Patrick Rothfuss, Publishes His Second Book in Fantasy Trilogy

Writers of the Future Winner, Patrick Rothfuss, Publishes His Second Book in Fantasy Trilogy

Hollywood, CA—The year was 2002 and Patrick Rothfuss had just been awarded his first place trophy as a winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest with “The Road to Levinshire,” his first professional sale. (Writers of the Future Volume 18; www.writersofthefuture.com)  Since then, his own personal story has become another one of the Contest’s great successes beginning with his breakout novel The Name of the Wind followed by his just released, The Wise Man’s Fear.

As Patrick puts it, “It all started when I won the Writers of the Future contest. Well, honestly it started long before that. I’d spent eight years working on my fantasy trilogy, then a solid year stacking up rejections. I couldn’t get an agent or publisher interested to save my life.

“Then I re-worked a piece of my trilogy into a stand-alone story and submitted it to Writers of the Future. It won first place in its quarter, and before I knew it I was out in LA at their workshop, learning the fine points of the writer’s craft from Tim Powers himself.

“It was out at the workshop that I met Kevin Anderson as well. We ended up talking about writing in the lobby of the hotel. After he read my story on the plane home he e-mailed me, telling me I should talk to his agent.

“But it all started when I won the Writers of the Future contest. They were my first publication. My foot in the door. Without them, I can honestly say would not be where I am today.”

Patrick Rothfuss is also featured in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future: The First 25 Years, a compendium of the winners and judges from the first 25 years of the contest and their own incredible personal stories of how they broke into the field of writing.

The Writers of the Future contest was created by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 as a means of allowing the newcomer a chance to have their work seen. And this program has provided that starting point for so many careers. Over 300 writers have seen their name in print over the 26 years of the contest’s history, with nearly 100 now having successful careers as a writer. In addition to continuing on in the field of speculative fiction, several have gone on to publish in genres such as mystery and romance, to write for television and motion pictures and to become editors and critics.

For more information on the Writers of the Future Contest and to enter submissions online, go to www.writersofthefuture.com.