Writers & Illustrators of the Future Year in Review for 2025

It was a busy year for the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests, the judges, the winners, and Contest alumni. While we try to gather as many of the highlights for the year, there are many more accomplishments. If you have been erroneously missed from this list, email [email protected], and we will add your info.

Contest Overview

Both the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contests saw highest ever entries. Golden Pen Award for 2025 went to Randyn C. J. Bartholomew, and the Golden Brush Award went to Jordan Smajstrla.

The free Writers of the Future Online Workshop had three additional author instructional videos added from Writers of the Future judges Kevin J. Anderson, Nnedi Okorafor, and Robert J. Sawyer.

The weekly Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast saw episode #360 released. It continues to grow through syndicated radio hitting over 3 million listens per episode.

Notable Achievements

Writer Contest judges Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert co-produced the HBO show Dune: Prophecy which is inspired by their novel Sisterhood of Dune. The show was nominated for four Emmys and its second season is in production.

Kevin and his wife, Rebecca Moesta, also a Writers of the Future judge, wrote the lyrics for the rock CD Uncharted Shores as a companion album to Kevin’s Terra Incognita fantasy trilogy. The album features performances by many rock legends and was named one of the 50 best albums of the year by ProgArchives.

Robert J. Sawyer (judge) released his twenty-sixth novel, The Dowloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine which was in hard cover and audible.com formats and was narrated by Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser. The French translation, Le voyage immobile 2: La machine a fantomes, was named best French-language audiobook of the year by Audible’s editors.

Nancy Farmer (Volume 4 Grand Prize winner) had her novels House of the Scorpion and The Lord of Opium optioned by a film agent for TV financed by Skydance. The Ear, the Eye and the Arm, (her New York Times bestseller) was bought by Laika Studio for an animated feature film.

Time magazine named 2 Contest alumni in their Top 100 Must-Read Books of 2025: Ken Liu (Volume 19) for All That We See or Seem, and Nnedi Okorafor (Volume 18, and judge) for Death of an Author.

Illustrator Contest judge Brian C. Hailes opened Draw It With Me Art Academy in Alpine, Utah and has over 200 students.

David D. Levine (Volume 18) optioned his Nebula-nominated short story Damage to a Hollywood production company for exclusive rights to shop the story for a year.

Writer Contest judge Mark Leslie Lefevbre was the co-host of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association awards called The Aurora Awards this year.

Wulf Moon was awarded fourth place in the Story Unlikely Short Story Contest in 2025. And his How to Write a Howling Good Story book has remained on Amazon bestseller lists for two consecutive years. He also won Critters Awards for Best Author, Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story, Best Nonfiction Article, Best Writers’ Workshop, and Best Writers’ Information Resource.

Novels

Alan Smale (Volume 13) released Burning Night the concluding volume of the Apollo Rising series.

Austin Habershaw (Volume 31) published If Wishes Were Retail.

Brandon Sanderson (judge) released Isles of the Emberdark (Secret Project 5), and Mistborn Era 3 (Ghostbloods).

Brian C. Hailes (Volume 18, now judge) published The Salamander and the Samurai and Ghosts of the B-17.

Brian Trent (Volume 29) published Perdition’s Storm with Baen Books.

CL Fors (Illustrator winner Volume 41) published More Than One.

Elizabeth Chatsworth (Volume 37) published a trade paperback edition of her award-winning fantasy novel Grand Tour: The Brass Queen II.

James Glass (Volume 7 Grand Prize winner) published Wormhole to War with Wildside Press.

Julie Frost (Volume 32) published Joy Shall Be in Heaven.

Kevin J. Anderson (judge) published novels Horn Dogs and Nether Station.

Martin Shoemaker (Volume 31) published A Fine and Dangerous Season.

Mica S. Kole (Volume 35) published Volumes 2 through 5 of her Royal Dragons series, plus Wandering Magus King and Wandering Magus King 2.

Nnedi Okorafor (Volume 18, NYT bestselling author, judge) published Death of the Author with William Morris and One Way Witch which is book 2 of the She Who Knows trilogy.

Preston Dennett (Volume 35) published Humanoids & High Strangeness 20 True UFO Encounters.

Ron Collins (Volume 15) published Fairies and Fastballs in collaboration with Brigid Collins and the Cruise Brothers, The Happiest Place in Space!, The Intergalactic Veterinarian of the Year! and The Magical Mystery Cruise! in collaboration with Jeff Collins.

Scott T. Barnes (Volume 28) released Memories of Lucinda Eco.

Spencer Sekulin (Volume 39) sold his story, Shadow Dance to Spotify which was narrated by voice actress Cherami Leigh.

Steve Pantazis (Volume 31) published books 7, 8, and 9 from his fantasy series, The Light of Darkness and nine non-fiction books―family journals from his Tell Me Your Story series.

Stony Compton (Volume 9) published Cassidy’s Challenge, Book Three of the Russian Amerika series.

Tim Powers (judge) published The Mills of the Gods with Baen Books.

Wulf Moon (Volume 35) published Muzik Man through DreamForge Magazine.

Short Stories & Anthologies & Collections

Andrew Jackson (Volume 41) was published in the Intergalactic Rejects: A Calendar of Fools anthology edited by Storm Humbert (Volume 36) with his story Almost Time.

Barlow Crassmont (Volume 41) published Forest Publications Shadows on the Stage anthology, Contemporary Companion, County Lines: A Literary Journal Silent Whimpers, Amsterdam Quarterly Delayed Symptoms, Saddlebag Dispatches Anthology The Unblemished Dress of Meredith Murray, Dark Speculations: Volume 2 Circles, The Sunlight Press Nightly Neighbors, Crescent Currents Literary Magazine Lord of Land, MoonLit Gateway Silent Whimpers (reprint), The Creekside Magazine My First Words, Mouthful of Salt The Samosa Sauce, Daikaijuzine Flashes of Brilliance, Dog Throat Journal Any Day Now, ARTWIFE The Seared Chicken (from his 24-hour short story from the Writers of the Future workshop), Full House Literary E.E., Press Pause Press The Iconoclastic Rubble, Mania Magazine A Concerning Manner, Blue Moon Review Blasts of Patriotism, and Euphemism The Vanilla March.

Brandon Sanderson (judge) published Tailored Realities, which is a collection of short fiction, including the new novella Moment Zero.

Carrie Callahan (Volume 35) wrote two academic papers: Tarot, Inspiration, and the Brain: A Cognitive Case for Divining Story presented at the Louisville Conference for Literature and Culture, and Evolution of the Vampire: From Queer Subtext to Text in Interview With the Vampire at the International Conference for the Fantastic in Arts.

David D. Levine (Volume 18) published Rust in the September/October edition of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.

David Hankins (Volume 39) published five short stories: The Abrabanel Rescue in Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond, Fish Farts: A Love Story in the Murderfish anthology, edited by Mike Jack Stoumbos (Volume 38). Also published were Darjeeling & Demons in DreamForge Magazine, edited by Scot Noel (Volume 6), The Unwilling Clockwork Goddess and The Key to the Kingdom, both in Sally Port Magazine.

Don Mead (Volume 25) published The Harlem Hell Fighters in the Darkest Shadow, Brightest Light anthology.

Elaine Midcoh (Volume 39) had a short story, Don’t Mind Us in the anthology High Caliber Awards Books 2.

Elise Stephens (Volume 35) published Suspension in The Cosmic Background publication.

Eneasz Brodski (Volume 34) published his own collection of short stories including his volume 34 story, Flee, My Pretty One.

Erin Cairns (Volume 34) published a short story Peace by Piece in her speculative fiction community website inkfoundry.net that she owns and runs.

John Campbell (Volume 37) published four short stories: The Alien Hunter in the Superstars anthology, Weird Wilderness: A Cryptid Bestiary, Jupiter Rises in On the Premises – Issue #45 (an online magazine), Escape from the Urvara in On Spec Magazine (Volume 35 No.2), and The Last of His Kind in Big Game Edition of Gray’s Sporting Journal Volume 50 Issue 4.

John Haas (Volume 35) published Civic Guardian in Oddity Prodigies: Where Legends Walk. He also self-published three collections of short stories: Whispers: Collected Tales of Horror, Enigmas: Collected Tales of Science-Fiction, and Echoes: Collected Tales of Fantasy & Mystery.

Ken Scholes (Volume 21) published an anthology Better Dreams, Fallen Seeds and Other Handfuls of Hope.

Kevin J. Anderson (judge) published a short story collection Stiffs and Stones.

Lance Robinson (Volume 40) had two stories appear in Analog Science Fiction & Fact and another in Think Weirder: The Year’s Best Science Fiction Ideas.

Martin Shoemaker (Volume 31) published Uncle Roy’s Computer Repairs, Used Robot Parts and Other Stories, and A Fine and Dangerous Season.

Matthew Rotundo (Volume 25) released his first short story collection, Spacetime Distortions which features Gone Black, his Writers of the Future winning story.

Robert F. Lowell (Volume 41) was published in the Dog Save the King LTUE Benefit Anthology and he also published in two anthologies Blades and Black Magic and Magic Malfunction.

Robert Reed (Volume 1) had a short story published in the January/February edition of Analog Magazine.

Ron Collins (Volume 15) edited and published 1100 Digital Stories in an Analog World. He also wrote Smoke and Mirrors for the Vlademar Anthologies series edited by Mercedes Lackey, and Fading Empires for Boundary Shock Quarterly, Book 30.

Sandra Skalski (Volume 41) had stories appear in Allegory Magazine and Black Cat Weekly.

Scot Noel (Volume 6) published his latest edition of DreamForge Magazine print issues 16 and 17. He also published DreamForge Anvil digital quarterly issues 19, 20, 21, and 22. His horror story, The Big Project was published in Space & Time Magazine, Issue 148.

Scott Barnes (Volume 25) published his latest edition of his online magazine NewMyths.com.

Sky McKinnon (Volume 40) published a story in the Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water anthology.

Wulf Moon (Volume 35) published Grasshoppers Against the Jar in Story Unlikely.

Illustrator Projects

Alexander Gustafson (Volume 35) created cover art for author David Dalglish’s book Level: Ascension.

Ari Zaritsky (Volume 38) is now working for the Warner Brothers Games division.

Arthur Haywood (Volume 40) exhibited his murals Stars of Philadelphia at the Tiger Woods Foundation Learning Lab at Cobbs Creek Golf Course. Arthur had gallery/show/festival exhibit tours this year including: Endless Reflections Exhibition at the Plaza Artist Materials in Philadelphia, the Echoes of Identity show at the Ultra Silk Gallery in Philadelphia, Live Painting Celebrate Freedom Day Event at Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Paris, France Manga Sci-Fi Show, and the Autumn Jam in Philadelphia. He also collaborated on cover art for a six book series Red Rising with Joel Daniel Phillips. The author is Pierce Brown.

Bob Eggleton (judge) is busy producing his five covers for the upcoming IDW Publishing Godzilla comic series.

Brittany Jackson (Volume 24 Grand Prize winner, now judge) produced the cover art for the American Library Association Booklist Magazine Volume 122 No. 1 this year. She is also working on more than one project for Hollywood that she will be able to name once the projects are launched.

CL Fors (Volume 41) produced two book cover illustrations, one for Contest judge Kevin J. Anderson and one for author Francis Stevens.

Craig Elliott (judge) was the Production Designer for the Hypergalactic movie produced by Toei. He also was the Production Designer on Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda animated movie. He also worked on a short film with Disney legend Andreas Deja’s Mushka which is now streaming.

Chris Arias (Volume 39) from Costa Rica produced the cover art of the Author Services/Galaxy Press Holiday Card for 2025.

 

Awards Announced in 2025

Writers of the Future Forum won the Best Writers’ Discussion Forum in the Critters Annual Readers Poll 2024 which was announced in January of 2025.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Volume 40 was the winner of the International Book Awards “Science Fiction and Fantasy” category and was also a Finalist in the “Anthologies” category.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Volume 40 was a Finalist in the IBPA Book Award.

L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Volume 40 was a Finalist in two categories of the Indie Book Awards; Science Fiction (Off Earth) and Science Fiction (On Earth).

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40 won the Silver Award at the Independent Book Publishers Association Book Awards.

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41 won the Gold Award for the New York City Big Book Awards, for Best Anthology.

Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41 won the 2025 American Fiction Awards in the Anthologies category.

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast was a finalists in three categories of the Podcast Awards: The People’s Choice: 1) Arts, 2) Education, and 3) Storyteller/Drama.

Aliette de Bodard (Volume 23) received a British Science Fiction Association nomination for her story Navigational Entanglements.

Contest winners were named Finalists in the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award category for 2025: Kathleen Powell (Volume 42) for her story A Game with Death and Arthur H. Manners (Volume 40) for his story Staying Afloat.

Illustrator winner Marianna Mester (Volume 41) took home another award this year, Artist of the Kasza Day 2025. This is an award in her home country of Hungary.

Illustrator Contest winner April Solomon (Volume 39) was nominated for the Teravarna Grant award for 2025.

Writer winner F.J. Bergmann (Volume 36) won First Place in the Short Poem Category of the 2025 Elgin Awards from the Fantasy Poetry Association for her poem Lost Ark published in Space & Time Magazine. She also placed third in the Long Poem category. She won the Poet’s Choice category of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets Dyad contest.

We had two former winners with two wins and a short list standing in three categories for this year’s Ditmar Awards from the Australian SF Association:

Tim Napper (Volume 31) won in the Best Novella or Novelette category for his story Ghost of the Neon God and was nominated for Best Novel for The Escher Man.

Cat Sparks (Volume 21) won for Best Collected Work for Calvaria Fell.

David Hankins (Volume 39) won Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel of 2024 in the Critters Readers’ Poll.

Jody Lynn Nye (Coordinating Writing Judge) was nominated at the Dragon Awards in the Alternate History category for her novel co-written with Eric Flint 1635: The Weaver’s Code.

Kevin J. Anderson (judge) was nominated at the Dragon Awards in the category of Best Science Fiction Novel for his story Nether Station.

Illustrator Contest judge Dan dos Santos was short listed for Best Book Cover for Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs in the 2025 Frank R. Paul Awards.

Bestseller Lists

Writers of the Future Volume 41 hit the following bestseller lists:

#1 Amazon New Release SF Anthologies

#1 Amazon New SF Anthologies

#1 Amazon Sci Fi & Fantasy Writing

#1 Amazon Sci Fi History & Criticism

#1 Amazon SF Anthologies

#1 Amazon Steampunk Sci Fi

#1 Amazon Teen & YA Historical Mysteries

#1 Amazon Teen & YA Steampunk eBook

#1 Amazon Teen & Young Adult Monster Fiction

#1 Audible Anthologies and Short Stories