L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future 40th Anniversary Celebrated with Over 100 Awards, Proclamations, and Letters of Congratulations

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest. One hundred twenty-two awards, recognitions, and trophies were bestowed to recognize this milestone. Many of these proclamations were issued in honor of L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future week.

When creating the Contest in the early 1980s, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “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 Contest has remained true to that founding objective, respecting only the quality of writing and illustration in a true meritocracy, with the judges only ever seeing a number assigned to the submission. There is no qualification based on race, color, creed, sex, or political affiliation … only the quality of writing and illustrating.

Galaxy Press President John Goodwin stated, “I was thrilled to see the Contests honored by many political leaders across the United States and industry professionals.”

United States Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, United States Senator, sent a US flag with a certificate stating that it was flown over the United States Capitol “for L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Week-Sunday April 21, to Saturday, April 27, 2024, in honor of the 40th Anniversary Writers and Illustrators of the Future.”

State Governors, from Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas to Philip Murphy of New Jersey to Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, each congratulated the Contest and their respective states’ winners over the four decades.

Mayors from the Bronx, New York, Jackson, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, to Roswell, New Mexico, and Oakland, California, all proclaimed L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Week. While Los Angeles City Council Member Kevin de Leon, District 14, honored each winner with their own Letter of Commendation. Lorraine Diaz, Chief of Staff for City Council President Paul Krekorian, attended the Awards Gala, presenting a certificate to the Contests from the Council President honoring four decades.

Letters of Congratulations included one from Tom Doherty, the Founder and Chairman of Tor Publishing, the largest Sci-Fi publishing house in the United States, “Knowing and having worked with so many of the authors involved, I would like to say Writers of the Future; a gift by L. Ron Hubbard to that future, has been carried forward by some of the finest talent in our field.”

A video showing the proclamations and letters was created and shown at the awards ceremony and can be seen here.

Additionally, congratulatory shout-outs from all over the world were created, which can be seen here.

Both Contests have proven very successful. The 559 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 8,000 novels and short stories, created 36 New York Times bestselling novels, and their works have sold over 60 million copies.

The 406 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have created art for 7 New York Times bestselling books, 9 album covers, 29 public murals, 131 major motion pictures, gaming feature films, TV shows, and documentaries, 518 comics, and 704 book and magazine covers.

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