Winners Announced: 3rd Quarter Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests Year 40

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests are pleased to announce the third quarter winners for its 40th year.

For the Writers of the Future Contest, the winners for the quarter ending June 30, 2023, are:

• First Place – Lance Robinson from Canada
• Second Place – Kalpana Mahendran from Malaysia. Kalpana is the first-ever winner from Malaysia!
• Third Place – Lisa Silverthorne from Nevada

And for the Illustrators of the Future Contest, the winners are:

• Peggy Hooper from Oregon
• Jennifer Mellen from Utah
• Pedro Nascimento from Portugal

Congratulations to them all! They will be published in 2024 in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40.

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

Writers of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 40

Illustrators of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 40

In 1985, with the release of the first volume of the series, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “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 Director, Joni Labaqui, stated, “It is always a joy when we welcome a new country to our list of countries with winners, which now totals 49! We remain true to the direction set by Mr. Hubbard of providing that means for the aspiring writer and artist to be seen and acknowledged.”

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

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

Writer judges are Kevin J. Anderson, Dr. Doug Beason, Dr. Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Brian Herbert, Hugh Howey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Katherine Kurtz, Todd McCaffrey, Rebecca Moesta, Larry Niven, Jody Lynn Nye, Dr. Nnedi Okorafor, Tim Powers, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Brandon Sanderson, Dr. Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Silverberg, Dean Wesley Smith, and Dr. 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, Mike Perkins, Sergey Poyarkov, Rob Prior, Dan dos Santos, Shaun Tan, Tom Wood, and Stephen Youll.

The Contests are both free to enter and are found at www.writersofthefuture.com.

L. Ron Hubbard initiated 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.” Based on its success, its sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, was created five years later to provide that same opportunity for aspiring artists.

The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. The 547 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 2,000 novels and nearly 6,300 short stories. In addition, they have produced 36 New York Times bestsellers, and their works have sold over 60 million copies.

The 394 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 6,800 illustrations, 390 comic books, graced 700 books and albums with their art, and visually contributed to 68 TV shows and 40 major movies.

For more information on the writing contest and illustration contest and to see the annual awards gala, go to www.writersofthefuture.com.