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. 
Doubleday publishes Stephen King‘s novel The Stand. It goes on to be nominated for Best Novel in the following year’s World Fantasy Awards.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Dutton publishes the horror novel Demon Night by J. Michael Straczynski (The Twilight Zone, Babylon 5).
Bantam Books publishes the short story anthology Tales From The New Twilight Zone by J. Michael Straczynski, a collection of prose adaptations of the writer’s scripts for the revived TV series.
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.
The ninth Doctor Who New Adventures novel, “Love And War” by Paul Cornell, is published. A pivotal point in the young book series, “Love And War” sees the exit of TV companion Ace and the introduction of an older companion, archaeologist Professor Bernice Sumemrfield, for the seventh Doctor. Using a non-sequitur mention of the “Hoothi and their great gas dirigibles” from the television story The Brain Of Morbius as a starting point for this book’s enemy, author Cornell crafts a novel that forces the series to grow into more mature territory, with a truly unsettling adversary for the Doctor to fight. An audio version will be produced by Big Finish Productions 20 years later.
Baen Books publishes the first novel in the Honor Harrington series, “On Basilisk Station” by David Weber. A military science fiction story with a female protagonist set in the vein of the Horatio Hornblower novels, the book quickly gains a loyal audience; luckily, Weber and Baen have a second novel already prepared.
Virgin Publishing releases the 23rd book in the Doctor Who New Adventures series, “No Future” by Paul Cornell. This book concludes a five-book cycle involving someone trying to ensnare the Doctor by making paradoxical major changes to the Time Lord’s established history. “No Future” also explains the somewhat cryptic “breakdown” suffered by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart during the 1970s, leading to his retirement from UNIT.
Virgin Publishing releases the first Doctor Who: The Missing Adventures novel, Goth Opera by Paul Cornell, featuring the TARDIS team of the fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan. This novel forms a duology with the New Adventures novel Blood Harvest.
Baen Books publishes the fourth novel in the Honor Harrington series, “Field Of Dishonor” by David Weber.
Virgin Publishing releases the 32nd book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Daniel O’Mahony’s Falls The Shadow.
Virgin Publishing releases the 33rd book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Parasite by Jim Mortimore.
Virgin Publishing releases the 34th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Warlock by former Doctor Who TV script editor Andrew Cartmel.
Virgin Publishing releases the 35th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Set Piece by Kate Orman.
Virgin Publishing releases the 36th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Infinite Requiem by Daniel Blythe.
Virgin Publishing releases the 36th book in the Doctor Who: The New Adventures range, Sanctuary by David A. McIntee.
Virgin Publishing releases the ninth Doctor Who: The Missing Adventures novel, Dancing The Code by Paul Leonard, featuring the TARDIS team of the third Doctor, Jo Grant, and U.N.I.T.