| IN MEMORY—FRANK
KELLY FREAS, FOUNDING JUDGE OF THE ILLUSTRATORS
OF THE FUTURE CONTEST |
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| Founding
Coordinating Judge, Frank Kelly Freas |
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"All I ever wanted
to do was science fiction illustration. . . .
I never wanted to do anything else."
— Frank Kelly Freas
Frank Kelly Freas is one of the most prolific and popular
science fiction artists in the history of the genre,
illustrating stories by such classic luminaries of the
field as L. Ron Hubbard, Robert Heinlein, A. E.
Van Vogt, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. He was
the first artist ever to win eleven Hugo Awards and
has a record of twenty nominations. His original paintings
hang in museums, universities and many private collections.
His work has been the subject of four bestselling collections
including the latest volume, Frank Kelly Freas:
As He Sees It.
In 1988, Frank Kelly Freas became the Founding Coordinating
Judge of L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of
the Future Contest, companion competition to the L. Ron
Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. It was intended
to do for new illustrators what the writers contest
had done for new writers—discover new talent,
acknowledge them, bring them to the attention of publishers
and help launch their professional careers—and
that it has successfully done over the past 17 years
with Frank Kelly Freas at the helm.
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| Sage
advice from the master himself —"Don't
sweat it—just draw." |
Kelly's hard work, friendship and care will be direly
missed. He has touched countless lives with his creativity
and insouciance for life, as can be seen in these words
from fellow contest judges:
VINCENT DI FATE: "Though Kelly
may no longer walk among us, he has touched our hearts
through his work, through his paintings for Astounding
and Analog and Ace and, yes, even
Mad. His drawings and paintings, his marvelous
touches of whimsy, and his compelling visions of the
world as it could someday be, will live on to tell the
tales of magic and love and joy and adventure awaiting
us, just beyond the bend ahead.
"He had a brave heart and a good soul and he
will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved him.
He led a good life, had a loving family, dear friends,
an adoring spouse—and he leaves behind a legacy
that is ours forever."
|
Writers
of the Future, Volume XI, cover art by
Frank Kelly Freas |
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| Writers
of the Future, Volume XVII, cover art by
Frank Kelly Freas |
|
RON LINDAHN: "Kelly was able
to bring that sense of magic to his images because he
was filled with awe and wonder himself. He loved science
fiction and fantasy. He was excited about the possibilities
of exploring space, but not just for the conquest, more
for the relationship; the emotion, the interaction of
man and machine, human and alien, a person responding
to an alien environment.
"Now with Kelly's passing it feels like the end
of an era. But as I say this I catch myself thinking
it is not over. Frank Kelly Freas lives on through his
work. His images are timeless. They continue to provoke
a sense of awe and wonder. They will continue to inspire
and entertain. And for those of us who have been touched
by him, well, our lives have been irrevocably altered,
much for the better. So we say a heartfelt thank you
Kelly, you are missed. And we know that whatever amazing
dimension you find yourself in now will be blessed by
your presence."
ALGIS BUDRYS: "Kelly and I knew
each other since before I was married which was a long
time ago.
"He painted 5 or 6 covers around my stories.
"I wrote 5 or 6 stories around his covers.
"He was my best man when I was married and he still
is.
"Many years later when I was working with Author
Services, we had to choose a coordination judge for
the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest.
"Kelly saw the success of the writers contest and
wanted new illustrators to have the same opportunity.
He had also known L. Ron Hubbard when they both published
their work in Astounding Science Fiction magazine.
"So he was the obvious person to be chosen for
that position. Kelly then helped bring other illustrators
onto the judges panel. He was always encouraging aspiring
artists to enter the contest and was proud of the talent
it discovered.
"He was a brilliant artist and a wonderful man.
"Goodbye Kelly."
| WINNER
SUCCESS STORIES |
|
JOHN MOORE'S SMASHING RETURN TO FANTASY!
John Moore entered the very first Writers of the Future
Contest when he was a student at the University of Houston.
He continued to enter regularly until his story "High
Fast Fish" was selected as a published finalist
in Volume IV. After that he began selling stories to
the professional markets. His first novel, "Slay
and Rescue," was published by Baen Books in 1994.
John then took a hiatus from writing to develop his
engineering career. He returned to the field last year
with a new fantasy novel from Ace Books, "Heroics
for Beginners," which reached #8 on the Locus bestseller
list. He is signed to do three more novels for Ace,
with the next one, "The Unhandsome Prince,"
scheduled for release this April. He still lives and
works in Houston, Texas, enjoys traveling, and tries
to visit a different country each year.
JARED BARBER & GEOFFREY GIRARD BACK IN
ACTION!
Only a year after teaming up for a tale in L. Ron
Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XIX,
writer Geoffrey Girard and artist Jared Barber have
united again to create "Tales of the Jersey Devil,"
a collection of thirteen horror stories based on the
myth of the Jersey Devil. The book, published by Middle
Atlantic Press and released in January, covers more
than two hundred years of American history and folklore
and features seven illustrations by Jared beside the
same blend of fantasy and horror Geoffrey used for his
winning Writers of the Future tale, “Dark Harvest.”
Just after his trip to Los Angeles for the L. Ron
Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future workshop
and annual awards ceremony, Geoffrey approached Middle
Atlantic Press with only his shiny new Writers of the
Future Contest credit and three sample chapters. A month
later, he’d signed his first book contract.
The next part, says Geoffrey, was equally exciting.
“I loved the illustration Jared did for my Writers
of the Future story and knew he was absolutely perfect
for this project. After the publisher had shown
me some artists they wanted to use, I made my own suggestion.
The publisher agreed wholeheartedly.”
With Jared hired to do the art, Geoffrey got busy writing
the rest of the book. “All I had was the three
chapters and an outline for the rest. With a three-month
deadline, and trying hard to stick to Kevin J. Anderson's
(a New York Times bestselling author and judge
of the Contest) suggestion of turning your work
in early, it was a busy two months! Jared and
I worked out some picture ideas and he read along with
each chapter as I wrote. Towards the end of the
process, I actually started editing scenes and descriptions
to match some of his cooler image ideas.”
The Writers & Illustrators of the Future Contest
winning pair hope to work again soon and are already
in planning for another “Tales Of…”
book with the publisher, says Geoffrey. “There’s
no doubt the Writers of the Future Contest credential
and week-long experience opened this door for us.”
He adds, “Also, thanks to Mr. Budrys and Galaxy
Press for putting me and Jared together in the first
place. We hope "Tales of the Jersey Devil"
will prove just the first offspring of our Writers of
the Future Volume XIX pairing, and that the Writers
of the Future family will be pleased with the results.”
LATEST
RELEASE! L. RON HUBBARD
PRESENTS WRITERS OF THE FUTURE,
VOLUME XX |
|
 This
historic 20th anniversary edition of the L. Ron Hubbard
Presents Writers of the Future anthology, the bestselling
and most widely influential anthology of its kind, brings
you 15 exciting, strikingly original stories—by the
best new creative talent in speculative fiction, all
winners of the Writers of the Future Contest—that are
guaranteed to ignite your imagination with strange new
worlds, untraveled galaxies and bizarre dimensions and
the mysteries of a universe of infinite size where somewhere
out there, everything that is possible is real.
Created by L. Ron Hubbard out of his lifetime
commitment to helping new writers and artists, and judged
by Hall-of-Fame rosters of top professionals, the Writers
of the Future anthology has provided a spectacular launching
pad for fledgling writers who over the past two decades
have gone on to publish more than 250 novels—many of
them international bestsellers—and some 2,500 short
stories and to help shape the field of contemporary
speculative fiction and the literary future.
Order L. Ron Hubbard
Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XX today!
| INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING
IN THE CONTESTS? |
|
Participating is very easy and there
is no entry fee. Just remember, the deadline for the
next quarter is March 31st, 2005,
a deadline by postmark. Three cash prizes are awarded
each quarter for each Contest. For writers, first
prize is $1,000, second prize is $750, third prize
is $500. For illustrators, three winners are selected
and each wins $500. The annual Grand Prize for each
Contest is $4,000.
There are certain requirements
that must be met when submitting your entry. The rules
for the Contests have been provided below, so please
review these before sending in your entry.
The mailing addresses
are:
The Contest Administrator for the Writers
and Illustrators of the Future Contest may be contacted
at the following e-mail address: contests@authorservicesinc.com.
You will find she is quite helpful in sorting out
questions on the rules, eligibility requirements,
entry specifications, etc. Feel free to e-mail her
and, while you are in touch, let her know how you
like the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Herald!
To unsubscribe,
click here.
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