Writers of the Future: The One Stop Shop for Aspiring Writers and Artists

“Writers of the Future, after nearly four decades, has become the one-stop-shop for aspiring writers and artists,” stated Emily Goodwin, Vice President Author Services, Inc., the agency overseeing the Contests and the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future anthology, which Publishers Weekly called, “the most enduring forum to showcase new talent in the genre.”  

L. Ron Hubbard initiated the Writers of the Future writing contest in 1983 to provide, in his own words, “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 the aspiring artist.

“Following Mr. Hubbard’s original direction that resulted in the annual Writers of the Future anthology,” Goodwin continued, “we have expanded its help for the writer or artist by creating a blog, a podcast, and a writer forum, all hosted on the WritersoftheFuture.com website.”

• Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast: Amazing life stories and proven tips for both writing and illustrating, listen to Contest judges, winners, and industry pros in these personal interviews on this weekly podcast that is an awarded finalist in the People’s Choice: The Podcast Awards.
• Writers of the Future Online Workshop: This free writing workshop, with 13 videos featuring Orson Scott Card, David Farland, Tim Powers, and ten essays by the Contest founder, L. Ron Hubbard, provides valuable tools for a writer of any skill. Designed as an intermediate-level writing course, people of all levels have found this workshop helpful with the story structure, character development, the formulation of story ideas, and the business of writing.
• Writers & Illustrators of the Future Blog: Latest news from writers, illustrators, judges, and industry professionals.
• Writers of the Future Forum: Winning the 2020 Critter’s Award as Best Writing Forum, the Writers of the Future Forum provides a place where members can discuss writing and illustration in a safe, non-judgmental environment, and get help with stories they want to submit to the Writers of the Future Contest.

David Farland, Golden Pen winner for volume 3 and now the Writer Contest Coordinating Judge stated, “I love the fact that this contest is judged blind. When I judge a story, all that I see is the name of the story and the text, nothing more. I don’t know what country the tale comes from, whether the author is eight or eighty. I can’t necessarily guess the ethnicity or anything else. Thatʼs part of the joy of this contest, reading the announcements and learning a bit about who the winners are and where they come from!”

The Illustrator Coordinating Judge Echo Chernik commented, “One of the best aspects of the IOTF (Illustrators of the Future) Contest is that it’s open to everyone. While reviewing the submissions, I have no idea of where the artist is from, their gender, or age ─ they are represented purely by the artwork that they submit.  It’s wonderful to meet the winners and see the variety of talent behind the artwork ─ we have winners from all over the world and from high school to retired, which goes to show that it’s never too early or too late in life to pursue your passions!”

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