Orson Scott Card talking to the Writers of the Future Contest Winners at the Writers Workshop.
If you say the words “Ender’s Game” to most people, their minds will often automatically jump to Orson Scott Card, the author of the classic science fiction novel (even if they’ve just seen the movie). Yet that’s just a chip off the tip of the iceberg that is Card’s incredible writing career. Beyond his monumental science fiction work, Card has also written modern fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, scripts, and the Tales of Alvin Maker, a fantasy series set in the American frontier days.
Card has long believed in devoting his time and wisdom to other writers and constantly gives back to the very community he first emerged from. This includes being a Writers of the Future judge since 1994 after being a guest lecturer for the Contest’s writing workshops numerous times. He also established an annual literary boot camp where writers go to have their work critiqued, furthering their craft by leagues (and don’t forget to check out his books on writing).
Over the years, Card has numerous distinctions, including winning the John W. Campbell Award, being a twice-winner of the Nebula Award, a four-time winner of the Hugo award, and also the 2008 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Young Adult Literature.
For his current role as a Writers of the Future judge, Card has this to say: “The Writers of the Future Contest gets the best work of new writers with fresh ideas. Reading the winners is like the exhilaration of a brand-new thrill ride—you’ve never heard this voice before, never shared this vision. That’s why the annual anthology is always so good.… Writers of the Future simply is the best way to launch a career. It’s one of the forces that keep science fiction alive.”
Our thanks to Card for being on our panel of judges who search out and select the new voices of tomorrow.