Writers and Illustrators of the Future Quarterly Winners

Fourth Quarter Winners Announced

The 4th quarter winners of the 26th year of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest were announced today by Joni Labaqui, the contest Director.

FOURTH QUARTER WINNERS IN WRITING:

1st Place — Laurie Tom of California
2nd Place — Scott W. Baker of Tennessee
3rd Place — Lael Salaets of Oregon

Chosen from a group of 8 finalists, this quarter’s winners are awarded cash prizes, a week-long intensive writing workshop culminating in the annual awards ceremony as well as being published in the next volume of the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future anthology.

FOURTH QUARTER WINNERS IN ILLUSTRATION:

Ven Locklear of Oregon
Olivia Pelaez of New Jersey
Alice Jingxuan Hu currently of Chicago, from Singapore

These talented artists will additionally receive cash prizes, attend the illustrator workshop in Hollywood before attending the awards ceremony where they will be acknowledged. Each winner will also illustrate one of the stories published in the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future anthology.

Congratulations to all!

All of them will now compete with the winners from the first three quarters for the Grand Prize of $5,000.00 that will be announced this August.

"Hot Tips" from Judges

What does it take to be professionally published in the United States where only 3 of every 10,000 manuscripts submitted see the light of print?

“Forget the great American novel”, says multi-New York Times bestselling author Larry Niven. “Write short stories instead, send them out to several editors and enter the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest four times a year. You can complete your stories quickly, submit them, move on to your next story, and have several stories being reviewed by editors at the same time.”

In today’s publishing universe, it simply takes too long for the traditional novel process for new authors. “You spend months on a novel, then send it to editors and wait for months more,” Niven said. “Send out regularly to magazines that accept short stories.”

Vampires, Werewolves, Dungeons and Dragons top themes for largest speculative fiction contest for new writers.

Apparently ghouls, goblins and even wizards are no match for vampires, werewolves, dungeons and dragons for today's upcoming fiction writers.

A two year survey of thousands of entries for the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest—the world's largest and oldest for speculative fiction—shows vampires first, dungeons and dragons second and werewolves third. Wizard stories were a close fourth.

In making the announcement, K. D. Wentworth, Writers of the Future Contest coordinating judge and first reader, said, “It seems to suggest that some fantasy themes may be more enduring than others.”

“Originality is the key element to a story being selected as a finalist in the Writers of the Future Contest,” warns Wentworth. “So picking a popular theme doesn't mean a story will be picked.”

“You need a good imagination to be a successful writer, so I’ll lean towards the most creative entry every time.”


New Video Released on the Writers of the Future YouTube Channel

Last month, we launched the Writers of the Future channel on YouTube where you can now watch exclusive interviews, clips from the Awards Ceremonies, book trailers, documentaries and more! Click here to check out the new channel, see what's new and subscribe today: WritersoftheFutureYouTubeChannel



Writers of the Future Books

The winning stories published in the Writers of the Future volumes are also available from the publisher. Click here for more information: www.GalaxyPress.com

Contest Deadlines

The Contest has four quarters, beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1. The year will end on September 30. To be eligible for judging in its quarter, an entry must be postmarked no later than midnight on the last day of the quarter. Late entries will be included in the following quarter.