Presenting the works of an extraordinary writer...
The Paul Hughes Collection
Paul Hughes
May 1, 1916 to January 20, 1979
May 1, 1916 to January 20, 1979
Paul Hughes, a native Oklahoman and graduate of East Central State University, was a professional writer of books and short stories, a newspaper reporter and editor, a radio and television executive and on-the-air commentator, popular toastmaster, wit, devoted husband and father.
Born in Roff (Okla.), he attended Ada High School (Okla.) and earned his B.A. degree with honors in 1936 from East Central (Okla.), where he served as President of the Senior Class, editor of the campus newspaper, and captain of the school’s debate team.
At the age of 27, his first novel, Retreat from Rostov, was published by Random House. Among his 15 published books were Challenge at Changsha, printed by the MacMillan Company; Jeff, published by John Day; and The Salsbury Story, by the University of Arizona Press. His short stories were published by such magazines as Collier’s, Seventeen, Woman’s Home Companion, Vogue and Liberty.
From 1940 to 1942, he was night editor of the Ada Evening News. Subsequently, he began a long career with KTAR Radio and Television in Phoenix, becoming its vice president and one of the most recognizable air personalities in the state of Arizona. He later founded his own public relations firm, COMCO, before returning to free-lance writing shortly before his death.
In 1971, he gave the commencement address and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from East Central. He was founding elder of the Orangewood Presbyterian Church; president of the Phoenix Kiwanis Club; Program Chairman of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce; President of Camp Fire, Inc.; President of the Arizona Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America; and winner of the Percy Award as the Outstanding Public Relations Professional in Arizona.
He was married 39 years to Marjorie Higbie. They were the parents of four children: Mark, Jo, Laura and Amy.
Paul Hughes stormed onto the literary scene with Random House’s 1943
release of Retreat From Rostov, an incredible melodramatic novel
presentation of viewpoints from military participants, civilians and war
correspondents on the famous battle which saw Hitler’s armies defeated
for the first time.
A bestseller, Retreat From Rostov, the nearly 600-page World War II inspired classic, shared top promo billing with two other Random House bestsellers:
The Ox Bow Incident and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, both of which were made into major movies.
A film company wanted to film Retreat From Rostov on a grandiose scale which World War II budgets could not accommodate. But sometimes it is never too late for such worthy endeavors. UCS PRESS is pursuing possibilities of a TV series based on the book.
Here’s how Retreat From Rostov was described in an article in TIME Magazine:
A bestseller, Retreat From Rostov, the nearly 600-page World War II inspired classic, shared top promo billing with two other Random House bestsellers:
The Ox Bow Incident and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, both of which were made into major movies.
A film company wanted to film Retreat From Rostov on a grandiose scale which World War II budgets could not accommodate. But sometimes it is never too late for such worthy endeavors. UCS PRESS is pursuing possibilities of a TV series based on the book.
Here’s how Retreat From Rostov was described in an article in TIME Magazine:
"The novel was a Russian rodeo of heroes,
heroines, Nazi villains, Don Cossacks, foreign correspondents,
soldiers, civilians, enough snow to bury an army,
enough melodrama to burn out every fuse in Hollywood."
Read the entire
TIME Magazine article.
heroines, Nazi villains, Don Cossacks, foreign correspondents,
soldiers, civilians, enough snow to bury an army,
enough melodrama to burn out every fuse in Hollywood."
Read the entire
TIME Magazine article.
A bit of World War II trivia:
When future United States President George H. W. Bush was aboard the submarine USS Finback, which had rescued the young Bush on September 2, 1944 after his Avenger torpedo bomber went down near the island of Chichi Jima, he wrote the following in a letter to his parents:
I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately. Retreat From Rostov; and Dos Passo’s “Number One” plus “Captain from Connecticut” and now “The Robe."
Now for the really good news:
You can – three generations later – enjoy the wildly entertaining writings of Paul Hughes. UCS PRESS, working with the author’s surviving heirs, son Paul M. (Mark) Hughes and his sisters Jo Nell Boyle and Amy Jane Hinerman, has brought Retreat From Rostov to life in the form of a three-part series:
Retreat From Rostov Part One
Retreat From Rostov Part Two
Retreat From Rostov Part Three
Available now, e-book editions of each are only $4.99 at Amazon Kindle and other leading e-book booksellers, including Apple iPad, Barnes & Noble and Kobo Online Stores, Sony, Smashwords, Stanza, and Diesel eBook Store.
All three editions have been advance-printed and are available to fulfill orders. Print editions are only $14.95 each.
Advance Publication special price
Official publication of the print editions will be March 10-11 at the Tucson Festival of Books at University of Arizona. At least through March 11, 2012, the price for this three-book set will be reduced to only $36. Plus UCS PRESS will provide FREE shipping to destinations in the United States and Canada.
Take advantage of this special offer in the Book Gallery.
The next Paul Hughes title
Watch for release of Mars Descending, one of the books Paul Hughes put to paper during the final two years of his life before a car went through a red light, broad-sided his car and ended his life.
Hughes had compiled 30 years in broadcasting, including being a popular, pioneer talk show host for KTAR Radio in Phoenix, and more years as head of his own PR firm. He’d retired in his early sixties to live his dream of writing books full-time.
In an amazing, sustained burst of creative energy, Hughes transferred from his super fertile mind to paper several book-length manuscripts during those final two years before his death at age 63. Especially during the final seven months, after he'd shut down his PR business, Hughes often wrote from dusk to dawn and beyond.
When future United States President George H. W. Bush was aboard the submarine USS Finback, which had rescued the young Bush on September 2, 1944 after his Avenger torpedo bomber went down near the island of Chichi Jima, he wrote the following in a letter to his parents:
I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately. Retreat From Rostov; and Dos Passo’s “Number One” plus “Captain from Connecticut” and now “The Robe."
Now for the really good news:
You can – three generations later – enjoy the wildly entertaining writings of Paul Hughes. UCS PRESS, working with the author’s surviving heirs, son Paul M. (Mark) Hughes and his sisters Jo Nell Boyle and Amy Jane Hinerman, has brought Retreat From Rostov to life in the form of a three-part series:
Retreat From Rostov Part One
Retreat From Rostov Part Two
Retreat From Rostov Part Three
Available now, e-book editions of each are only $4.99 at Amazon Kindle and other leading e-book booksellers, including Apple iPad, Barnes & Noble and Kobo Online Stores, Sony, Smashwords, Stanza, and Diesel eBook Store.
All three editions have been advance-printed and are available to fulfill orders. Print editions are only $14.95 each.
Advance Publication special price
Official publication of the print editions will be March 10-11 at the Tucson Festival of Books at University of Arizona. At least through March 11, 2012, the price for this three-book set will be reduced to only $36. Plus UCS PRESS will provide FREE shipping to destinations in the United States and Canada.
Take advantage of this special offer in the Book Gallery.
The next Paul Hughes title
Watch for release of Mars Descending, one of the books Paul Hughes put to paper during the final two years of his life before a car went through a red light, broad-sided his car and ended his life.
Hughes had compiled 30 years in broadcasting, including being a popular, pioneer talk show host for KTAR Radio in Phoenix, and more years as head of his own PR firm. He’d retired in his early sixties to live his dream of writing books full-time.
In an amazing, sustained burst of creative energy, Hughes transferred from his super fertile mind to paper several book-length manuscripts during those final two years before his death at age 63. Especially during the final seven months, after he'd shut down his PR business, Hughes often wrote from dusk to dawn and beyond.
Recalls his youngest daughter Amy:
“Dad was born to write. He was devoted day and night to his craft, pouring out words at a speed like no other. Occasionally, I would awaken to the smell of something cooking during the wee hours of the morning while he took a short break. Sleep was not something he was concerned about. The best sleep he got was most likely right before dinner, when Mom was cooking. His head would nod in front of the television and finally drop for a few blessed minutes before waking up again, with a smile and a kind word for my Mom.
“Dad was so passionate during those months. He talked about his novels like they were babies he had given birth to, and in a way, they were. He loved to share his ideas with me. After decades of waiting, he was over the moon with joy.”
Author’s life was sometimes as melodramatic as his writings
Paul Hughes worked at KTAR Radio until a Phoenix doctor told him he was dying of some rare disease. An Oklahoma boy at heart, Hughes wanted to die in what he called “God’s country,” so in 1944 he took his wife and six-month-old son Mark to an apartment in his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma.
After subsisting on a ridiculous diet for a number of months (no meat, no eggs, no anything), he visited an Ada doctor who told him there was nothing wrong with him, and that he should go out and order himself a huge steak.
Alas, his asthma returned in Oklahoma, and Hughes had to pull up stakes again and return to Arizona, where he had originally gone to cure his lung ailments. So in 1945, he returned to Phoenix and rejoined KTAR in what would be an almost 30-year career in broadcasting.
Laughing came naturally to Paul Hughes, shown here interviewing – and laughing – with beloved comedian Bob Hope in the late 1940’s at the Phoenix Open golf tournament.
The author with Doris Day, singer and actress beloved as America’s sweetheart.
In the 1940’s Hughes delivered the annual Easter Sunrise sermon over NBC Radio from the rim of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. His boss at the time at KTAR Radio was Howard Pyle, who would become Governor of Arizona in 1950.
The author of bestselling Retreat From Rostov with his wife, Marjorie, and son, Mark, on the steps leading to their apartment in Ada, Oklahoma.