Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests Announce Q3 Winners for Year 42

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests announced their third-quarter winners for the 42nd year.

Writers of the Future Winners:

• First Place — Michael T. Kuester from Ohio
• Second Place — Elina Kumra from California
• Third Place — Joseph Sidari from Massachusetts

Illustrators of the Future Winners:

• Nathan Deiwert from Indiana
• Abigail Moore from Massachusetts
• Tray Streeter from Utah

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 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 42

Illustrators of the Future 3rd Quarter Winners Announced for Volume 42

In 1985, L. Ron Hubbard wrote in the first volume of the series, “The artist injects the spirit of life into a culture.” Four decades later, and with entries from over 175 countries and winners from 52 of them, his words ring true. As he noted, “The competition is very keen and even dagger sharp.” Contest Director Joni Labaqui congratulated each of the winners by phone, letting them know of their win. Complete lists of Finalists, Semi-Finalists, Silver Honorable Mentions, and Honorable Mentions are available at writersofthefuture.com/blog.

Winners will attend a weeklong workshop in Hollywood with Contest judges, including leading industry figures, followed by a gala awards ceremony.

Writer Judges: Kevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason, Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Brian Herbert, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Hugh Howey, Nancy Kress, Katherine Kurtz, Mark Leslie, 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, S.M. Sterling, Sean Williams.

Illustrator Judges: 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, Stephen Youll.

The Contests’ success is reflected in the achievements of their winners. The 571 Writing Contest winners and published finalists have produced over 8,000 novels and short stories, with sales exceeding 60 million copies. The 418 Illustrating Contest winners have contributed to 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.