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.
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.
Continuum publishes Tom Stempel’s non-fiction book Storytellers To The Nation: A History Of American Television Writing, chronicling the craft of writing for television from the medium’s inception through the end of the 1980s.
Pocket Books releases the non-fiction behind-the-scenes book “The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine“, written and illustrated by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
Pocket Books releases the non-fiction book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, by Herbert F. Solow (former Desilu production executive) and Robert H. Justman (former Star Trek co-producer), a memoir of both men’s roles in the making of the original series, and their dealings with the cast and with series creator Gene Roddenberry.
Pocket Books releases the Star Trek non-fiction book “Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series”, written by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, detailing the extent of the pre-production efforts that Paramount and Gene Roddenberry put into a 1970s revival of the original Star Trek that ultimately went unmade.
Little & Brown publishes J.C. Herz’s non-fictional analysis of the video game industry, “Joystick Nation“. The books is a series of essays on the origins, appeal, marketing and interpretation of video games, often from an academic and sociological perspective. A TV documentary project based on the book is announced at a later date, but never enters production.
Ballantine Books releases a slightly revised American edition of David Bassom’s non-fiction behind-the-scenes book “Creating Babylon 5“, originally published in 1996 in the UK. The book features an introduction by series creator J. Michael Straczynski, extensive interviews with the show’s cast and crew, brief episode synopses, and numerous photos. A sticker is affixed to the cover after printing (but before nationwide distribution) to remind purchasers that the series is moving to cable network TNT in 1998.
Boston Books releases the Star Trek non-fiction book “Trek Navigator”, written by Mark Altman and Edward Gross.
Del Rey publishes the first volume of Jane Killick’s behind-the-scenes chronicle of the sci-fi TV series, Babylon 5: Signs And Portents, with a foreword by series star Michael O’Hare.
Pocket Books releases the non-fiction behind-the-scenes book “Star Trek: Voyager: A Vision Of The Future” by Stephen Edward Poe. (In 1968, under the pseudonym Stephen Whitfield, Poe co-authored the original “Making Of Star Trek” with Gene Roddenberry).
Pocket Books releases the non-fiction behind-the-scenes book “The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion”, written by Terry J. Erdmann & Paula M. Block.
Running Press publishes John Sellers’ non-fictional recap of the video game industry’s early landmark titles, “Arcade Fever” (initially announced as “Arcade Planet”). Focusing almost entirely on coin-op games from the 1970s and 1980s, and illustrated with emulator screen shots and game cabinet artwork, the book is subtitled “The Fan’s Guide to the Golden Age of Video Games”. Its irreverent tone is less scholarly than some of the other books on the same topic published around this time.
Smithsonian Books publishes General Thomas Stafford’s non-fictional memoir of his time in NASA, “We Have Capture: Tom Stafford and the Space Race“, co-written with Michael Cassutt. The book details Stafford’s involvement in several NASA missions, from the Gemini program through the high-profile flights of Apollo 10 to the moon and the international Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.
Crown Books publishes Neal Thompson’s non-fictional biography, “Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard“, chronicling the life and career of Alan B. Shepard, the first of the Mercury astronauts to reach space, and the only veteran of the Mercury program to later walk on the moon despite medical issues that nearly ended his spaceflight career.
Berkley Books publishes the non-fiction book Sojourner by Andrew Mishkin, a first-hand account of the design, construction, launch and operation of the first successful Mars rover.
Former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel’s memoir, Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Doctor Who, 1986-1989, is published.
Rolenta Press publishes Confessions Of The Game Doctor, the memoirs of Bill Kunkel (1950-2011), one of the founding editors of Electronic Games Magazine.
Big Finish Productions releases the autobiography of Blake’s 7 actor Paul Darrow, You’re Him, Aren’t You?
Benbella Books releases the non-fiction Star Trek essay anthology “Boarding The Enterprise”, edited by and featuring contributions from David Gerrold. Other contributors include Norman Spinrad, D.C. Fontana, Paul Levinson and Eric Greene. (theLogBook.com webmaster Earl Green aided with this book’s fact-checking and editing.)
Harper publishes the non-fiction book Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN by Susanne Daniels and Cynthia Littleton, who had first-hand knowledge of both short-lived television networks’ dealings.
Pan Macmillan Australia publishes music journalist Chris Bourke’s biography of the recent-disbanded NZ/Australian rock band Crowded House, written with extensive interview access to all of the members (as well as colleagues and family members) of the band’s original lineup.
The University of Nebraska Press publishes Homesteading Space: The Skylab Story, a comprehensive history of the American Skylab space station program written by David Hitt and Skylab astronauts Owen Garriott, Joe Kerwin, and Alan Bean. The book is part of University of Nebraska Press’ Outward Odyssey: A People’s History of Spaceflight series.
MIT Press publishes the non-fiction book Racing The Beam: The Atari Video Computer System by Nick Montfort & Ian Bogost, a technically-oriented overview of the historic home video game system.
Story: Three books tell the story of legendary punk band the Sex Pistols.
Review: My fascination with the Sex Pistols began with my brother giving me the documentary The Filth and the Fury for either my birthday or Christmas one year with the cryptic words “You don’t know you want this.” He followed that up with John Lydon’s autobiography, “Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs”, but I just couldn’t get into it, not getting past the first few pages before I put it down. But about a year later, I acquired a different book on the Sex Pistols by their US tour manager, Noel Monk; “12 Days on the Road”, the story of the band’s raucous career-ending tour. With its much more visceral feel and crazy stories right off the bat, it was much easier to get into. So after finishing that, I went back to “Rotten” and then bought original bass player Glen Matlock’s autobiography “I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol”. Three very different perspectives on the story of the band lead to three very different books. Ultimately, they compliment each other, helping to give a more rounded view than any one book would have done alone.
The University of Nebraska Press publishes Ambassadors From Earth: Pioneering Explorations With Unmanned Spacecraft, a comprehensive history of American robotic outer solar system missions written by Jay Gallentine. The book is part of University of Nebraska Press’ Outward Odyssey: A People’s History of Spaceflight series.
Greenleaf publishes Mike Smith’s book Warnings: The True Story Of How Science Tamed The Weather, serving both as a history of severe weather forecasting in the U.S. and the evolution of the modern-day watch/warning system, and Smith’s memoir about his weather-related business ventures.
Bloomsbury Academic publishes Paul Atkinson’s well-illustrated non-fiction book Delete: A Design History of Computer Vapourware, detailing never-made hardware platforms from computer manufacturers both well-known and obscure.