Bob is a Fellow of the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA). His work has appeared in professional publications and books in the world of science fiction, fantasy and horror around the world. Spacewatch/NASA named asteroid 13562 Bobeggleton in his honor. Most importantly, he was a running extra in the 2002 film Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla.
Notes on Art Direction
Is It Direction or Suggestion?
I served as Art Director for the visual works you see inside this volume, from the Contest winners of L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest. It is a thrill to do this because it enables me to encourage and work with our next generation of illustrators, but also, I learn something of myself in the process.
It was on a cold night in November 1989 when I received a call from Algis Budrys asking me to be a judge for the newly minted Illustrators of the Future Contest. At the time, Frank Kelly Freas had been selected to be the coordinating judge, so he set up the Contest criteria. Both are late to us now, but I am sure they would be proud at how far things have come. Wow … has it been nearly thirty years?
One thing that has changed over the years and has really improved the Contest is that the illustrations are published in color. Things have come far since those heady early days of black and white line art. Now the art can be seen in its glory, and the artists are able to go far into their interpretations with subtle ideas and distinct styles.
The Contest works this way. Quarterly finalists are picked by a panel of judges from a variety of works sent in. It’s free to enter. It can be very difficult to judge these entries because we see some very talented people from all parts of the world: Australia, Russia, England, China, and so on, which proves that great art is not limited by geography. In the end, art is the ultimate communication and way of visual expression. Once a person’s work passes the judges, they are a Contest winner.
Next, a second phase of the competition begins. Each of the twelve winning artists are assigned a story from one of the twelve writing winners of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest. Usually something in the writer’s prose matches the illustrator’s style. They are requested to work up three or more “thumbnail” ideas for the story. These come to me to review and work out what seems to be the strongest concept. Inevitably I tend to spot the one the artist also considers their very best.
My belief is to let the artist do their greatest work. I enjoy it when I am allowed in my own work to do my best. This usually means, “Do not interfere.” I’ll suggest ideas and ways to go, if the artist needs some direction and help, but I am not overbearing or dictatorial. This is because I love seeing the creative work blossom. I trust people with talent to be able to use that talent without me telling them how to use it. It is sort of like directing a movie … you give your actor motivation. But the best directors never tell the actor exactly how to perform the role, they just suggest something and let the actor’s style come through.
I also believe that an illustration should contribute to the author’s prose. Sometimes story descriptions and ideas can be vague and metaphorical. But that is okay, because the illustrator’s job is to take that story and give it some visual punch that brings it home for the reader and viewer.
As to the Contest itself, in the end of all the judging, all the assigning of stories and the hard work on the part of the illustrator, and all the art directing I do, the best illustration is awarded the grand prize, the coveted Gold Award.
This year, I have seen some incredible work, with styles that are all unique and media all different. I’ll also note too, that whether the work is digital or traditional, it does not matter. A computer is an excellent tool and that is all it is. It doesn’t draw for you, nor can someone who can’t draw fake some sort of style with it. In the case of illustration, it comes down to the ability to be able to communicate an idea with excellent art skills.
The result is in each case, a unique and magical work of art that beautifully accompanies the story. And we all keep growing and evolving in our talents and skills. I’ve been an illustrator since 1983, and I’m still at it.
So, reach forward: we look forward to seeing your entries!
The Year in the Contests
Over the past thirty-three years, the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests have grown impressively. It seems that every year is the year with the largest ever number of entries, and that is true again of 2016. We had more entries than we’ve ever had before, with honorable mentions, semi-finalists, and finalists from around the world.
Both competitions are now among the largest and longest-running contests around the globe, and the only contests of such size and esteem that don’t require an entrance fee. The vast number and variety of submissions empower the judges, enabling them to select what are truly the best short stories and artwork from up-and-coming talent.
It comes as no surprise that the Contests’ anthologies have received high praise, of which every person involved with the Contests is immensely appreciative. Publishers Weekly, an esteemed and influential news publication, said, “The 32nd installment of the Writers of the Future Contest … is an engaging mix of thought-provoking and inventive stories, accompanied by equally impressive illustrations.”
Not only is the anthology recognized by professional entities, but by everyday readers as well: Volume 32 hit #1 in Science Fiction on Amazon.com, and #1 on the Barnes & Noble’s Science Fiction and Fantasy list. It was also in the top 10 of Publishers Weekly’s national bestseller list.
Publications by Past Winners
With the continuing growth and accumulation of outstanding winners through the years, it has become increasingly difficult to record the publications that each individual has made, let alone include them all in each anthology. Still, we strive to keep past winners in our sights, savoring and celebrating every achievement made by any of them. Their successes bring honor to all past winners and smooth the path for future winners to follow.
This past year we counted over ninety books published by past winners, and far too many novellas, short stories, and articles, in both print and online publications, to include. Some titles are more recognizable than others, but all deserve equal attention based on the writers’ sheer perseverance alone.
The number of publications for our illustrators are of course even greater, with their work appearing on covers, in picture books, graphic novels, comics, websites, video games, movies, television shows, and more. Every image they create adds to the genre and enriches the world as a whole.
In addition, our current judge Brandon Sanderson recently signed a major motion picture deal for his Cosmere Universe with DMG Entertainment in what is described by Tor Books as a “massive” deal.
Award News for Past Winners and Judges
Each year, our writers and artists go on to garner more attention in their fields.
This year, past winner and now a judge, Nnedi Okorafor, won a Hugo Award for Best Novella and a Nebula Award for the same with her story Binti.
Paula R. Stiles co-edited an anthology, She Walks in Shadows, which follows women as they delve into Lovecraftian depths, and won a World Fantasy Award.
As for British SF Association Awards, Aliette de Bodard won two. One for her novel The House of Shattered Wings and another for her short story “Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight.”
Ken Liu won a Locus Award for best first novel, for The Grace of Kings.
Three of our past winners won Australia’s Aurealis Awards: current judge Sean Williams won for a short story, “All the Wrong Places.” In the fantasy novella category, Jason Fischer won for “Defy the Grey Kings,” while illustrator winner Shaun Tan won in the graphic novel category with The Singing Bones.
The Seiun Award, given by the Japanese Science Fiction Federation, went this year to Ken Liu for his translated story “Good Hunting.”
Illustrator win
ners, Greg Opalinski and Omar Rayyan, appear in Spectrum 23 along with our own Contest judges Stefan Martiniere and Echo Chernik.
FOUR New Judges Added
We’re delighted to announce that we have added four new judges to our panels this year.
Lazarus Chernik, Mike Perkins, and Ciruelo were added as judges to our illustrious panel for the Illustrators of the Future Contest.
Lazarus Chernik is a creative director, brand manager, and award-winning designer with over twenty years of experience in the corporate world, where he has worked for various major clients designing logos and web pages, while also teaching.
Mike Perkins is a long-time award-winning illustrator for Marvel Comics, having worked on Captain America, Thor, and The X-Men, and Stephen King’s The Stand. He counts being on the New York Times bestseller list and being exhibited in Munich, London, and Paris among his career achievements.
Ciruelo Cabral is an internationally renowned fantasy artist who has been commissioned by George Lucas, Wizards of the Coast, TSR, Tor, Warner, Ballantine, Heavy Metal magazine and many more.
For the Writers of the Future Contest, we’ve added Jody Lynn Nye, who over the past thirty years has published more than 40 novels and 120 short stories in fantasy and science fiction. In addition to writing, Jody frequently teaches writing workshops and helps mentor new writers. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, the well-known and loved Bill Fawcett, who is also a writer, game designer, historian, and publisher.
So much for history. Now it’s on to the future!
Our heartiest congratulations to this year’s winners. May we see much more of their work in times to come!
For Contest Year 33, the winners are:
Writers of the Future Contest Winners
First Quarter
1. Dustin Steinacker
Envoy in the Ice
2. Sean Hazlett
Adramelech
3. Anton Rose
A Glowing Heart
Second Quarter
1. Doug C. Souza
The Armor Embrace
2. Walter Dinjos
The Woodcutters’ Deity
3. Stephen Lawson
Moonlight One
Third Quarter
1. Jake Marley
Acquisition
2. Ville Meriläinen
The Fox, the Wolf, and the Dove
3. C.L. Kagmi
The Drake Equation
Fourth Quarter
1. Andrew Peery
Useless Magic
2. Ziporah Hildebrandt
The Long Dizzy Down
3. Andrew L. Roberts
Tears for Shülna
Published Finalists
David VonAllmen
The Magnificent Bhajan
Molly Elizabeth Atkins
Obsidian Spire
Illustrators of the Future Contest Winners
First Quarter
Aituar Manas
Chan ha Kim
Yader Fonseca
Second Quarter
Christopher Kiklowicz
Victoria Man
Jason Park
Third Quarter
Hanna Al-Shaer
David Furnal
Michael Michera
Fourth Quarter
Asher Ben Alpay
Rachel Quinlan
Ryan Richmond
Published Finalist
Anthony Moravian
NEW WRITERS!
L. Ron Hubbard’s
Writers of the
Future Contest
Opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy.
No entry fee is required.
Entrants retain all publication rights.
ALL AWARDS ARE ADJUDICATED BY PROFESSIONAL WRITERS ONLY
Prizes every three months: $1,000, $750, $500
Annual Grand Prize: $5,000 additional!
Don’t delay! Send your entry now!
To submit your entry electronically go to: www.writersofthefuture.com/enter-writer-contest
E-mail:
[email protected] To submit your entry via mail send to: L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest, 7051 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90028
WRITERS’ CONTEST RULES
1. No entry fee is required, and all rights in the story remain the property of the author. All types of science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy are welcome.
2. By submitting to the Contest, the entrant agrees to abide by all Contest rules.
3. All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person’s universe, without written permission, will result in disqualification. Excessive violence or sex, determined by the judges, will result in disqualification. Entries may not have been previously published in professional media.
4.To be eligible, entries must be works of prose, up to 17,000 words in length. We regret we cannot consider poetry, or works intended for children.
5. The Contest is open only to those who have not professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Professional publication is deemed to be payment of at least six cents per word, and at least 5,000 copies, or 5,000 hits.
6. Entries submitted in hard copy must be typewritten or a computer printout in black ink on white paper, printed only on the front of the paper, double-spaced, with numbered pages. All other formats will be disqualified. Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author’s legal name, a pen name if applicable, address, telephone number, e-mail address and an approximate word count. Every subsequent page must carry the title and a page number, but the author’s name must be deleted to facilitate fair, anonymous judging.
Entries submitted electronically must be double-spaced and must include the title and page number on each page, but not the author’s name. Electronic submissions will separately include the author’s legal name, pen name if applicable, address, telephone number, e-mail address and approximate word count.
7. Manuscripts will be returned after judging only if the author has provided return postage on a self-addressed envelope.
8. We accept only entries that do not require a delivery signature for us to receive them.
9. There shall be three cash prizes in each quarter: a First Prize of $1,000, a Second Prize of $750, and a Third Prize of $500, in US dollars. In addition, at the end of the year the winners will have their entries rejudged, and a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $5,000. All winners will also receive trophies.
10. The Contest has four quarters, beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1. The year will end on September 30. To be eligible for judging in its quarter, an entry must be postmarked or received electronically no later than midnight on the last day of the quarter. Late entries will be included in the following quarter and the Contest Administration will so notify the entrant.
11. Each entrant may submit only one manuscript per quarter. Winners are ineligible to make further entries in the Contest.
12. All entries for each quarter are final. No revisions are accepted.
13. Entries will be judged by professional authors. The decisions of the judges are entirely their own, and are final.
14. Winners in each quarter will be individually notified of the results by phone, mail or e-mail.
15. This Contest is void where prohibited by law.
16. To send your entry electronically, go to: www.writersofthefuture.com/enter-writer-contest and follow the instructions. To send your entry in hard copy, mail it to: L. Ron Hubbard’s W
riters of the Future Contest, 7051 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90028
17. Visit the website for any Contest rules updates at: www.writersofthefuture.com
NEW ILLUSTRATORS!
L. Ron Hubbard’s
Illustrators of the
Future Contest
Opportunity for new a science fiction and fantasy artists worldwide.
No entry fee is required.
Entrants retain all publication rights.
ALL JUDGING BY PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS ONLY
$1,500 in prizes each quarter.
Quarterly winners compete for $5,000 additional annual prize!
Don’t delay! Send your entry now!
To submit your entry electronically go to: www.writersofthefuture.com/enter-writer-contest
E-mail:
[email protected] To submit your entry via mail send to: L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest, 7051 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90028
ILLUSTRATORS’ CONTEST RULES
1. The Contest is open to entrants from all nations. (However, entrants should provide themselves with some means for written communication in English.) All themes of science fiction and fantasy illustrations are welcome: every entry is judged on its own merits only. No entry fee is required and all rights to the entry remain the property of the artist.
2. By submitting to the Contest, the entrant agrees to abide by all Contest rules.
3. The Contest is open to new and amateur artists who have not been professionally published and paid for more than three black-and-white story illustrations, or more than one process-color painting, in media distributed broadly to the general public. The ultimate eligibility criterion, however, is defined by the word “amateur”—in other words, the artist has not been paid for his artwork. If you are not sure of your eligibility, please write a letter to the Contest Administration with details regarding your publication history. Include a self-addressed and stamped envelope for the reply. You may also send your questions to the Contest Administration via e-mail.