Introducing the Illustrators of the Future Winners of 2025

The Illustrators of the Future Contest presents these winners who are featured in Writers of the Future Volume 41.

For over 36 years, this contest has been dedicated to discovering and mentoring aspiring artists, offering them a platform to have their work recognized on an international stage.

Submissions come from around the globe, with each entrant providing three pieces of science fiction/fantasy art. The competition is open to all, with no restrictions on age, race, gender, religion, or ideology, and all entries are judged anonymously.

Every quarter, a panel of esteemed judges selects three winners. At the end of the year, the 12 winning artists receive a 30-day commission to create a full-page color illustration for a winning story from the Writers of the Future Contest. These illustrations are featured in the annual anthology and automatically enter the next phase of the competition, where one artist is awarded the prestigious Golden Brush Award.

Below, you’ll find the winning artwork from the first phase of the contest. To see their commissioned story illustrations, check out L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41.

These winners were handpicked by a panel of internationally renowned artists serving as Contest judges:

John Barlow is an illustrator and educator creating rich illustrations with a focus on storytelling. A Minnesota resident, John was raised on fairy tales, fi ction, and forests. He’s strongly inspired by golden age illustrators like N. C. Wyeth and Arthur Rackham, as well as many contemporary illustrators.

Each illustration is an exercise in atmosphere and texture, creating a world you can easily get lost in. John tells stories with a variety of clients in both the tabletop-gaming industry and fantasy publishing. When he’s not drawing, he enjoys cooking, biking, sleeping, and taking unnecessarily complicated reference photos.

Cam Collins was born in 1999 in the city of Chicago and was raised by his parents, whose fi rst actions of fostering his creativity included having a chalkboard wall in his room. The creative pursuits continued, and Collins knew early on that he’d want to draw for the rest of his life. He was one of the fi rst few high schoolers to be selected for the College Arts Access Program (CAAP) of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He went on to study printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Cam gained a love for creating books, and realized a key ingredient in bringing his illustrations further was to start writing stories in tandem with them.

Cam continues to do commissions for a variety of clients and has brought his art and storytelling into his own world called Way of the Canvas. He will be working in this world for as long as he can draw, and he has created comics, videos, and even games devoted to it.

Haileigh Enriquez was born in 1996 and is a Los Angeles–born artist with a mix of Mexican/Yaqui Native American and Salvadoran roots. Growing up in Rosemead, California, a predominantly Asian/Hispanic community, deeply shaped her identity. She immersed herself in drawing and comic books from an early age which fostered a fascination for character design and storytelling. What started as an escape turned into a passion.

Originally on a path toward a career in the medical field, a personal loss led Haileigh to reevaluate her future and embrace her true passion: art. With the encouragement of her family and mentors, she shifted her focus and enrolled at Laguna College of Art and Design (LCAD), where she refi ned her technique and explored her own personal style. Her work blends fantastical realism, bold colors, and dynamic lines, drawing heavily from her love of
comic book art and Mesoamerican mythology.

Driven by a desire to create characters that celebrate cultural diversity, Haileigh’s work is a joyful exploration of identity, imagination, and resilience. As a traditional artist turned digital creator, she combines realism with imaginative storytelling, crafting unique characters that reflect her identity and the worlds she dreams of.

Currently, Haileigh is working as a freelance artist for private clients and media companies while also developing her own superhero series. She is driven to become a successful artist in the entertainment industry and excited to bring new, authentic stories to life—infused with the vibrant spirit of her heritage and her passion for representation.

CL Fors—Cherrie to her friends—was born to a mad scientist and a mad artist, so it’s no surprise she’s cultivated lifelong dual passions for art and science that has shaped her career in writing and illustrating science fiction and fantasy.

Cherrie has lived all over the US and now calls the Southern California desert her home, where her family tethers are. She shares her life, love, and creative endeavors with her husband, four clever children, and beloved art family.

Cherrie spent her early years obsessed with story and the many ways to tell it through drawing, writing, sculpting, and performing—sketching for hours, cobbling together “creatures” from whatever she could find in the back of junk drawers, or staring into marbles and imagining she could step through to another world.

Cherrie served in the military and raised a family, but she knew she had to find a way back on her creative path. In 2012, she made a commitment to write her stories and, over the next ten years, wrote, illustrated, and self-published four science fiction novels.

She also began submitting short stories and illustrations to Writers and Illustrators of the Future. She has used them to strengthen her skills and as a goalpost to keep striving.

Her ambition for the future is to find publishers for her finished manuscripts and complete her first graphic novel.

David grew up in Broomall, Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia and not too far from several museums that would inspire his love of illustration for the rest of his life.

David was raised on adventure stories and magical tales of lions, dwarves, elves, and heroes of all ages. The one thing these stories had in common was amazing pictures illustrated by artists who lived very close to where David first learned to love art.

From N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and Jessie Willcox Smith to the artistic legends who are alive today and still brightening the world with every brushstroke they make, David revels in his appreciation of art and how it has shaped his foundation from an early age.

He loves to create narrative paintings that tell the stories between the lines. There is a mystery to be found in his works that represents who he is as an artist and how he sees the world. He cannot wait to share his world with you.

HeatherAnne Lee was born in 2004 in Federal Way, Washington, and has lived across the US from Hawaii to New York to Vermont. HeatherAnne, or “Heather” to her friends, now resides in Savannah, Georgia, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Heather started drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and never stopped, graduating from crayon to graphite to paint, and now she primarily works digitally. Despite working on a screen, Heather holds\ to her painting knowledge, layering colors and textures on her drawing tablet, emulating traditional painting techniques in a digital medium.

Heather takes much of her inspiration from the world around her, translating reality into epics and stories of dragons and knights. Heather always strives to push her work to the limit, working with clients to bring their stories to life through her illustrations.

Marianna (Manna) Mester was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in a small village. From a young age, she was attracted to painting and admired those who could create works of art. Growing up, she didn’t have much time to pursue it, but ten years ago, she decided to take up painting and began studying various artistic styles. Through relentless practice, she is now able to paint in nine different styles.

For her, painting is not just art—it’s life itself, a true expression of freedom. And so her goal is to bring beauty into as many lives as possible.

Daniel Montifar was destined to be an illustrator. Born and raised in Queens, New York, known as the “world’s borough” for its rich cultural diversity, Daniel appreciated this melting pot of influences, including his Bolivian and Filipino heritage.

Surrounded by art wherever he went in NYC and being raised by a Star Wars–loving mom and a dad with a treasure trove of comics dating back to high school, his early fascination with the realms of sci-fi and fantasy fueled his passion for drawing. He became the kid who always had a sketchbook in hand, capturing scenes from his imagination wherever he went.

Prior to the pandemic, while still a freshman in high school, Daniel moved to Houston, Texas, where he delved deeper into the world of art. This transition was a pivotal chapter in his artistic evolution as he honed his skills and explored new artistic horizons. His work won several competitions, including a Gold Key Scholastic Art Award and the AIGA Worldstudio Award.

Currently, as a student at Ringling College of Art and Design in sunny Florida, Daniel continues to refine his craft. With roots deeply embedded in diversity, family, and a love for fantastical realms, Daniel’s artistic vision is boundless, promising a future filled with captivating illustrations that transport viewers to imaginative worlds.

Breanda Petsch was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1998. Most friends and family call her Bre, but she appreciates when her full name is used and pronounced correctly: “Bree-ann-duh.”

Breanda has been glued to the page from the moment she learned how to draw and paint. When she wasn’t filling her imagination with adventures around the neighborhood, she was playing pretend through endless comics.

She used to watch animated films on repeat. Seeing the animators’ stories through behind-the-scenes clips made her want to bring amazing stories to life too.

She took her first painting and drawing classes in high school and won awards in art shows and other larger competitions. She was proud to see her work on the walls and had an itch to find out what more she was capable of.

Although she was encouraged to follow a practical career path with her high academic standing, Breanda knew she needed to pursue art the moment she stepped into an “art lab.” Nothing else made sense anymore, and her father did everything in his power to support and push her toward her dreams, even driving her to weekend classes at that very institution.

From there, she earned a degree in animation from Colorado Mesa University and found her love of being enveloped in a creative community and storytelling team. She is now pursuing her MFA in illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Jordan Smajstrla was born in 2003 in Houston, Texas. Thanks to the encouragement of her parents, she has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Jordan attributes her admiration of fantasy art in particular to her childhood interests, which included reading any book she could get her hands on, as well as repeatedly rewatching a wide library of fantasy films. That love for fantasy strengthened when she began to play D&D in high school and meet other creatives with similar interests.

Though she began her creative journey as a traditional artist, she always admired the work of digital illustrators, and finally got her chance to jump into the digital medium thanks to her high-school animation class.

Jordan ultimately decided to pursue concept art and illustration for video games when she got accepted into the Savannah College of Art and Design. While studying there, she discovered a whole new community of incredibly creative people and has eagerly taken any opportunity that comes her way, always eager to continue learning and creating. Jordan is currently earning her BFA in illustration and looking forward to what life will bring after graduation.

Tremani Sutcliffe, born in 1990 in Provo, Utah, spent her early years exploring the rugged landscapes of middle-of-nowhere Arizona, where hiking in desert mountains and catching rattlesnakes ignited her adventurous spirit.

Her passion for art stemmed from her love of books and the fantastical covers that inspired her imagination. In true bookworm fashion, her artistic journey began at the local library, where she immersed herself in art instruction books. Through daily practice, relentless pursuit of new skills, and seeking mentorship from established artists, her commitment to learning new methods has continuously expanded her artistic repertoire. Tremani views art as a fusion of technique and creativity that brings beauty and meaning to life.

After spending most of her young life drawing and painting with watercolors, she expanded her skill set to include oils. Although she also began working with acrylics, she quickly decided they must have been invented by an angry dude with horns and a pitchfork for the sole purpose of making her life miserable … and decided to develop her digital painting skills instead.

Also featured in Writers of the Future Volume 41
A returning alumni from Volume 17

Dwayne Harris was an Illustrators of the Future Contest winner in 2001, featured in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 17. He has since illustrated over fifty book covers and worked for several publishers on a wide variety of properties, including Game of Thrones and Warhammer. Also an author, he has written and drawn four original graphic novels, one of which was optioned by Sony Pictures to be developed into a major motion picture. Dwayne is a frequent contributor and cover artist for Heavy Metal magazine. His work has also appeared in Spectrum: The Best in Fantastic Contemporary Art. He lives in Northwestern Montana. He has illustrated a story from L. Ron Hubbard in Volume 41.

Also featured in Writers of the Future Volume 41
A returning alumni from Volume 40

Born in 1985 in East Chicago, Indiana, Peggy Hooper is a versatile artist whose creativity knows no bounds. Known in the art world by her moniker, Gigi Hooper, she’s a child of the ’90s, drawing early inspiration from iconic pop culture. Simultaneously, Gigi was deeply influenced by the enchanting worlds of young adult, children’s, and comic books, which have fostered a love for sweet, fantastical, and mind-bending literature.

Gigi’s artistic journey began in her childhood, when her experimental nature led her to beautify and unintentionally destroy her mother’s personal property. However, throughout her life, Gigi’s mother remained a steadfast supporter, purchasing Gigi’s first set of art supplies, which only continued to encourage her creative process.

While her path took her through diverse careers as a United States Marine and a personal trainer, Gigi eventually returned to her true calling. She earned a BA in illustration from George Fox University.

Currently residing in Newberg, Oregon, with her husband and sister, Gigi specializes in digital art, collage, and pencil work, although her artistic palette embraces various mediums.

Today, she continues her artistic journey, pursuing independent studies while actively engaging in freelance work, bringing her captivating visions to life one creation at a time.

Gigi was an Illustrators of the Future winner in 2023. She was featured in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40. She has illustrated a story from Tim Powers in Volume 41.

We highly recommend following these artists, there is a tremendous amount of good work to come.