Winners Announced: 1st Quarter Volume 42 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests are pleased to announce the first-quarter winners for its 42nd year.

For the Writers of the Future Contest, the writer winners for the quarter ending December 10, 2024, are:

• First Place — Zach Poulter from Utah
• Second Place — SJ Stevenson from Great Britain
• Third Place — Kathleen Powell from Missouri

For the Illustrators of the Future Contest, the winners are:

• Art Ikuta from C
• Amuri Morris from Virginia
• Roddy Taylor from Washington

Congratulations to them all! They will be published in 2026 in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 42.

You can find the complete list of Finalists, Semi-Finalists, and Honorable Mentions at:

Writers of the Future 1st Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 42

Illustrators of the Future 1st Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 42

In 1985, with the release of the first volume of the series, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “It is with this in mind that I initiated a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged.” And with that, the longest-running and most successful science fiction and fantasy competition for new writers and artists began.

The Contest Director, Joni Labaqui, stated, “As we prepare to receive the winners next month being published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41, I am very happy to begin announcing winners who will be published in Volume 42. Congratulations to you all!” You can find the complete list of Finalists, Semi-Finalists, Silver Honorable Mentions, and Honorable Mentions at www.writersofthefuture.com/blog.

The award-winning writers and illustrators will be flown to Hollywood for a week-long workshop with Contest judges, some of the field’s biggest names, and a lavish awards ceremony.

Writer judges are Kevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason, Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Brian Herbert, Hugh Howey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Katherine Kurtz, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Todd McCaffrey, Rebecca Moesta, Larry Niven, Jody Lynn Nye, Nnedi Okorafor, Tim Powers, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Brandon Sanderson, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dean Wesley Smith, and Sean Williams.

Illustrator judges are Echo Chernik, Lazarus Chernik, Ciruelo, Vincent Di Fate, Diane Dillon, Bob Eggleton, Craig Elliott, Larry Elmore, Laura Freas Beraha, Brian C. Hailes, Brittany Jackson, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephan Martiniere, Sergey Poyarkov, Rob Prior, Irvin Rodriguez, Dan dos Santos, Shaun Tan, Tom Wood, and Stephen Youll.

The success of the Contests is measured by the success of its winning authors and illustrators.

The 559 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 8,000 novels and short stories, and their works have sold over 60 million copies.

The 406 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have created art for over 700 books, 500 comics, and 130 major motion pictures, gaming feature films, TV shows, and documentaries.

For more information about Writers and Illustrators of the Future, visit www.writersofthefuture.com.