Writers of the Future Welcomes Award-Winning Author Hugh Howey as its Newest Judge

The Writers of the Future Contest Administrators welcome Hugh Howey into the ranks as one of its esteemed judges for the internationally acclaimed Writers of the Future.

Hugh Howey is the New York Times bestselling author of Wool, Beacon 23, Sand, Machine Learning, and over a dozen other novels. His works have been translated into over 40 languages around the world. Apple TV’s #1 hit drama Silo is based on his books, and Beacon 23 is coming to AMC later this year.

Howey stated, “I fell in love with reading and with sailing at a young age. I had two dreams in life: to write a novel and to sail around the world. In 2009, I finally completed my first novel.” He sailed halfway around the world but had his trek cut short when his seventh published work, Wool, became an international bestseller, and the Silo television series went into development.

Howey became a must-read author within the Writers of the Future administration staff. He was then a two-time guest on the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Podcast, where he announced he had been reading the Writers of the Future series since the beginning and that he was an avid fan of Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard, having read it at least seven times. “It was at this point that we wanted to offer Hugh the opportunity to be a judge,” stated John Goodwin, President of Author Services, Inc. “He was our guest at Tampa Comic Con, where we invited him to become a judge, and he accepted.”

Howey stated, “I’m honored and delighted to be invited to judge L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future, a contest with a storied history and noble purpose. Breaking out as a new writer has never been easy, and one of the thrills of being an established author is to help give encouragement and support to those who are on that journey right behind us.”

He now joins the elite panel of Contest judges past and present, including legends Algis Budrys, Orson Scott Card, Hal Clement, Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, C.L. Moore, Larry Niven, Andre Norton, Nnedi Okorafor, Frederik Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Tim Powers, Mike Resnick, Brandon Sanderson, Robert J. Sawyer, Jack Williamson, and Dave Wolverton. For a complete list of Contest judges, go to writersofthefuture.com/writer-judges/.

L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Writing Contest to provide a means for aspiring writers to get that much-needed break, with the first volume released in 1985. Due to the success of the Writing Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was created.

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award is the genre’s most prestigious award and has now become the largest, most successful, and most influential vehicle for budding creative talent in contemporary fiction. Since its inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests have produced 39 anthology volumes and awarded over $1 million cumulatively in cash prizes and royalties.

For more information, go to hughhowey.com.