Algis and Edna Budrys are regulars at the annual Writers of the Future awards events.

ASI: What other stories by Ron do you recall reading?

There were many—such as Final Blackout and Death’s Deputy, which were trendsetters. And then there was To the Stars, which was the first major novel to take off on Einstein’s theory of the time dilation effect on an object traveling close to the speed of light. The story is about one of the first starships and its crew that make the jump between different star systems. Because their ship approaches the speed of light, they are able to visit the stars and still make it back to Earth in a relatively short time. Everyone they knew, however, has grown much older. This creates a big effect on the crew and affects how each relates to those they left behind on Earth and to each other. It explores other subjects like leadership, responsibility and love. These are big concepts and it is, without doubt, a groundbreaking novel.