And the winners are:

John Barlow from Minnesota
HeatherAnne Lee from New York
Breanda Audrey Petsch from Colorado

Finalists:

Yeo Jin Lee from Texas
Grace Nah from New York
Sidney Shurgin from New York
Kelsey Spade from Kentucky
Michael Vidal from Florida

Semi-Finalists:

Emily Alvarez-Acosta from California
Kate Balogh from California
Jordan Bush from Georgia
Jeslyn Chan from Hong Kong Island
Angelina Chen from California
Travis Deming from Utah
Alec Fortune from Texas
Przemek Gawlas from Poland
Kaitlyn Gulley from Indiana
Bryan M. Hancock from Texas
Ching-Ling Ke from Illinois
Mali Nicholson from California
Jeremy Pena from Florida
Sophia Tegtmeyer from California
Ian Vivas Garcia from Arizona
Lauren Whitesides from Washington
David Wilson from Nevada
Alice Yurkova from California

Honorable Mentions:

Mina Abdullah from Texas
Lau Caminha Aguiar from Brazil
Luciano Aguilar from California
Van Aileen from New Jersey
Rose Ally from Texas
Zeinab Alrubaiee from Michigan
Archita Ananthula from Texas
Kalea Arian from California
Danny Avalos Jr. from Texas
Ameria B from Oklahoma
Victoria Bailey from Texas
Alexandra Barouty from Oregon
Vassilios Bayiokos from New Jersey
Joy Blocker from Nebraska
Ahmi Bradshaw-Nixon from Virginia
Isabel Braman from Wisconsin
Aiden Brown from Georgia
Stacey Brown from Maryland
Theron Brown, II from Texas
Kathryn Brumm from Michigan
Toni Burba from Florida
Carley Caldwell from Maine
Jayli Capasso from New York
GR Collins from Great Britain
Erika Coon from California
Jeri Crippen from Arizona
Ina Crockett from West Virginia
Eernie Culp from Florida
Rose Cumiskey from Virginia
Brandon Dales from Michigan
Dale Davis from Utah
Kristopher De Leon from New York
Celia DeMary from Ohio
Zdravko Denev from Great Britain
Clark Denny from California
Bhimarjun Dhimal from Kansas
Macy Doft from Colorado
Abigail Eckels from Ohio
Tessa Farria from Philippines
Jacob Faulkner from California
Ryan Fay from California
Concetta Franciamore from Italy
Rosy Fu from California
Jailene Garcia from Pennsylvania
Amore Garcia from Texas
Lillian Josephine Haley from Oregon
Lindsey Hatch from Ohio
Jazzy Hawkins from Georgia
Maris Hayes from New York
Kirei Heath from Florida
Regan Herzog from Ohio
Taylor L. Hinders from Texas
Alondra Hippensteel from California
Carolina Hoppmann from South Carolina
Irena Horodynska from Arizona
Kailey Hu from California
Lujain Jallab from South Carolina
Shavonne Johnson from Tennessee
Lillian Jones from Florida
Ananya Kanagaraj from Tennessee
Kae Kapust from South Dakota
Paige Kardos from New Jersey
Bryce Katiman from North Carolina
Anna Kinslow from Texas
Maiya Kisten from Florida
Niko Kristic from Great Britain
Aubrie Landolt from California
Hayden Larson from New York
Ana Leon from Florida
Lucy Lin from Illinois
Alexandra Linlor from California
Xinyi Liu from China
Gosama Maharjan from Maryland
Felix Makennah from New Jersey
Lianna Martinez from Pennsylvania
McKenna McMackin from Oregon
Madolyn McNaughton from Australia
Elka Mei from Canada
Josie Milner from North Carolina
Abigail Moore from Massachusetts
Christina Morse from New York
Alison Nichols from Florida
Anna Nicol from Ohio
Julianna Notaro from Massachusetts
Kayani Ostojich from California
Mark Taylor Overbey from Georgia
Nina Paris from Illinois
Sage Pedersen from Idaho
Neo S. Peepers from Wisconsin
Deja Pemberton from Maryland
Javier Quintana from Italy
Laila Racquel from Texas
Mathew Redmann from Wisconsin
Kariel Rivera from Florida
Kathryn Robertson from North Carolina
Gilbert Rodriguez from Florida
Youvna Salian from India
Micah Sanders from Michigan
Kailey J. Smith from Florida
Nicole Smith from Michigan
Natalie Sorber from Utah
Ken Sorrow from Tennessee
Candice Stephens from Arkansas
Nola Steuer from Oregon
Noel Stinson from Washington
Jaiel Stjohn from Maryland
Sovila Sun from Utah
Alexis Targum from New Jersey
Annika TenBroek from Kansas
Miranda Davina-Gomez Tess from District of Columbia
Miranda Thorne from Virginia
Rodica Todd from Great Britain
Bekzod Toirov from Uzbekistan
Monique Trejo from Nebraska
Hamro Usmonov from Uzbekistan
Claire Vendsel from California
Cyan Vidales Nicoletti from Virginia
Deena Vore from Tennessee
Anna Vyshegorodtseva from Michigan
Michaela Walker from Ohio
Tse’Kai Walker from Ohio
Zan Wang from United Kingdom
Sarah Westawker from Minnesota
Ashley White from California
Chloe Rhoslyn Williams from Minnesota
Nolan Wollmer from Wisconsin
Ash Wong from California
Megan York from Texas
Connie Yu from Illinois

The post Illustrators of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 41 appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

And the winners are:

First Place – TR Naus from Virginia
Second Place – Ian Keith from Arizona
Third Place – Joel C. Scoberg from Wales, Great Britain

Finalists:

L.J. Axxelen from Canada
Patrick Leitzen from Iowa
Parker McIntosh from Oregon
Michael Michel from Oregon
Callum Rowland from Great Britain

Semi-Finalists:

A.P. Hawkins from Texas
Erik M. Johnson from Massachusetts
Irene Liang from Texas
C.M. Murray from Delaware
James SW Paris from Tennessee
Thomas Poldervaart from the Netherlands
Kathryn Robertson from North Carolina
Nick Thomas from Ohio
Malia Walker from Colorado

Silver Honorable Mentions:

Matt Athanasiou from Illinois
Jen Bair from Georgia
Kate Bergquist from New Hampshire
Jules Bly from California
Tanner Call from Maryland
Madeleine Chae from North Carolina
Peter Coughlin from New York
Adrian Croft from Canada
Rachael Cupp from Arizona
Kate Dane from Minnesota
Victoria L. Dixon from Kansas
Thomas R. Eggenberger from Japan
Ian Gonzales from Washington
Chris Griffiths from New Zealand
Bill Hackenberger from California
Alex Harford from Great Britain
Hyrum W. Hawks from Utah
Cody Hegel from California
Benjamin Hewett from Texas
Kori L.M. Hughes from New York
C.T. Jones from Australia
Andria Kennedy from Virginia
Gavin Keon from Australia
Kevin Kepko from Florida
Tammy Komoff from Florida
Liz Lazo from Colorado
Jordan Legg from Canada
Christopher Maleney from Pennsylvania
Nathan Marekera from Zimbabwe
Ryan McBride from Washington
A.M. Mischek from Wisconsin
Daniel K. Morgan from Great Britain
Melanie Mulrooney from Canada
Mandy Munro from Australia
Jeff Naylor from Minnesota
Carrina Nieman from Montana
Cara O’Sullivan from Utah
Kathleen Powell from Missouri
Beth Powers from Indiana
Jeffrey Alan Rector from California
K.Z. Richards from Ohio
Steve Rodgers from California
Drew Rogers from California
Caroline Searls from Texas
L.A. Selby from California
Sheri Singerling from Germany
Gideon P. Smith from Massachusetts
Melody Sundholm from Oregon
Ramya Suresh from Washington
Muhammad Hadi Umar from Pakistan
Shannon Valenzuela from Texas
Rory Veguilla from Florida
Jilian Wahlquist from California
Elliott Wink from California
Brad Zeiger from Oregon

Honorable Mentions:

Christopher A. Nadeau from Michigan
Joy Achill from Austria
Chris Africa from Michigan
A.M. Aikman from Florida
Lenore Alecto from Texas
Yasmeen Amro from Jordan
Mark Geraint B. Aragona from Philippines
Lindsey Azurin from California
Tina Back from California
Andrew Barber from Virginia
Gary Battershell from Arkansas
Melissa Beaty from Tennessee
Hannah Beecher from New Hampshire
Ryan Benson from Georgia
Marcelo Bighetti from Utah
HM Bird from Utah
Dave Blake from Great Britain
D.P. Blanchard from Massachusetts
Tyler Bourassa from Canada
Nathan Bowen from Great Britain
C. Clayton Bowman from Virginia
David Bridge from Great Britain
Morgan Broadhead from Ohio
Gabriel Burch from Oklahoma
Ethan Campbell from Hawaii
Jennifer Campbell-Hicks from Colorado
Jenny Perry Carr from Texas
Brandon Case from Nevada
David Chamberlain from California
Joann C. Chapman from Utah
Jordan Chase-Young from Australia
Christopher Cherrwin from California
Patrick Childress from District of Columbia
Gio Clairval from Italy
Chris Clemens from Canada
A.J. Coates from Canada
John Coffren from Maryland
Daniel M. Cojocaru from Switzerland
Zevar Collan from Finland
Derek Coller from Washington
Alexander Condie from Canada
Adelie Condra from Virginia
Jason P. Crawford from California
Brian Crenshaw from Ohio
James D. Crofts, III from Utah
D.M. Cross from Maryland
Sarah Darbee from Louisiana
Edward Daschle from Washington
Emily Dauvin from Canada
Livia E. De Souza from Connecticut
Abigail Deland from Great Britain
John E. DeLaughter from Oklahoma
Michelle J. Diaz from Oregon
Adam Dickson from Canada
Michael Anthony Dioguardi from New York
K.A. Dowd from Utah
Kayleigh Duggan from New York
P. Dupree from South Africa
A.V. Dutson from Utah
Jenna Eatough from Utah
Alex English from Illinois
Mark English from New Zealand
Damien Esposito from New York
Bree Ewing from Kentucky
Timothy Falasca from Florida
Angelique Fawns from Canada
Shirley Bear Fedorak from Canada
Daniel Fenton from Kansas
Aedan Ferrara from California
Samuel Finn from Washington
Kimberly Finnell-Mulvena from Arizona
Isabel Firster from Kentucky
Hannah Flanders from Florida
Cassiopeia Fletcher from Missouri
Luca Forno D’Adamo from U.S. Virgin Islands
Adam Fout from Texas
Shannon Fox from California
Joseph Friesen from Canada
James Fritz from Illinois
John A. Frochio from Pennsylvania
Jack Gallegos from New Mexico
E.M. Gaucher from Canada
Cara Giles from Utah
Nate Givens from Virginia
Vance Gloster from California
Ed Godbois from Massachusetts
J.C.G. Goelz from Louisiana
Arlo Z. Graves from California
Robin Rose Graves from California
Joshua Green from Australia
Jentina Grey from California
Harambee K. Grey-Sun from Virginia
Jeff Grimm from Oregon
William Gronefeld from Ohio
Trent Guillory from Texas
Iver Gullixson from Montana
Kris Hager from Georgia
Alex Hale from Colorado
Mervi Hamalainen from Finland
Su Mon Han from Washington
D.R.R. Hatch from Utah
Christopher Henckel from New Zealand
Jim Henderson from Colorado
Michelle Henrie from Utah
Juliea Miriah Hetherington from Washington
C.R. Hodges from Colorado
Ben Holden from Great Britain
C.B. Iota from New Mexico
Jackson from Florida
Raven Jakubowski from New York
Alex Jantz from Wisconsin
S.R. Jensen from Idaho
Emery Jessop from Utah
Sophia Johannessen from Canada
R.A. Johnson from Pennsylvania
Bob Johnston from Great Britain
Kent Alan Jones from Iowa
Doublas Jones from North Carolina
Arindam Kalita from India
Toshiya Kamei from Missouri
Hannya Kay from Spain
Angela Kayd from Massachusetts
Kristina Kelly from Indiana
Dan Kenner from Idaho
Kari Kilgore from Virginia
Esther Kim from Pennsylvania
David Klotzkin from New York
Niko Kristic from Great Britain
Yuri Kukhar from Pennsylvania
Fernando L R from Mexico
Jason Lairamore from Oklahoma
Brad Larner from Michigan
MQ Larue from Florida
Kathy Latusick from Oregon
Pete Lead from New Zealand
R.J.K. Lee from Japan
Cheri Lee from Michigan
Jennifer Lesh Fleck from Washington
Elizabeth Levin from Illinois
Candice R. Lisle from New Mexico
Hannah Le Liu from Canada
Charlie B. Lorch from France
W.P. Louviere from Oregon
Gene Louviere from Louisiana
Lovett Lovett from Great Britain
E.E. Lucek from Illinois
Natalie Maddern from Australia
Skip Maris from Maryland
Anneli Marks from Denmark
J.R. Martin from Texas
Collin Masteller from California
Django Mathijsen from Netherland
Justin R. McArthur from Canada
Samantha M. McWilliams from New Jersey
Dan Mecham from Utah
Rainbow Medicine-Walker from Washington
Jen Mierisch from Illinois
Devin Miller from North Carolina
Lauren Moore from Texas
Sam Moses from Utah
H.Y. Motte from Arizona
Hallie WhiffleLoop Murat from New Jersey
Lori Ann Nelson from Texas
Scott Newman from Great Britain
Alice Nord from France
Carsan Okamoto from California
John M. Olsen from Utah
Spencer Orey from Denmark
Ryan Owen from Massachusetts
Jacob Perez from California
Jerry Parker from California
B.A. Paul from Indiana
Nicky Penttila from Maryland
Nelson Plank from Missouri
William Platt from Florida
Juho Pohjalainen from Finland
Brenda Posey from Alabama
Alyssa Preston from Ohio
Maddy Rain from Florida
Lee Rector from California
Afton Reed from Utah
S.C. Rey from Utah
J.M. Roberts from Illinois
Jamie Roe from Great Britain
Gavin Ross from Canada
Johanna Rothman from Massachusetts
Alley Rowland from Kansas
Aili Sanchez from Massachusetts
Scott M. Sands from Australia
Annmarie SanSevero from Arkansas
James JH Scala from Canada
Hannah Schofield from Great Britain
Alix Seidman from New Jersey
Lily Séjor from France
Jaakko Seppälä from Finland
Zac Sherman from Ohio
Hank Shore from North Carolina
Joseph Sidari from Massachusetts
G.V. Silva from Germany
Catherine Simpson from Virginia
J.L. Smyser from Colorado
I.J. Sparks from Colorado
Jake Stein from Oregon
Dan W. Stohel from Oregon
Prim Sutchiewcharn from Thailand
Erin L. Swann from Maryland
Amor Tellus from Colorado
Jude Thaddean from Texas
D.J. Thiess from Georgia
Jayden Thompson from Kentucky
Loretta Torossian from Florida
Stephanie Turner from Canada
Timothy James Turnipseed from Texas
Katharine Tyndall from Germany
Theresa Tyree from Oregon
Jack Miles Ventimiglia from Missouri
Eric Vonder Haar from California
Stephanie VonSmore from Florida
KT Wagner from Canada
Hunter Kay Wallace from Montana
Cathleen Weng from Tennessee
Ana Wesley from California
Kevin West from Germany
Dean Westen from Georgia
Iris Whelan from Maryland
Jennica Whitney from Oregon
Leslie Wibberley from Canada
J.F. Wiegand from Maryland
K.A. Wiggins from Canada
A Wilkins from New Zealand
Jarrod K. Williams from Ohio
Paul Wilson from Ohio
Sterling Wolfe from New York
William R.D. Wood from Virginia
David Woolley from Utah
Error Writes from Sweden
Kathleen Zoll from Pennsylvania

The post Writers of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 41 appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests are pleased to announce the third-quarter winners for its 41st year.

For the Writers of the Future Contest, the writer winners for the quarter ending June 30, 2024, are:

• First Place – TR Naus from Virginia
• Second Place – Ian Keith from Arizona
• Third Place – Joel C. Scoberg from Wales

For the Illustrators of the Future Contest, the winners are:

• John Barlow from Minnesota
• HeatherAnne Lee from New York
• Breanda Audrey Petsch from Colorado

Congratulations to them all! They will be published in 2025 in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41.

You can find the complete list of Finalists, Semi-Finalists, and Honorable Mentions at:

Writers of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 41

Illustrators of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 41

In 1985, with the release of the first volume of the series, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “The artist injects the spirit of life into a culture. And through his creative endeavors, the writer works continually to give tomorrow a new form.” The Contest Director, Joni Labaqui, stated, “We remain true to the direction set by Mr. Hubbard of providing that means for the aspiring writer and artist to be seen and acknowledged. We have celebrated winners from 50 out of over 175 countries with entrants.”

The award-winning writers and illustrators will be flown out to Hollywood for a week-long workshop with Contest judges, some of the field’s biggest names. Plus, a lavish awards ceremony.

Writer judges are Kevin J. Anderson, Dr. Doug Beason, Dr. Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Brian Herbert, Hugh Howey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Katherine Kurtz, Todd McCaffrey, Rebecca Moesta, Larry Niven, Jody Lynn Nye, Dr. Nnedi Okorafor, Tim Powers, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Brandon Sanderson, Dr. Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dean Wesley Smith, and Dr. Sean Williams.

Illustrator judges are Echo Chernik, Lazarus Chernik, Ciruelo, Vincent Di Fate, Diane Dillon, Bob Eggleton, Craig Elliott, Larry Elmore, Laura Freas Beraha, Brian C. Hailes, Brittany Jackson, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephan Martiniere, Mike Perkins, Sergey Poyarkov, Rob Prior, Irvin Rodriguez, Dan dos Santos, Shaun Tan, Tom Wood, and Stephen Youll.

The success of the Contests is measured by the success of its winning authors and illustrators.

The 559 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 2,000 novels and 6,300 short stories, and their works have sold over 60 million copies. In addition, 16 winners have 41 New York Times bestselling books combined.

The 406 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 6,800 illustrations and 390 comic books, graced 700 books and albums with their art, and visually contributed to 68 TV shows and 40 major movies.

For more information about Writers and Illustrators of the Future, visit www.writersofthefuture.com.

The post Winners Announced: 3rd Quarter Volume 41 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast has just posted episode 300. Now in its fifth year, the Podcast has over 66 million downloads from over 120 countries. It is hosted on SoundCloud and available on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), iHeartRadio, Pocket Casts, Podbay, Podbean, Spotify, and YouTube. The Podcast was syndicated on the United Public Radio Network as it neared its 100th episode and has been a finalist seven times in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards, one of the most intense podcast competitions in the world, with over three million individual people voting for 900 podcasts across 30 categories.

To provide some perspective on the podcast environment, in 2019, there were over 819,000 podcasts. Today, there are over 3.2 million podcasts in the world, according to ListenNotes. A podcast getting over 30 downloads per episode is in the top 50%, a podcast getting over 115 downloads is in the top 25%, and over 4,782 in the top 1%, per The Podcast Host.

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast was launched in April 2019. It was created to provide writing and illustrating tips and advice from contest judges, winners, and industry professionals for writers and artists, along with the inspiration needed to keep going.

Providing help to aspiring writers and artists is all the more urgent, says podcast host John Goodwin, “There are upwards of four million books published each year, with roughly three million being self-published.”  L. Ron Hubbard noted in his inaugural essay to Writers of the Future that “The competition is very keen and even dagger sharp.” Goodwin concluded, “And so this podcast is dedicated to those wanting to succeed with these art forms.”

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast was inspired by L. Ron Hubbard’s mission statement in 1983 when he created the Writers of the Future Contest: “A culture is as rich and as capable of surviving as it has imaginative artists. The artist is looked upon to start things. The artist injects the spirit of life into a culture. And through his creative endeavors, the writer works continually to give tomorrow a new form.”

In addition to Contest winners, guests of the Podcast have included such industry giants (listed alphabetically) as Craig Alanson (Expeditionary Force series), Kevin J. Anderson (Dune Prequels), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Echo Chernik (Art Nouveau artist), Roger Christian (Academy Award winner for Star Wars set design), Tom Doherty (Publisher of Tor), Bob Eggleton (winner of 11 Chesley Awards), Larry Elmore (Dragonlance artist), Brian Herbert (Dune prequels), Hugh Howey (Silo), Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Nnedi Okorafor (Binti series), Tim Powers (On Stranger Tides), Rob Prior (Spawn and Heavy Metal artist), A.G. Riddle (Quantum Radio), James Rosone (Monroe Doctrine), Robert J. Sawyer (The Oppenheimer Alternative), Dean Wesley Smith (Seeders Universe), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn), Toni Weisskopf (Publisher of Baen Books), and Tom Wood (Tom Wood Fantasy Art).

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast is one of several tools made available for aspiring writers and artists by the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests. For over four decades—and nearly 1,000 writers and artists—L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests have discovered and nurtured a steady stream of new talent who have changed the face of science fiction and fantasy.

For more information about Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast, visit writersofthefuture.com/podcast/.

The post The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast Celebrates 300 Episodes appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

And the winners are:

Cam Collins from Illinois
Marianna Mester from Hungary
Jordan Smajstrla from Texas

Finalists:

Tamur Chen from California
Minji Cho from Republic of Korea
Rosy Fu from California
Przemek Gawlas from Poland
Adalyn Rogers from Indiana
Tray Streeter from Utah
Roddy Taylor from Washington
Brenton Wang from Massachusetts
Amelia Whalen from Kentucky

Semi-Finalists:

Lorna Herron from Utah
Brooklyn Hollaway from Pennsylvania
Caleb Houser from Nebraska
Mira Karenina from Indonesia
Grace Kegel from Pennsylvania
Joyce Ko from New Jersey
Rayona Leipzig from New York
Amuri Morris from Virginia
Adriana Pantoja from California
Torrie Sterns from California
Sammy Wendland from Pennsylvania
Gina Xu from Texas

Honorable Mentions:

Ivan Alexiev from Bulgaria
Arlly Amaranto from Virginia
Tamar Deasia Askew from Georgia
Zohreh Baghhban from Great Britain
Gabrielle Nabe Baldos from California
Vassilios Bayiokos from New Jersey
H Bevins from Alabama
Robert Blaylock from Virginia
Faxriyorjon Botirxonov from Uzbekistan
Martin Brisebois from Canada
Taylor Brooks from Maryland
Ci-Ci Bryant from Ohio
Chloe Burgess from Georgia
Kyli Burgos from Pennsylvania
Alexander Bushnik from Connecticut
Andrea Busi from Italy
Christian Camacho from California
Micah Carwile from Florida
Jaelyn Castro from Florida
Yuna Cha from Minnesota
Joann Cruz from California
Zach Daniek from Oregon
Dylan Day from Georgia
MW de Bruyne from South Africa
Benjamin DeHaan from Japan
Nikolett Delafraye from Hungary
Reed Delp from Texas
Joe DiPastena from Arizona
Ciara Dunn from Florida
Viviana Edwards from Maryland
Saniyah Edwards from Florida
Tracy Eire from Washington
Iskandar Esanov from Uzbekistan
Rhiannon Ferguson from Texas
Concetta Franciamore from Italy
Isis Fraser from New York
Eziri Chuks Godson from Lagos
Little Mack Goodman from North California
Ari Grier from Virginia
Preslee Hall from Michigan
Kyra Hauber from Iowa
Ta’Jon Elisha Heard from Maryland
Svetlana Heath from Colorado
Ezra Hejny from Colorado
Daliena Hernandez from New York
Farida Hojimurodova from Uzbekistan
Carolina Hoppmann from South Carolina
Christian Jackson from Louisiana
Vidhi Jadeja from Texas
Kae Kapust from South Dakota
Niko Kristic from Great Britain
Shelby Lageson from Idaho
Jendavy Lam from Utah
Rocio Laucerica from Florida
Murphy Lenser from Canada
Jimmy Li from New York
Al Lombardi from Florida
Lili Luc from Ohio
Dominic Lujan from Alabama
Chloe Malone from Mississippi
Jankeldi Marqabaev from Uzbekistan
Max Martelli from Vermont
Jaron Milman from Rhode Isalnd
Makyla Mobley from Illinois
Brooke Morris from Florida
Ojo Moses from Nigeria
Autumn Moye from Connecticut
Oliver Okoth from Kenya
Kayani Ostojich from California
Mazzlyn Paulson from California
Sage Pedersen from Idaho
Christopher Plyler from Missouri
Rachel Polvadore from Georgia
Christa Prentiss from Colorado
Alli Putnam from Ohio
Reagan Quinn from Pennsylvania
Chandler Reese from Louisiana
Luis Renova from Texas
Diego Roa from Illinois
Eva Robertson from Virginia
Gilbert Rodriguez from Florida
Josue Rodriguez from New Jersey
Caleigh Rosler from Pennsylvania
Maya Runkle from Ohio
Emma Schwartz from Nebraska
Maya Serero from California
Angeliki Siakantari from Greece
Jessica Sick from Pennsylvania
Katelyn Sigouin from Maryland
Olivia Sims from Texas
Jessie Situ from California
Jasmine Smith from Virginia
Julia Stokes from New York
Lisa Sun from Virginia
Kylie Thomas from Pennsylvania
Ruth Tian from Utah
Erica Vasquez from California
Bryanna Vega from Nevada
Cyan Vidales Nicoletti from Virginia
Steven Villanova from Connecticut
Breanna Williamson from Georgia
TS Wolfe from Great Britain
Leila Woods from Texas

The post Illustrators of the Future 4th Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 41 appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

And the winners are:

First Place – Patrick MacPhee from Canada
Second Place – Andrew Jackson from Great Britain
Third Place – Robert F. Lowell from California

Finalists:

Ross C. Higgins from Texas
Todd Jones from Michigan
Darren Lipman from Wisconsin
K.Z. Richards from Ohio
Melody Sundholm from Oregon

Semi-Finalists:

Arden Baker from Australia
Julianne Burton from Alaska
R.G. Clarke from Pennsylvania
Daryn Faulkner from Ohio
Daniel Gedge from Georgia
Scott George from Arizona
Andrew Hughes from Arizona
Ronnie Lyn from Colorado
Kevin West from Germany
A.F. Youngblood from Missouri

Silver Honorable Mentions:

K.C. Aegis from California
Jen Bair from Georgia
Jessica Barone from California
Hannah Baumgardt from Minnesota
Melissa Beaty from Tennessee
Philip Beyer from Texas
Ian Brazee-Cannon from Colorado
David Bridge from Great Britain
Jenny Perry Carr from Texas
Blake Casselman from Utah
Madalyn Chevalier from South Carolina
Chelsea Cohen from Texas
Marthinus Conradie from South Africa
Adrian Croft from California
Brenna Cuba from Florida
Scott M. Davis from New York
Alix Day from New Jersey
Michelle J. Diaz from Oregon
Adam Dickson from Canada
Michael Anthony Dioguardi from New York
O.L. Drake from North Carolina
William Drauper from Texas
Sofia Ezdina from Russia
Thomas Farringer-Logan from Oregon
CL Fors from California
Jordan Goodwin from Arkansas
Cydney Goodwin from Florida
Leigh Gorelik from Arizona
Laurel Hanson from Maine
Christopher Holmes from Washington
Cathy Humble from Oregon
EJ Kavounas from California
Angela Kayd from Massachusetts
Karen L. Kobylarz from Illinois
Jason Lairamore from Oklahoma
Eric Lard from California
Mathew Lebowitz from Massachusetts
Nicholas Licalsi from Texas
Karly M. Lively from Nevada
Charley Marsh from Minnesota
Kat Meadows from Texas
Allie Kiri Mendelsohn from California
Tristan and Blaise Miranda from California
Jan Nerenberg from Oregon
Malachi Norris from Utah
Riley Odell from Colorado
Kathleen Powell from Missouri
Miriam Reynoldson from Australia
Cressida Blake Roe from Arizona
G.X. Rosberch from Kentucky
Manisha Sahoo from India
Ian Salavon from Texas
J Broc Sewell from South Korea
Sheri Singerling from Germany
Thomas K. Slee from Australia
Gideon P. Smith from Massachusetts
Heidi Sommer from Utah
Kaylee VanDyke from Arkansas
Jillian Wahlquist from California
Ana Wesley from California
Amanda White from Texas
K.A. Wiggins from Canada
Mac Willow from South Dakota
E.C. Wonder from Ohio
Quinn Young from Iowa

Honorable Mentions:

Joy Achill from Austria
Olubunmi Adeloye from District of Columbia
Patricia Ahlborn from Sweden
Benedict J. Amato from Florida
B. Kent Anderson from Utah
C.M. Andrews from Utah
Charity Ayres from Virginia
Haneen Babbitt from Japan
Raluca Balasa from Canada
Clayton Barnett from Ohio
Gary Battershell from Arkansas
Christopher Baxter from Utah
J.I. Baydoun from Michigan
Joe Benet from North Carolina
Ryan Benson from Georgia
Caleb Bishop from Missouri
Daniel Blatt from California
Joshua Boehman from Maryland
Bret Booher from Indiana
Mark Bossingham from Japan
Carlos Bowe from New York
Bryan Brady from Pennsylvania
Andrew S. Breach from Indiana
J.D. Brink from Ohio
Michael D. Britton from Utah
Dallas Brooks from Colorado
LMR Brown from Illinois
Julie Brydon from California
Tanner Call from Maryland
Gia Camagna from California
Viviana Camille from Mexico
Veronica Campbell from Wisconsin
Aaron Canton from Utah
Theo Carr from Great Britain
Hunter Carson from Texas
Brandon Case from Nevada
Timothy Cassidy-Curtis from California
Aimee R. Cervenka from Washington
Eloise Chakour from Canada
Bret Chandler from Illinois
Tiffany Chaney from Virginia
Hannah Clark from Oregon
A.J. Coates from California
David J. Cochrane from Louisiana
JS Coetzee from South Africa
M.M. Colt from Colorado
Stephen Cooper from Virginia
Steven Corbin from Canada
Zaslow Crane from Washington
Yelena Crane from Pennsylvania
Jan Cronos from New York
Ro Cunningham from Texas
Kate Dane from Minnesota
Emily Dauvin from Canada
Russell Dillingham from Washington
Taskel Dillon from Sweden
Mira Dover from Virginia
Annie Dundowyn from Tennessee
Frank Dutkiewicz from Michigan
A.V. Dutson from Utah
Joshua Dyer from West Virginia
Tracy Eire from Washington
Jaime Esteva from Virginia
Simon J.E. Fanta from Austria
Kat Farrow from Utah
Angelique Fawns from Canada
Bryce Fessler from Nevada
Kate Fitzgerald from Florida
Shannon Fox from California
James Frierson from Texas
Joseph Friesen from Canada
John A. Frochio from Pennsylvania
Robert Gallup from Oregon
Jasmin Gelinck from Netherlands
Cara Giles from Utah
Bowen Gillings from Colorado
Tiina Giocada from Canada
Nate Givens from Virginia
Matthew Goldberg from Pennsylvania
Ian Gonzales from Washington
Stephen Michael Gousie from Massachusetts
Peter Michael Gray from Great Britain
Jentina Grey from California
Echo Guernsey from California
Trent Guillory from Texas
Kassandra Haakman from Florida
Brad A. Halverson from Utah
A.P. Hawkins from Texas
Alex Hawksworth-Brookes from Great Britain
Christopher Henckel from New Zealand
D.D. Hightower from New York
Kristy Hodges from South Carolina
Laura Holley from Utah
William R. Humble from Texas
Helen Jack from New Mexico
Jared A. Jackson from Florida
Abby Jackson from Indiana
Atlas James from Florida
Mira Jiang from Texas
R.A. Johnson from Pennsylvania
S.L. Johnson from Australia
Samuel Johnston from Minnesota
Myra Karine from Utah
Hanna-Kaisa Kärpinlehto from Finland
Hannya Kay from Spain
Mark Keane from Great Britain
Janessa Keeling from Kentucky
Seth W. Kennedy from California
Andria Kennedy from Virginia
Dan Kenner from Idaho
Kevin Kepko from Florida
David Klotzkin from New York
Jesse Koehler from Virginia
Anitha Krishnan from Canada
Michael La Ronn from Iowa
Adrian Law from New Mexico
R.J.K. Lee from Japan
Jordan Legg from Canada
Syll Lian from Singapore
Karen A. Lin from Washington
Candice R. Lisle from New Mexico
Dawn Lloyd from Washington
Gilson Louis from Brazil
E.E. Lucek from Illinois
S.K. Lyon from Mississippi
Donn Lyon from Jamaica
Natalie Maddern from Australia
Daniel Maidman from New York
Mark Manifesto from California
Nathan Marekera from Zimbabwe
Inbar Marmelshtein from Israel
Ian Martinez-Cassmeyer from Missouri
Kain Massin from Australia
Chelsy J. Maughan from Texas
C.W. Maurer from New Hampshire
Breilen Maybee from Michigan
Robert J. McCarter from Arizona
M.L. McCortney from New York
Charles Mears from Florida
Andrew S. Medici from Pennsylvania
Mason Michalak from Michigan
Devin Miller from North Carolina
Jesse Mirth from Oregon
Aisha Misbah from Washington
A.M. Mischek from Wisconsin
Atlas Moon from Georgia
John Myers from Pennsylvania
Djordje Negovanovic from Illinois
Jared Nelson from Florida
Allen Newcomb from Virginia
Tony Nguyen from Australia
Dana Nisewarner from West Virginia
David Kyle Nix from Texas
Lucas T. Novick from Great Britain
Benjamin Odisho from Illinois
John M. Olsen from Utah
Wilhelmina Opferman from Indiana
Spencer Orey from Denmark
Sam Page from California
Jasmine Palomino from Virginia
Jerry Parker from California
Stephen Patrick from Texas
Nicky Penttila from Maryland
Jacob Pérez from California
M.H. Perry from Illinois
Mark Peterson from Minnesota
Isaac Pfleger from Idaho
Ethan D. Phearson from California
Scott Porter from South Carolina
Beth Powers from Indiana
Brian Price from Utah
Asher Quazar from North Carolina
Maddy Rain from Florida
Susmita Ramani from California
K.G. Rankin from California
Esteban Raposo from California
Lee Rector from California
Sascha Reinhard from Germany
Moira Richardson from Pennsylvania
Anthony Roberts from New Zealand
Steve Rodgers from California
G.R. Rodriguez from Washington
Jamie Roe from Great Britain
Johanna Rothman from Massachusetts
R. Sadeh from Texas
Erotokritos Sakkas from Massachusetts
Scott M. Sands from Australia
Annmarie SanSevero from Arkansas
Jason Schifano from Pennsylvania
Abhishek Sengupta from India
Duncan Shepard from Connecticut
Craig S. Shoemake from Massachusetts
Sandra Siegienski from Oregon
Michael Simon from Canada
Khalila Soubeih from Washington
I.J. Sparks from Colorado
Nicholas Samuel Stember from Faroe Islands
C.W. Stevenson from Texas
Amy M. Stewart from Washington
P.L. Sundeson from Louisiana
Kieran Szelong from Maryland
Junxin Tang from Indiana
Madilyn Tavares from Oklahoma
Lucy Thill from New York
Theodore Thomas from Indiana
Eugene Tower from Nevada
Kenneth Urban from Massachusetts
Marius van Bruggen from Sweden
Tami Veldura from Kansas
Rudy Vener from Connecticut
Joel Vicars from North Carolina
Sean Eric P. Villaverde from California
Nicholas Vracar from Florida
Lea Waits from Georgia
B.K. Wellman from Michigan
Amy Wethington from South Carolina
Kaia Wheeler from Arizona
Emmett Whitney from Colorado
J.F. Wiegand from Maryland
Jade Wildy from Australia
Jarrod K. Williams from Ohio
Paul Wilson from Ohio
Michael J. Wine from California
Z.R. Wolfe from Texas
Austin Worley from Oklahoma
Mbali Xabela from South Africa
Bethany Yoder from Ohio
T.J. Young from Washington
Sarah Yusuf from Canada
Brad Zeiger from Oregon
Xiwen Zhang from New York

The post Writers of the Future 4th Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 41 appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

The NYC Big Book Award recognized L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40 as a winner in the category of Anthology. Experts judge the competition from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, designers, booksellers, librarians, and professional copywriters. Winners and distinguished favorites are based on overall excellence.

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40 is the bestselling and widely influential anthology of its kind, bringing 12 original stories and illustrations by the best new creative talent in speculative fiction—as selected by a hall-of-fame roster of top professionals.

NYC Big Book Award received book submissions from all over the world. Journalists, well-established authors, small and large press, and first-time indie authors participated in record numbers. This year’s entries were received from the United States and countries including Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Publishers included Atmosphere Press, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Beaufort Books, Beyond Words Publishing, Blackstone Publishing, Familius Publishing, Flatiron Books, Galaxy Press, Hachette Go, HarperCollins Leadership, Oceanview Publishing, Old Stone Press, Rowman & Littlefield, Simon & Schuster, Ulysses Press, Watkins Publishing, and Westminster John Knox Press.

“We were delighted to see so many quality publishers and authors worldwide participate this year. I can’t wait to share these books with a global readership,” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.

Included in the book and listed by winning story, author, and illustrator are:

“The Edge of Where My Light Is Cast” by Sky McKinnon
Illustrated by Carina Zhang

“Son, Spirit, Snake” by Jack Nash
Illustrated by Pedro N.

“Nonzero” by Tom Vandermolen
Illustrated by Jennifer Mellen

“The Imagalisk” by Galen Westlake
Illustrated by Arthur Haywood

“Life and Death and Love in the Bayou” by Stephannie Tallent
Illustrated by Ashley Cassaday

“Five Days Until Sunset” by Lance Robinson
Illustrated by Steven Bentley

“The Well Isn’t a Circle” by Rosalyn Robilliard
Illustrated by Guelly Rivera

“Da-ko-ta” by Amir Agoora
Illustrated by Connor Chamberlain

“Squiddy” by John Eric Schleicher
Illustrated by Tyler Vail

“Ashes to Ashes, Blood to Carbonfiber” by James Davies
Illustrated by May Zheng

“Summer of Thirty Years” by Lisa Silverthorne
Illustrated by Gigi Hooper

“Butter Side Down” by Kal M.
Illustrated by Selena Meraki

With additional stories and essays:

“The Last Drop” by L. Ron Hubbard and L. Sprague de Camp
Illustrated by Chris Arias

“Halo” by Nancy Kress
Illustrated by Lucas Durham

“Shaman Dreams” by S.M. Stirling
Inspired by Dan dos Santos’s cover art, Starcatcher

“On Writing and Science Fiction” by L. Ron Hubbard

“Forty Years of Writers of the Future” by Gregory Benford

“It Seemed Like Just Yesterday” by Dean Wesley Smith

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40 is available globally in its digital format, as a trade paperback, and as a digital audiobook wherever books are sold in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and South Africa.

L. Ron Hubbard initiated the Writers of the Future writing contest in 1983 to provide “a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged.” Based on its success, its sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, was created five years later to provide that same opportunity for aspiring artists.

For more information on the Writers of the Future Contest, visit www.writersofthefuture.com.

To view the list of NYC Big Book winners and distinguished favorites, please visit www.nycbigbookaward.com.

The post New York City Big Book Award for Best Anthology Awarded to L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40 appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

Our journey in life is a series of every-days. Some are joyful and some downcast; some are too long, while others contain far too few hours.  If you’re lucky, you can point to a pivotal moment or two that changed the course of your journey in consequential ways.

For me, one such moment was my contest win with L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future and the appearance of my story “Riches Like Dust” in Volume VI. That was over 34 years ago now, in 1990. Wow, how the every-days mount up!

As I look back, I can see how my journey diverged mightily after receiving this unique recognition. At the time it was “pretty cool,” but I had no illusions of making a living as a writer; I wanted to work in technology. Computers were starting to make inroads into small business, and I longed for a place in that fast-changing world.

Who would have thought my writing award would catch the attention of an up-and-coming computer game developer? I soon found myself writing novellas and in-game content for this fledgling industry. Even more exciting, everything I could want to do was soon open to me: voice director, associate producer, producer, project manager. My game credits include award winners like Anvil of Dawn and Sanitarium, along with highly regarded efforts like Chronomaster, where I was privileged to work with Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold.

I loved both the creative aspects of game development and the cutting-edge technical aspects. I got to see the advent of multi-player games, CD and DVD technology, the Internet, A.I., and more. I was privileged to work with some of the most creative, passionate, and intelligent people anyone could expect to meet in a lifetime.

One of these was Jane Yeager, our Art Director, with whom I determined I would spend the rest of my life. For better (not worse, I hope), she’s been Jane Noel now for 26 years!

In 1999, Jane started her own business, Jane’s Computers Made Easy, and a year or two later I left the world of computer games to help. In time, her entrepreneurial adventure became what it is today: Choma Marketing Essentials, an award-winning web-development and digital marketing company. It’s a playground in which I’m privileged to research and write for a wide range of industries.

Along the way, I’ve kept my hand in genre fiction too, publishing short stories in the zombie-themed anthologies from Eden press The Book of All Flesh and The Book of More Flesh, Algis Budrys’ Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, and more.

In 2019, Jane and I joined creative forces once again to found DreamForge Magazine, a full-color print and digital science fiction and fantasy venue that is now in its 5th year of publication. DreamForge is founded on the idea that “The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.” We publish positive genre fiction, some of which now goes by the appellations solarpunk and hopepunk.

We’ve been honored to publish both first time writers and known masters like Robert Silverberg, David Weber, Jane Lindskold, Scott Edelman, Bruce McAllister, Marie Brennan, and more.

In 2021, working with UpRoar Books and Space & Time Magazine, we published the anthology Worlds of Light and Darkness, of which Booklist said “the combining of stories by these two publications is genius.”

What’s up next in my life adventure? Learning to work with Large Language Models and A.I. to help small businesses compete against larger corporations. While acknowledging there are creative and societal problems with new A.I. systems, they are nonetheless, like computers in the 1990’s, a disruptive and democratizing force of remarkable promise that is sure to unfold some amazing results in the years and decades ahead.

Thank you, Writers of the Future, it’s been a remarkable path you opened up on this writer’s journey through life.

Scot Noel is a winner of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest (Vol VI), with stories in Algis Budry’s Tomorrow Magazine, two Eden Studios’ zombie anthologies, and in various small press venues. He has written novellas and interaction text for a variety of computer games, as well as being a project manager of game development in the late 90’s at DreamForge Entertainment. These days he works with his wife Jane at their digital marketing agency Chroma Studios, and in his spare time has fun as the editor and publisher of DreamForge Magazine, now in its 6^th year of publication.

In all worlds and times, DreamForge tales revolve around those individuals and groups who bring meaning and value to the world, whose actions are of consequence, and whose dreams are the vanguard of things to come.

The post My Journey After Writers of the Future appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

Summary

Writers & Illustrators of the Future Winners and Judges added their creativity and flair to 2024, leaving a long list of accomplishments for the year. We have been assembling the list with the information sent in. If we have missed something, please write to Joni and we will get it added to the list.

First, congratulations to the 2024 winners of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers & Illustrators of the Future. The anthology made 4 Amazon bestseller lists and won 2 industry book awards!

TV and Film

• Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (judges) not only released Dune: Part 2 of which they were executive producer and co-producer, but their Sisterhood of Dune book was released as the HBO series Dune: Prophecy.
• Hugh Howey (judge) Silo season 2 aired on AppleTV based on his bestselling books Wool, Shift, and Dust.

Novels

• Jody Lynn Nye (Writer Contest Coordinating Judge) released The Weaver’s Code in the 1635 series.
• Nnedi Okorafor (Vol 18, now judge) released She Who Knows. And she was inducted into the Museum of Pop Culture’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
• Brandon Sanderson (judge) published The Way of Kings: Book Summary, The Most Boring Book Ever, Wind and Truth, and Tress of the Emerald Sea.
• Robert J. Sawyer (judge) released The Downloaded, which hit several Canadian bestseller lists and earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
• Brian C. Hailes (Vol 18, now judge) released The Prophet’s Bodyguard and Illumi-Naughty A Conspiracy Club’s Unfortunate Mishap. 
• Julie Frost (Vol 32) published Cry Havoc.
• Laurance Davis (Vol 39) released The Dead Can Be Stubborn.
• James Glass (Vol 7 Grand Prize winner) released Wormhole to War.
• Desmond Astaire (Vol 38 Grand Prize winner) released Epoch-1.
• Preston Dennett (Vol 35) released Not From Here Volume One.
• Steve Pantazis (Vol 31) released books 4, 5, & 6 in the fantasy series The Light of Darkness.
• Scott T. Barnes (Vol 28) released Memories of Lucinda Eco, which Booklife named an Editor’s Pick.
• Erik Bundy (Vol 34) released The Plowman’s Plight.
• John Haas (Vol 35) released Stay Out and Prophets of Death and Madness.
• Lisa Silverthorne (Vol 40) released two novels from her A Game of Lost Souls series: The Angelic Anniversary Hour and The Perdition Picture Show.
• David Hankins (Vol 39) released Death and the Dragon.
• Ron Collins (Vol 15) released Outfield Magicked.
• Brian Trent (Vol 29) signed a contract to write a full-length novel in the New York Times bestselling Black Tide Rising series.
• Elizabeth Chatsworth (Vol 37) released The Brass Queen II and Grand Tour.
• Tim Boiteau (Vol 36) released his third novel, The Nilwere.
• William Mitchell (Vol 28) released The Still and Silent Stars.
• Corry L. Lee (Vol 28) released the first 2 of their Bourshkanya Trilogy, Weave the Lightning and The Storm’s Betrayal.

Short Stories & Anthologies & Collections

• Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Vol 1, now judge) “Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction,” “Metis in the Belly of the God,” and several of her classic short stories were reprinted in Pulphouse Magazine by publisher Dean Wesley Smith (Vol 1).
• Mike Jack Stoumbos (Vol 38) edited Murderbugs; Unhelpful Encyclopedia Vol. 2, which featured several Writers of the Future winners, including Desmond Astaire (Vol 38), Ryan Cole (Vol 37), David Hankins (Vol 39), N.V. Haskell (Vol 38), and Rebecca E. Treasure (Vol 38).
• David Hankins (Vol 39) published “The Devil’s Foot Locker” in Amazing Stories: Best of 2023, “Milo Piper’s Breakout Single that Ended the Rat War” in the Troubadours and Space Princesses anthology, The “Missing Music in Milo Piper’s Head” in Offshoots: Humanity Twigged, “The Measure of Alex” in Solstitia Magazine, “Gladys Tuttle” and “The Iguana Incident” in the anthology Here There Be Dragons, and “To Catch a Foo Fighter” in DreamForge Magazine. He also edited a Grimsworld Tales collection of short stories, including a story, “Light, Lies and Last Words,” by Contest winner Brittany Rainsdon (Vol 38).
• John Haas (Vol 35) released “Ghost of a Chance” in the Behind the Shadow anthology and “Saving Sarah” in the Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel anthology.
• Wulf Moon (Vol 35) released “Pink Pickled Pixies in the Offshoots: Humanity Twigged” by Third Flatiron Anthologies, and “Precious Treasure” was published in the Wink anthology.
• Storm Humbert (Vol 36) edited the Intergalactic Rejects, A Calendar of Fools anthology, which included several Contest judges, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta, and an essay by Robert Silverberg.
• Elise Stephens (Vol 35) was published in the Thyme Travellers anthology with the story “Remembrance in Cerulean.”
• James Dorr (Vol 8) released a collection of 12 stories, “Avoid Seeing a Mouse and Other Tales of the Real and Surreal.”
• Arthur H. Manners (Vol 39) released “Empty Nest” in DreamForge Magazine, which was published by Scot Noel (Vol 6).
• John M. Campbell (Vol 37) released three short stories this year. “Pickens Reward” appeared in Dragon Gems Summer 2024, “An Expedition to Enceladus” appeared in Dragon Gems Winter 2024, and “Crop Circles and Werewolves” appeared in What Really Happened.
• Jason Palmatier (Vol 39) published three short stories. “Soul Mate” was published in the Familiars anthology, “The Gift” in the Ampyrium anthology, and “The Name” was published in BattleTech: Shrapnel, Issue #19.
• Lance Robinson (Vol 40) released a collection of his short stories “Chasing New Suns” and a short story in Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
• Martin Shoemaker (Vol 31) was also published in Analog Science Fiction, as was Howard V. Hendrix (Vol 2) and Contest judge Robert Silverberg.
• Dean Wesley Smith (Vol 1, now judge) published several winners this year, including Stephannie Tallent (Vol 40), David H. Hendrickson (Vol 39), and judges Kristine Katherine Rusch, Kevin J. Anderson and Nina Kiriki Hoffman in PulpHouse Magazine.
• Spencer Sekulin (Vol 39) was published in Space & Time Magazine #146 with his story “Her Father’s Daughter.”
• J.E. Schleicher (Vol 40) was published in The Colored Lens Issue # 52.
• Jack Nash (Vol 40 Grand Prize winner) released “Abide With Me in No Cats, No Coffee: Writing for the Rest of Us.”
• Marianne Xenos (Vol 39) released three stories this year: “NonBinary Review” by Zoetic Press, “Old Friends,” and “Rituals.”

Illustrator Projects

• Bea Jackson (Vol 24 Grand Prize winner, now Contest judge) published two cover and interior illustration books this year: From My Head to My Toes, written by Aly Raisman, and Summer is Here by Renee Watson.
• Michael Talbot (Vol 30) produced eight new mural projects, including one for the New England Patriots, and was the featured artist in Suboart Magazine, Issue #19.
• Bruce Brenneise (Vol 34) had three illustrations in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, a few magic cards, and other illustrations for Dungeons and Dragons.
• Paul Peterson (Vol 28) created the cover art for Paul L. Centeno’s award-winning novel Tabula Rasa.
• Arthur Bowling (Vol 36) illustrated the cover art for Kate Julicher (Vol 37) and Dan Julicher’s novel Sergeant Golem.
• Sarah Morrison (Vol 39) illustrated three book covers this year: Shadow Scent by Michael B. Fletcher, Jonty’s Unicorn by Rebecca Fraser, and Adam Brink’s Sex Bunker Apocalypse trilogy.
• Tim J. Myers (Vol 17) published eight pieces of visual art.
• Chris Binns (Vol 39) created the cover art for Paul L. Centeno’s The Marvelous Adventures of Lucas Bard.
• Craig Elliott (judge) did the designs for the Disney series Iwaju.
• Dan Dos Santos (judge) has been the cover artist for author Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson Series, and this year, they released Winter Lost.
• Bob Eggleton (judge) signed a deal for five covers for the upcoming IDW Publishing Godzilla comic series.

Illustrators in Shows/Conventions

• Finley’s View Farm Artist Residency selected two Contest winners this year, Jennifer Bruce (Vol 37) and Anthony Morovian (Vol 34).
• Jennifer Mellen (Vol 40) displayed her art in the gallery hall at the On Pitch Performing Arts Center in Utah and at the Dragon Steel Nexus 2024 convention.
• Arthur Haywood (Vol 40) displayed several of his mural-size pieces with the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.
• Michael Talbot (Vol 30) had three exhibition showcases: While We’re Still Here I & II and More Than Acquaintances.
• Bruce Brenneise (Vol 34) continues to attend conventions across the US—14 in total this year selling his art.
• April Solomon (Vol 39), Lucas Durham (Vol 29), and Nick Jizba (Vol 39) have also been attending conventions across the country throughout the year selling their art.

Guests of Honor

• Nancy Kress (judge) was the Literary Guest of Honor at Dragon Con in Atlanta.
• Jody Lynn Nye (judge) was Guest of Honor at Congregate in Winston-Salem, at Gary Con in Lake Geneva, and Special Guest at Windy Con 50th Anniversary in Chicago.
• Larry Niven (judge) was the Author Guest of Honor at the 50th Anniversary of Los Con Science Fiction convention in Los Angeles.
• Laura Brodian Freas Beraha (judge) was the Artist Guest of Honor at the 50th Anniversary of Los Con Science Fiction convention in Los Angeles.
• Sarah Morrison (Vol 39) will be the Artist Guest of Honor at Arisia Con in Boston.

Awards

• Tim Powers (judge) won an Inkpot award at San Diego Comic-Con.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch (judge) won a Best Novelette Asimov’s Science Fiction Readers’ Award for “The Nameless Dead.”
• Craig Elliott (judge) won Bronze in the Infected by Art Volume 12 Digital / Photoshop category for Offworld Encounter.
• Zack Be (Vol 36) won the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award.
• Chris Arias from Costa Rica (Vol 39) won the Palacio Municipal Award.
• Two of our winners were among the SciFidea Dyson Sphere Contest winners, Brian Trent (Vol 29), for his story Watchman, What of the Night? and Brittany Rainsdon (Vol 38) for A Forbidden Shade of Green.
• David Hankins (Vol 39) won a Critters Readers’ Poll for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story for Death and the Taxman. He also won the 2024 Book of the Year for Humor/Comedy/Satire from the Independent Author Network. He was also a finalist for Book of the Year for First Novel under 80K Words. David was also a 2024 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Finalist for his story, Drinking Plot Hole.
• Aliette de Bodard (Vol 23) was nominated for Best Short Story for The Mausoleum’s Children and Best Series for The Universe of Xuya in the Hugo Awards.
• Omar Rayyan (Vol 8) won a Chesley Award for Best Interior Illustration for his work on Animal Farm.
• F.J. Bergmann (Vol 36) was awarded the title of the 2024 Grand Master from the Science Fiction Poetry Association. She also won third Place in the Dwarf Stars Award of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association for “Nikola Tesla.”
• Frank Wu (Vol 16) won the Analog Anab Award, 1st Place for Best Novella for his story Poison. Howard V. Hendrix (Vol 2) won 3rd Place in the Best Science Fact for The Passenger Pigeon and the Great Filter. Mary Turzillo (Vol 4) took 1st Place for Best Poem, How to Conquer Gravity, and Eldar Zakirov (Vol 24) took 2nd Place for Best Analog Cover.
• Elizabeth Wein (Vol 9) won Best Young Adult Novel in the International Thriller Awards for her story Stateless.
• Tobias S. Buckell (Vol 16) was nominated for the 2024 Frank R. Paul Awards for Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance.
• Eldar Zakirov (Vol 24) was nominated for Best Magazine Cover for both Analog and Asimov’s.
• Stephen Kotowych & Toni Pi (both from Vol 23) were nominated in the Aurora Awards from Canada, Best Related Work category Year’s Best Canadian for Game On! Stephen was also nominated in the same category for Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume One as editor of this anthology, and he won first Place in the category.
• Erik Bundy (Vol 34) won the Global Book Award and the Paris Book Awards for his medieval mystery The Plowman’s Plight.
• Wulf Moon (Vol 35) won Best of Year Awards in the Critters Annual Readers Poll, including Best Nonfiction Book for How to Write a Howling Good Story.
• Scot Noel (Vol 6) won the SciFidea Dyson Sphere Contest for “The Eight Pillars of Void and Future.”
• Steve Pantazis (Vol 31) received an Honorable Mention in the Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
• Laurance Davis (Vol 39) won the Florida Writers Association 2024 Royal Palm Literary Award for Published Young Adult Novels for his book The Dead Can Be Stubborn.
• Sarah Morrison (Vol 39) received a Judge’s Choice award for her cover art of Death and the Taxman at Boskone.
• Ven Locklear (Vol 16) won Honorable Mention in the Infected by Art Volume 12 Digital / Photoshop category for Dreamwalker.
• Karawynn Long (Vol 9) won a Best Short Story Asimov’s Science Fiction Readers’ Award for “Hope Is the Thing with Feathers.”
• The Locus Awards were presented this quarter, and several winners/judges were on the shortlist. Aliette de Bodard (Vol 23) was nominated for Best Science Fiction Novel, A Fire Born of Exile, and Best Short Story, “The Mausoleum’s Children”; judge Tim Powers in the Best Fantasy Novel for My Brother’s Keeper; judge Nnedi Okorafor was also nominated in the Best Short Story category for Stones. Best Collection category had Tobias S. Buckell (Vol 16) for Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance and Other Stories. Finally, judge Bob Eggleton was nominated for Best Artist.

Congratulations to a very productive group of talented individuals!

The post Year in Review for Writers & Illustrators of the Future for 2024 appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

The 2024 eLit Awards recognized the L. Ron Hubbard Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast as the winner of the Interview/Author Hosted Format category. Fittingly, the event was held online earlier this month, enabling winners to participate from several countries worldwide.

Founded in 2009, the eLit Awards honor outstanding digital books, audiobooks, and apps that push the boundaries of innovation and storytelling. In a rapidly evolving publishing landscape, these awards recognize works that engage readers and promote learning, creativity, and growth. Whether through captivating narratives, interactive elements, or cutting-edge design, the eLit Awards celebrate the creativity and impact of digital media in shaping the future of reading and education.

The Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast was launched in April 2019. It was created to provide writing and illustrating tips and advice from contest judges, winners, and industry professionals for writers and artists, along with the inspiration needed to keep going.

To provide some perspective on the podcast environment, in 2019 there were over 819,000 podcasts. Today, there are over 3.2 million podcasts worldwide, according to ListenNotes. A podcast getting over 30 downloads per episode is in the top 50%, a podcast getting over 115 downloads is in the top 25%, and over 4,782 in the top 1%, per The Podcast Host. The Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast, now syndicated on the United Public Radio Network, gets just under two million listens to each episode,

The Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast was inspired by L. Ron Hubbard’s mission statement in 1983 when he created the Writers of the Future Contest:

“A culture is as rich and as capable of surviving as it has imaginative artists. The artist is looked upon to start things. The artist injects the spirit of life into a culture. And through his creative endeavors, the writer works continually to give tomorrow a new form.”

The Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast is one of several tools made available for aspiring writers and artists by the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests. For over four decades—and nearly 1,000 writer and artist winners—L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests have discovered and nurtured a steady stream of new talent who have changed the face of science fiction and fantasy.

Recent guests on the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast are episodes:

• 308. Andrea Flek-Nisbet, CEO of Independent Book Publishers Assn
• 307. Elise Stephens, Writers of the Future 35 winner and published author
• 306. Myke Cole, Writers of the Future 19 winner and award-winning author
• 305. Sean McManus, President Dreamscape and President Audio Publishers Assn
• 304. Scott T. Barnes, Writers of the Future 28 winner and published author
• 303. Jason Kelly, President of UK publisher Sounded
• 302. Cory Verner, co-founder of eChristian Audio

To see the complete list of podcast guests, visit writersofthefuture.com/podcast.

To view the list of eLit Award winners and distinguished favorites, please visit elitawards.com/blog/2024-medalists.

For more information on the Writers of the Future Contest, visit writersofthefuture.com.

The post L. Ron Hubbard Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast receives the eLit Gold Award appeared first on Writers & Illustrators of the Future.