The complete archive of renowned American science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein will be made available online, thanks to an unusual partnership of the University of California-Santa Cruz and the Heinlein Prize Trust.

Heinlein, who lived in Santa Cruz for two decades, was one of the grand masters of science fiction. He became a pop icon in the 1960s with the publication of “Stranger In A Strange Land,” one of the most successful science-fiction novels ever published. He died in 1988.

The entire contents of the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Archive – housed in the UC-Santa Cruz Library’s Special Collections since 1968 – have been scanned in an effort to preserve the contents digitally while making the collection easily available to both academics and the general public. The digitization project was the brainchild of Art Dula, director of the Heinlein Prize Trust.

The first collection released includes 106,000 pages, consisting of Heinlein’s complete manuscripts – including files of all his published works, notes, research, early drafts and edits of manuscripts. The documents offer a window into Heinlein’s creative process and provide background and context for his work.

Other collections soon to be added to the online archive will feature Robert and Virginia Heinlein’s business and personal correspondence, scrapbooks, photo albums, and unpublished works, including communications with Heinlein’s editor and agent.