Brandon Sigrist hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota where he has enjoyed a successful career as an architect for the past two decades. Raised on a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy ranging from Heinlein to Tolkein, Brandon caught the writing bug at an early age. For the past three years he has been submitting stories for publication, pursuing his dream of becoming a published writer. And now that dream has become a reality—not only did he win the Writers of the Future Contest, but he took home the prestigious Gold Award.
Now back in his home state, and more determined than ever to make his writing career take off, Brandon had this to say about his experience at the Writers of the Future week-long workshop, and the awards ceremony:
"The workshop was intense and challenging, but well worth it. K.D. Wentworth and Tim Powers are terrific instructors with excellent material to present. One of the things I liked best was learning about their different ways of working. Mr. Powers plans his novels on note cards and makes calendars of events to guide his writing. Ms. Wentworth is more improvisational, facing each new day of work on a story as an explorer faces unknown country. Seeing that one could succeed with either approach was very reassuring. Best of all, they made us feel like fellow professionals from the start.
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"Then there was the amazing group of master authors who gave us their insights on the business side of writing. Anne McCaffrey, Jerry Pournelle, David Brin, Kevin J. Anderson, and Eric Kotani. It was a jaw-dropping experience. David Brin’s impassioned critique of cynicism in science fiction really struck home with me, as my work tends toward the dark and dystopian. I hereby promise to fight my nature and take a more balanced look at the possibilities for humanity and technology in the future. Kevin Anderson’s advice on using a micro-recorder to write while walking has doubled my daily word count since I’ve been back, and I’m just getting started. We also heard from past winners Sean Williams, Steve Saville and Eric James Stone. They bridged the gap for us, making it seem possible to aspire to careers like any of those who had spoken.
"Meeting the illustrators was a special highlight for me. The whole idea of going into a room filled with illustrations and finding the one for your story was brilliant. Seeing Katherine Hallberg’s enthusiasm and the way she translated it into a beautiful piece of artwork was hugely rewarding.
"The gold award was of course a tremendous honor. Robert Sawyer came up after the ceremony and said he thought the trophy was the coolest looking one out there. That sounds mighty good coming from a guy who’s got the Hugo, Nebula and Campbell awards at home! I will treasure this trophy for life (the money is about spent), but the biggest thrill for me was the experience of being there. Things like meeting the other winners, seeing the beautiful illustrations of our stories, and the sense of being part of the larger SF/F community. It was one of the most enriching and entertaining weeks of my life before I even got to the awards ceremony. The fact is, if you make it here, you’ve already won the best prize of all. So send in your stories and drawings. L. Ron Hubbard’s generous legacy is here waiting for you. What a great contest!"
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A new blog for the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests has been launched. This blog is a forum to brief those interested in activities of past winners, to keep you informed on our most recent winners activities and to update you on the progress with our next Writers of the Future volume. For more information, go to www.writersofthefuture.com.
