1 best seller,” he said, “he backlists like crazy.” Patrick Nielsen Hayden, the executive editor for Tor, said the decision was an easy one. Scalzi said he hoped books like “Lock In” could draw more readers toward science fiction, since many, he said, are still “gun-shy” about the genre. Some of the books will extend the popular “Old Man’s War” series, building on an existing audience, and one will be a sequel to “Lock In.” Mr.

Scalzi approached Tor Books, his longtime publisher, with proposals for 10 adult novels and three young adult novels over 10 years. Scalzi’s hyper-caffeinated Internet presence through his blog, Whatever, has made him an online celebrity as well. Scalzi’s works include a series known as the “Old Man’s War” and the more recent “ Redshirts,” a Hugo-award-winning sendup of the luckless lives of nonfeatured characters on shows like the original “Star Trek.” Three of his works are being developed for television, including “Redshirts” and “ Lock In,” a science-inflected medical thriller that evokes Michael Crichton. John Scalzi, a best-selling author of science fiction, has signed a $3.4 million, 10-year deal with the publisher Tor Books that will cover his next 13 books.

Tor publishing house