'L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest' Mentors New Talent in Speculative Fiction
This weekend is the Writers of the Future event. Here's a press release on it.
This is the best compilation of SciFi short stories on the market. I always pick up my own copy and I'm never disappointed.
HOLLYWOOD, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- August 14, 2006 -- Three out of every 10,000 manuscripts submitted to the publishing industry in the United States each year gets published. In the science fiction and fantasy genre, all publishing houses combined release only 1,800 novels annually, most of them written by established authors. So recognition seldom comes quickly to new writers, particularly in the genre of speculative fiction. Many aspiring writers facing those kinds of odds soon discover how hard it is to get published and give up on their dreams to see their novels and stories in print.
One program that has successfully helped talented new writers gain recognition and bring them to the attention of publishers is the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, see www.writersofthefuture.com, now in its 23rd year.
Every quarter, three winners are selected by a judge's panel of leading authors of science fiction and fantasy including Anne McCaffrey, Tim Powers, Kevin J. Anderson and Robert Sawyer. With no entry fee and judging done on an anonymous basis, the criterion is strictly merit.
Besides first time publication in the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future -- the best-selling anthology series of its kind -- benefits include $30,000 in cash prizes and royalties, a writing workshop with top professionals of the genre, critiques of writing skills by well known authors as well as book signings, radio and TV interviews organized by the contest administrators to assist the new authors to get launched. Winners also form a strong community and stay in touch and support each other.
Fantasy writer Tim Powers and such other successful authors in the genre, as Orson Scott Card and Algis Budrys have conducted the workshop, which in addition to honing writing skills also covers public relations and marketing advice to help launch winner's careers. The intensive mentoring process works -- past winners of the Contest have had over 300 novels and more than 3,000 short stories published, creating sales of over 30 million books and a number of New York Times bestsellers.
This year's L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Achievement Awards Ceremony will take place August 18th at the San Diego Air & Space Museum with celebrity presenters, guests and winners from around the globe. Professionals and fans are invited to attend and can r.s.v.p. at 323/466-3310.