Banner Year for the Writers of the Future Contest

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ — The annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest and anthology series that celebrated 25( )years may be producing more successful, best-selling authors in speculative fiction than any similar publishing vehicle for new and aspiring writers, despite a downturn in the economy. “We’ve seen an increase of submissions to the contest since the economic downturn,” contest director Joni Labaqui announced at the recent Los Angeles Science Fiction convention.

At least seven of our 300 winning writers have made the New York Times (NYT) best-seller’s list alone – the most recent being previous Writers of the Future winner Patrick Rothfuss with his novel Name of the Wind, according to Labaqui.

Rothfuss joins other past contest winners with NYT best-seller status who include Dave Wolverton (Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leah), Nancy Farmer (The Ear, the Eye and the Arm), Jo Beverley (A Lady’s Secret), Sean Williams (Star Wars: Force Unleashed), Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane Austen Book Club) and Tim Myers (Basho and the Fox).

“Each of these amazing writers got their first big publishing break after being chosen by our blue ribbon panel of writers and appearing in the annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future anthology,” Labaqui said. “No other contest is providing such a successful vehicle for future writers anywhere with so much exposure.”

Other contest winners whose names now routinely grace bookstore shelves worldwide include Steven Savile (Silver, Variance Publishing), Jeff Carlson (Plague Year series, Ace), Scott Nicholson (Scattered Ashes, Dark Regions), Nnedi Okorafor (Zahrah the Windseeker, Houghton Mifflin) and Ken Scholes (Lamentation, and Canticle - The Psalms of Isaak series, Tor), to name just a few.

Sponsored by Author Services Inc., the literary agency that represents all of Hubbard’s works, the annual Writers of the Future contest draws entrants from around the globe and is free to enter. Winners receive cash awards, qualify for a $5,000 grand prize, receive airfare to and accommodations for the week-long professional writing workshop and awards ceremony and are professionally-published in the annual anthology which is also released at the event.

The Writers of the Future Contest has been honored with the ” Publishers Weekly Outstanding Achievement Award” and the “Library Journal Award of Excellence” for continued work in discovering, fostering and nurturing careers of aspiring writers.

For more information on the contest, email contests@authorservicesinc.com and visit the website at writersofthefuture.com

SOURCE L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest