The idea for Life, the Universe, & Everything was formed in 1982, when Ben Bova was invited to Brigham Young University by the English Department. English professor Marion K. “Doc” Smith was assigned to be Bova’s guest liaison in between official university events. He invited some of his students to hold what was later called a kaffeeklatsch with Bova, and this inspired those students to organize their own event in 1983. A tradition was born.
Since that time, thousands of students have attended and helped run the annual symposium. Many of them also worked on the Leading Edge, a semi-pro science fiction magazine created by many of those same students. Through the years, the annual symposium attendance has grown from a couple dozen to over 1500 in more recent years. During this growth, it has expanded from focusing only on writing and editing to include art, creating new worlds, academic papers on genre topics, creation of games of all sorts, short film festivals, and more.
The LTUE Benefit Anthologies were conceived as a way for us to give back to LTUE. Because it has had such a huge impact on so many of us, the author, editor, and illustrator royalty proceeds from these anthologies go toward helping to educate new writers, artists, editors, and more by making sure the symposium can keep offering greatly-discounted student memberships.
The anthologies in this series include:
- Trace the Stars (February 2019)
Space opera and hard science fiction stories in honor of Marion K. “Doc” Smith - A Dragon and Her Girl (February 2020)
Adventure fantasy stories with a strong female protagonist, in honor of Linda Hunter Adams. - Twilight Tales (February 2021)
Light horror stories in honor of Betty Pope. - Parliament of Wizards (February 2022)
Fantasy and science fiction wizard stories in honor of Jonathan Langford. - A Hero of a Different Stripe (February 2023)
Fantasy and science fiction unlikely hero adventure stories in honor of Tom Grover. - Troubadours and Space Princesses (February 2024)
Science fiction and fantasy adventure stories featuring troubadours and space princesses, created in honor of Dave Wolverton (David Farland). - Dog Save the King! (February 2025)
Science fiction and fantasy stories of canines saving the day in honor of Sue Ream. - For Glory and Honor (February 2026)
Space opera and military science fiction adventure stories in honor of Caroljean Hansen.
More anthologies will be announced and released at the rate of one new anthology each year. Each new anthology will be released during LTUE. Join us on Facebook to keep updated on future releases and author signing events!
Thank you for your support of this amazing symposium. We hope you enjoy these stories.
