Finding Your Next Favorite Sci-Fi or Fantasy Author

Readers and writers are always looking for great stories, but even more so for that special author who strikes every note with an audience, making the readers actively search out anything and everything they publish.

Well, here is a resource for discovering new talent!

There is an international writing contest for NEW writers. You have not yet discovered these authors because they are not professionally published. The winning stories are published in an annual anthology, so the judges have already done the work of seeking out the best of the best of these new voices.

As bestselling author and contest judge Robert J. Sawyer describes it, “the best of the best culled for you, curated and selected in a single volume every year.”
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Writers of the Future Contest

L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Contest to help authors succeed in an industry that can be hard for new talent to break into.

The Contest accepts submissions four times a year, with NO reading fee.

The entries are judged blind, so there is no discrimination according to sex, race, country of origin, etc. I appreciate the fair playing field for the diversity of talent.

The judges include New York Times bestselling authors such as Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, Jody Lynn Nye, Larry Niven, Robert J. Sawyer, Katherine Kurtz, Eric Flint, Dean Wesley Smith, and many others.

Writers of the Future Judges

Each year, the three winning stories from each quarter are published in the anthology, giving the 12 new authors the writing boost of a lifetime. Their stories are illustrated by the 12 winning illustrators. Each book has a 14-page full-color art gallery of these illustrations.

The winning authors and artists are paid professional rates for their work and awarded $1,000, $750, and $500 for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The artists win $500 each. They all keep the rights to their work.

The winners are flown out to Hollywood a week before the awards ceremony for an exclusive writing and artist workshop. Those leading the workshops are bestselling authors, world-class artists, and other industry professionals. They share insights into the industry’s business side that are not taught in university. The workshops are often more sought after than the awards or prize money.

The week culminates in a black-tie awards gala with celebrities. The winners are given trophies and an opportunity to share their stories while the event is streamed live to millions of viewers. This is when the Golden Pen and Golden Brush (the grand prize) winners are announced and presented with an additional $5,000.

There is nothing like this for new authors of genre fiction.

WOTF Golden Pen and Brush Award 1

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The Annual Anthology

In addition to the winning entries, the Writers of the Future volumes always include bonus short stories and non-fiction articles detailing expert writing advice by L. Ron Hubbard and the Contest judges.

For example, here are some of the previous volumes with insightful essays for new authors:

Orson Scott Card is in Volume 37, Volume 34 and Volume 31.
Sir Sean Williams is in Volume 36
Mike Resnick is in Volume 35
Anne McCaffrey is in Volume 33
Tim Powers is in Volume 32
Robert Silverberg is in Volume 30

Many of the books in the series are still available here.

Volume 38 paid special a tribute to Frank Herbert, the author and creator of Dune. Frank was one of the original judges for the Contest and wrote an article for the Contest before passing on. This article and one of his rare short stories are in the new book.

Also, long time coordinating judge for the series and the Golden Pen Award winner of Writers of the Future Volume 3, David Farland, wrote an original piece of flash fiction inspired by the cover. Sadly, he passed away earlier this year. The book and cover art were dedicated to him. His personal passion for helping new authors will inspire many generations to come.

Here is a short description of all of the bonus content in Volume 38:

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Included in Volume 38:

“Boos and Taboos” by L. Ron Hubbard: L. Ron Hubbard challenges the restrictive “taboos” of writing for publications that bind stories in formula straitjackets. Urging writers to flout by-prescription storytelling, he describes his own conspicuous success in doing that, with a final, telling reflection on creative energy, sales—and writing stories that will be remembered.
“The Single Most Important Piece of Advice” by Frank Herbert: The last essay from Frank Herbert was written with the clear purpose of fulfilling what he saw as a paramount obligation to his art and craft—he provided the single most important piece of advice he would give a beginning writer.
“Teamwork: Getting the Best Out of Two Writers” by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson: Together, Brian and Kevin have written over twenty novels and numerous short stories. They expanded Frank Herbert's Dune universe and wrote the original SF epic Hellhole Trilogy. Here they share the pitfalls and successes of their process and how they make it work.
“The Third Artist” by Diane Dillon: Leo and Diane Dillon chose to blend their talents, working together as one artist—the third artist—beginning a career that spanned fifty-four years. As an interracial couple, they dedicated their career to being inclusive of all races and cultures to reflect the world we live in.

The Bonus stories:

“A Word of Power” by David Farland: When Fava, a Neanderthal shaman, discovers the men of metal driving away her mammoths, she must find magic powerful enough to save the herd.
“The Daddy Box” by Frank Herbert: An abused boy finds an alien artifact that gives him the strength to reshape his life and stand up to his violent stepfather.
“The Professor Was a Thief” by L. Ron Hubbard: Grant’s Tomb—missing! Pennsylvania Station—missing! The Empire State Building—missing! New York City is disappearing piece by piece…

The critical acclaim for the new book has already started to come in:

“It’s a binge read. Just one more, you think, and the next thing you know, the entire book is gone!

“My favorite line from any book ever (pure gold): ʻEveryone’s got a story to hide, and I enjoy stealing it out of them.ʼ

“I truly enjoyed it. As each story comes up, you never quite know what you’re going to get, and it's so delightful finding out.” —The International Review of Books, Gold Badge

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“This anthology includes last year’s WotF winners, which is reflected by the overall high quality of the stories. This anthology contains thirteen original stories that are described as powerful, unpredictable, nicely crafted, appealing with many twists, engaging, one successfully re-invents time travel stories, and another pulls the reader in from the mystery’s opening and zips along until the shadowy end.” —Tangent Online

“Captivating, compelling, and exceptionally well-edited. It delivers.” —OnlineBookClub.Org

You can download the Book Club questions and discussion guide here.

Great Authors Discovered By the Contest

I have discovered many authors whose work I love, and I read anything I can find from them.

Here are a few of the authors that have gone on to be New York Times bestselling authors since winning the Contest or becoming a finalist: Nnedi Okorafor, Eric Flint, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Sean Williams, Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Martin Shoemaker, Ken Liu, and Elizabeth Wein.

Writers of the Future enables writers and artists to succeed and spread their words and images to the world. Of the past Contest winners, 33 have gone on to be New York Times bestsellers selling over 60 million books. Past illustrator winners have equally impressive stats: artwork for 68 TV shows, 40 movies, 360 comic books, and 624 album/book covers.

So, whether you are a writer working hard to get your next break or simply a reader looking for your next favorite author, Writers of the Future is a resource you need to check out! For more information on the Writers of the Future Contests, writing course, podcasts, and writer’s forum, visit their website: www.writersofthefuture.com.
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