet Technical Manual, written and illustrated by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt. The book ushers in an obsession with science fiction blueprints and design manuals, both Star Trek and otherwise, and will be reprinted and referred to (including on the Enterprise’s own displays in 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture) for decades to come.
Bantam Books publishes Star Trek: The New Voyages, edited by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath, an anthology of fan-written Star Trek fiction, with accompanying introductions by several of the show’s cast and Gene Roddenberry himself.
“Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye“, the first print fiction follow-up to George Lucas’ Star Wars, is published by Ballantine Books. Written by Alan Dean Foster – who had ghost-written the novelization of Star Wars published under Lucas’ name – “Splinter” originates as a concept for a low-budget movie follow-up in the event that the movie bombs. By the time of its publication, it’s readily apparent to all that the movie has succeeded, and that a sequel will be coming, leaving “Splinter”‘s status in the storyline uncertain. The cover artwork is by Ralph McQuarrie, whose pre-production illustrations were of vital importance during the making of the original movie. 
Berkley Books publishes the novelization Battlestar Galactica 2: The Cylon Death Machine by Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston, a print adaptation of the television story The Gun On Ice Planet Zero.
Ballantine Books publishes the first of a trilogy of original novels based on the Star Wars characters Han Solo and Chewbacca, Han Solo At Stars’ End by Brian Daley. All three books chronicle the misadventures of everyone’s favorite Corellian smuggler and his Wookiee sidekick – and avoids clashing with the upcoming sequel The Empire Strikes Back by setting these events before Star Wars itself.
Random House publishes the Star Wars Question And Answer Book About Space, written by Dr. Dinah Moche. Cashing in on young Star Wars fans’ sudden fascination with space, the book explores many astronomical phenomena, and past, current and future spaceflight (as of 1979) and space science topics, framed within the context of the Star Wars universe.
Ballantine Books publishes the second book in a trilogy of original novels based on the Star Wars characters Han Solo and Chewbacca, Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley. All three books chronicle the misadventures of everyone’s favorite Corellian smuggler and his Wookiee sidekick – and avoids clashing with the upcoming sequel The Empire Strikes Back by setting these events before Star Wars itself.
Pocket Books releases the movie novelization “Star Trek: The Motion Picture“, written by Gene Roddenberry. This is Roddenberry’s only piece of Star Trek prose fiction.
Days before the film’s theatrical premiere, Pocket Books publishes Gene Roddenberry‘s novelization of the movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Star Trek creator’s sole foray into Star Trek print fiction.
The fifth episode of the English-dubbed Japanese action series Monkey airs on BBC2. The series is a translation and dub of a fancifully satirical Japanese adaptation of the Chinese novel “Journey To The West”, starring Masaaki Sakai.
Xerox Education Publications releases the novelization Jason of Star Command 1: Mission to the Stars by Ken Sobol, based on the Filmation live-action TV series.
Ballantine Books publishes the third in a trilogy of original novels based on the Star Wars characters Han Solo and Chewbacca, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy by Brian Daley. All three books chronicle the misadventures of everyone’s favorite Corellian smuggler and his Wookiee sidekick – and avoid clashing with the recently-released sequel The Empire Strikes Back by setting these events before Star Wars itself.
The 33rd episode of Star Blazers, an English rewrite and dub of the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato, airs in syndication across the U.S.
Magnavox releases the video game Pachinko! for the Odyssey² home video game system in North America, designed and programmed by Ed and Linda Averett. The game is released later in Europe for the equivalent Videopac console, and in France for the Jopac.
The first edition of British author Kenneth Gatland’s detailed non-fiction book “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology“ is published by Harmony Books, proving to be a fantastic distraction through the remainder of your webmaster’s time in the public school system.
Berkley Books publishes The Dune Encyclopedia, written and compiled by Dr. Willis E. McNelly and approved by Dune creator Frank Herbert (who would still contradict this book with some of his later Dune novels). The book, written from an academic point of view within the Dune universe, later goes out of print and is now considered a collectors’ item.
The first edition of the collection of prose, poetry and blank verse titled “The Policeman’s Beard Is Half Constructed“ – supposedly “written” by an artificial intelligence called RACTER – is published by Warner Books. When a commercial version of RACTER is made available, some users cry foul – it doesn’t output anything remotely like the book attributed to it.
Ballantine Books publishes The Odyssey File by Arthur C. Clarke and filmmaker Peter Hyams, chronicling the authors’ collaboration to translate Clarke’s novel 2010: Odyssey Two into the film 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Their lengthy international correspondence in 1983 and early 1984 was conducted by then-groundbreaking means of pre-internet e-mail exchanges.
The first edition of the non-fiction-with-science-fiction-short-stories anthology “The Planets“ is published by Bantam Books, edited by Byron Preiss. Contributors include Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Harry Harrison, Ray Bradbury, Roger Zelazny, JPL scientist Dale Cruikshank, Frank Herbert, illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, and many more. Each body in the solar system is described in a factual essay, and then features in a short story.
MacFarland publishes Irv Broughton’s book Producers On Producing: The Making of Film and Television, a compendium of interviews Broughton conducted with industry professionals involved with producing movies and TV.
Pocket Books releases the in-universe reference book Star Trek: Mr. Scott’s Guide To The Enterprise, with text and illustrations by Lora Johnson. The book is a guide to the fictional lore and workings of the movie-era version of the starship Enterprise.
Titan Books UK publishes Neil Gaiman’s non-fiction account of the making of the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy franchise, Don’t Panic! – The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion. The book features numerous interviews with Douglas Adams and others involved in the making of the radio and television series, records and books.
Dutton Books publishes the debut novel by television scripwriter J. Michael Straczynski, Demon Night. The novel is later reprinted in 2003.
The first novel based on the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, is published. Written by series creators and writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (under the collective pseudonym Grant Naylor), the book features familiar events and scenes, but is generally played out on a more expansive canvas than a BBC television studio would allow.
Pocket Books releases the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel “Star Trek: TNG: A Rock And A Hard Place”, written by Peter David.
After much pre-publicity billing it as – at long last – the Lucasfilm-authorized continuation of the storyline, Timothy Zahn’s novel “Star Wars: Heir To The Empire” is released by Bantam Books. Introducing Grand Admiral Thrawn, Talon Karrde and Mara Jade, among other characters later regarded by fans as mission-critical to the overall Star Wars storyline, the book also introduces the former Imperial capitol world Coruscant (a rare bit of naming that originates in non-movie media and is later carried over to “official” media). The first of a trilogy of novels, “Heir” forces its way to the top of the bestseller lists.
With no new series in sight on TV, Virgin Publishing begins its long-awaited line of original print fiction with the first Doctor Who New Adventures novel, “Timewyrm: Genesys” by John Peel. The first book in a four-book cycle of linked stories, the novel picks up where the television series left off, featuring the seventh Doctor and Ace. Three further books are already in the works in the Timewyrm series, with other authors lining up for a chance to write later books in 1992 and beyond.
Virgin Publishing releases the second novel in the Doctor Who New Adventures series, “Timewyrm: Exodus” by early ’70s Doctor Who script editor Terrance Dicks. This book continues the four-part Timewyrm cycle and revisits the War Lord last seen in the 1969 TV story The War Games, and long before the TV episode Let’s Kill Hitler, places the Doctor in the company of Hitler. This is Dicks’ first Doctor Who prose which is not a direct adaptation of a television story.
Virgin Publishing releases the fourth book in the Doctor Who New Adventures series, “Timewyrm: Revelation” by Paul Cornell. This is Cornell’s first professionally-published fiction, and is published over the objections of former Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner (acting as an advisor to the editors), who cites concerns over the book’s abstract attempts to establish an epic mythology involving Gallifreyan gods. The book also concludes the four-book Timewyrm cycle, which has proven to be enough of a sales success that Virgin opts to continue publishing original Doctor Who fiction.