Top Voices in Science Fiction and Fantasy Hail from Australia and New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand continue to prove themselves significant resources for the future of science fiction and fantasy storytelling and illustration. This year, Connor Chamberlain, from New Zealand, was an Illustrators of the Future winner and was brought to Hollywood for a weeklong workshop and gala awards ceremony. His art was published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40, which will be released on July 9 in Australia and New Zealand.

Over the four decades of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future competitions, there have been 20 winners from down under, including:

• 1992 (Volume 8) Illustrator winner, Academy Award Winner, and Illustrators of the Future Contest Judge Shaun Tan
• 1993 (Volume 9) Writer winner, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and Writers of the Future Contest Judge Sean Williams
• 2002 (Volume 18) Writer winner and Ditmar award-winning Australian author, Lee Battersby
• 2005 (Volume 21) Writer winner and multi-award-winning Australian author, Cat Sparks
• 2008 (Volume 24) Grand prize writer winner and Aurealis award-winning Australian author Ian McHugh
• 2008 (Volume 24) Illustrator winner and Australian comics artist Alexandra Szweryn
• 2010 (Volume 26) Writer winner and Aurealis award-winning Australian author, Jason Fischer
• 2012 (Volume 28) Writer winner Ben Mann
• 2015 (Volume 31) Writer winner Samantha Murray
• 2015 (Volume 31) Illustrator winner, professional freelance illustrator and concept designer Amit Dutta
• 2020 (Volume 36) Grand prize writer winner and award-winning Australian author Chris Winspear
• 2020 (Volume 36) Writer winner and Australian author, Michael Gardner
• 2022 (Volume 38) Writer winner and Australian author, J.A. Becker
• 2024 (Volume 40) Illustrator winner from New Zealand, Connor Chamberlain

Selected from a field of thousands of entrants from 180 countries, Volume 40 features winners from eight countries: Canada, China, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, and the USA, and from Dunedin, New Zealand, illustrator winner Connor Chamberlain, with his illustration of the fantasy story “Da-ko-ta.” “Another winner from the Great Southern Land has been published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40, stated Joni Labaqui, the Contests’ Director, “making a total of four winners in the last five years alone.”

Sean Williams (“Honor Among Ghosts” and six Star Wars novels) wrote that the “[Writers of the Future] Contest feels like family, one that has been there to support me as I grew as a writer. I am proud to be part of that ever-growing family as it evolves with us even further into the future.” While Shaun Tan (“The Lost Thing” and “The Arrival”) noted when becoming an Illustrators of the Future Contest Judge, “Much of L. Ron Hubbard’s material which formed the foundations of the workshops provided a solid and informative base; ideal starting points for approaching illustrating and writing skills and work practices. The fact that some of the same articles were applicable to both the writers’ and Illustrators’ workshops demonstrates their flexibility, broadness, and scope.”

Volume 40’s eBook and digital audiobook are available via Amazon.com.au and will be available in paperback stores throughout Australia and New Zealand on July 9.

L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Writing Contest in 1983 to provide “a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged.” The 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.