The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast Celebrates 300 Episodes

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast has just posted episode 300. Now in its fifth year, the Podcast has over 66 million downloads from over 120 countries. It is hosted on SoundCloud and available on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), iHeartRadio, Pocket Casts, Podbay, Podbean, Spotify, and YouTube. The Podcast was syndicated on the United Public Radio Network as it neared its 100th episode and has been a finalist seven times in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards, one of the most intense podcast competitions in the world, with over three million individual people voting for 900 podcasts across 30 categories.

To provide some perspective on the podcast environment, in 2019, there were over 819,000 podcasts. Today, there are over 3.2 million podcasts in the world, according to ListenNotes. A podcast getting over 30 downloads per episode is in the top 50%, a podcast getting over 115 downloads is in the top 25%, and over 4,782 in the top 1%, per The Podcast Host.

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast was launched in April 2019. It was created to provide writing and illustrating tips and advice from contest judges, winners, and industry professionals for writers and artists, along with the inspiration needed to keep going.

Providing help to aspiring writers and artists is all the more urgent, says podcast host John Goodwin, “There are upwards of four million books published each year, with roughly three million being self-published.”  L. Ron Hubbard noted in his inaugural essay to Writers of the Future that “The competition is very keen and even dagger sharp.” Goodwin concluded, “And so this podcast is dedicated to those wanting to succeed with these art forms.”

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast was inspired by L. Ron Hubbard’s mission statement in 1983 when he created the Writers of the Future Contest: “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.”

In addition to Contest winners, guests of the Podcast have included such industry giants (listed alphabetically) as Craig Alanson (Expeditionary Force series), Kevin J. Anderson (Dune Prequels), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Echo Chernik (Art Nouveau artist), Roger Christian (Academy Award winner for Star Wars set design), Tom Doherty (Publisher of Tor), Bob Eggleton (winner of 11 Chesley Awards), Larry Elmore (Dragonlance artist), Brian Herbert (Dune prequels), Hugh Howey (Silo), Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Nnedi Okorafor (Binti series), Tim Powers (On Stranger Tides), Rob Prior (Spawn and Heavy Metal artist), A.G. Riddle (Quantum Radio), James Rosone (Monroe Doctrine), Robert J. Sawyer (The Oppenheimer Alternative), Dean Wesley Smith (Seeders Universe), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn), Toni Weisskopf (Publisher of Baen Books), and Tom Wood (Tom Wood Fantasy Art).

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast is one of several tools made available for aspiring writers and artists by the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests. For over four decades—and nearly 1,000 writers and artists—L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests have discovered and nurtured a steady stream of new talent who have changed the face of science fiction and fantasy.

For more information about Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast, visit writersofthefuture.com/podcast/.