K.D. won the contest in 1988, created a solid career for herself and was invited to become a judge in 2000. She has been the coordinating judge since 2005, and in those years has spent thousands of hours reading entrants’ stories, choosing the Honorable Mentions, giving critiques to the quarterly semi-finalists and choosing the finalists. She was judging stories right up to the time she entered the hospital, just a few days ago.

What made K.D. so special to us and to all who met her was her love of the craft and her mentoring skills. She tirelessly promoted the contest at conventions and on the internet as well. Wonderful tributes and anecdotes of meeting her or conversing with her online continue to pour into the contest. We thank you for your condolences.

The best way to pay tribute to her is by reading the following quote and then taking her advice.

“The single most crucial thing that will make you a better writer or artist is to practice your craft and keep producing new work. If you get discouraged and quit, you will certainly never make it. The Contest keeps us working when we might otherwise give up and for many that industriousness will get us there eventually. I entered the Contest five times and each of those five stories, including the one which won, would not have been written if I had not had the Contest as my goal.” – K.D. Wentworth

She is dearly loved and will be dearly missed!

On the writers side, first to talk were the group of previous winners that ASI brought back to speak to the current writer winners. Laurie Tom, Brad Torgersen, Tom Crosshill, and Jordan Ellinger (me!) shared the stage and spoke for an hour about their experiences breaking into the industry. Brad and Tom both spoke about landing on the Nebula ballot, while Laurie and I talked about landing commissions to write tie-ins and how to seek out new markets that’ll help you to develop a career. Several winners later told me that they appreciated our talk because it’s difficult to imagine going from where they are now to where someone like Sean Williams or Kevin J Anderson now sits, but the four of us are breaking in right now, in real time, and it was great to see how we were doing it.

Eric James Stone was next and brought along his Nebula award, which he unveiled to applause from the winners. Eric’s career has developed in a few unique ways and it was great for the winners to see someone who’s been extremely successful in both short stories and in landing Hollywood options without necessarily selling a novel first.

Dr. Yoji Kondo spoke next, and talked a little bit about his career and his friendship with Robert Heinlein. Dr. Kondo has a wry sense of humour that had the winners laughing out loud.

Later, Mike Resnick gave a talk on contracts and what to watch out for, and was followed up by Eric Flint who gave the winners hard numbers on what it takes to succeed in the publishing industry. Next up was David Farland who gave an insightful talk about what makes a bestseller different from a mid-list novel. Dave was followed up by Jerry Pournelle who spoke about how the industry is evolving from when he first broke in, to today and beyond. He ended his talk by pulling out an iPad and wireless keyboard and talking about the direction of the industry and what he predicts will happen in the near future.

On the illustrator side, the day began with a talk given by Sergey Poyarkov, a returning winner from Ukraine, who talked about how his career has developed in the past few years, and how to seek out new markets for your work. Next up was Stephan Martiniere, the Illustrator Judge responsible for the cover of this year’s volume (as well as that of 25, 26 and more). Stephan spoke about business, such as what rate of pay to command for your work and what kind of rights to demand. Illustrator judge Robert Castillo spoke next, and showed a short film about his life and career in storyboards.

Later on, the illustrator and writer winners were shuttled over to rehearse their speeches and got their first glimpses of the stage at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. They were given a few pointers and how to deliver a great speech by John Goodwin, president of Galaxy Press. Of course, no one wanted to say their real speech during rehearsals so many of them made jokes or said random sentences into the microphone when it was their turn to mount the stage.

When they returned after 11:00pm, many of them eschewed their beds in favor of the bar, where Eric Flint, Mike Resnick, and Robert J Sawyer were sitting. The judges gave advice to the winners well into the night and it wasn’t until after 2:00am that many of them stumbled back to their rooms.

Writer Day 7, Artist Day 6, was the day of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future gala event. Like the workshops themselves, the galas have been held in various locations and venues across the United States since the Contest’s inception. This year’s gala was held at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, California. A true red-carpet event, the judges, current winners, returning winners, Contest staff, as well as over a thousand attendees all crowded the two-tier theater to maximum capacity as they watched the winners of the 28th annual Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest accept their awards and make their speeches.

The Writers and Illustrators getting their hair and make-up done.

The winners boarding the Limousine Bus.

As in years past, it was a rather heady and emotional night for the winners–some of whom have worked for years towards winning. Gratitude and heart-felt thanks were sent out to spouses, children, parents, loved ones near and far, friends, mentors, associates, and of course L. Ron Hubbard himself.

Hunter Bonyun, Carly Trowbridge, and Fiona Meng being interviewed at the Gala Event.

This year’s gala featured an especially elaborate series of choreographed interpretive dance scenes keyed to many of the stories in the book–a tradition that’s been carried forward for at least three years now, and appears to be as much of a hit with crowds as it is with the winners. For many of them, it will be the first and probably only time they’ll ever see their work realized in such a unique and evocative fashion, and those who did have their stories rendered in dance were clearly moved by the experience–to say nothing of the delight and applause of the audience.

J Storrs Hall, keynote speaker of the Gala Event.

Also featured was J. Storrs Hall PhD, who gave an interesting keynote speech about the intertwined nature of technology, society, and science fiction. His main point was that while some aspects of technology and society have advanced, others appear to be held up and waiting for, in his own words, “the other shoe to drop.” It was a thought-provoking piece in keeping with the most unusual aspect of the evening: the opening of the 25-year time capsule containing predictions from winners and judges of the 3rd annual Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest in 1987.

Both Dr. Gregory Benford and former winner, and current judge, bestseller Dave Wolverton (Farland) read selections from the contents of the time capsule, which included Benford’s own predictions–some of which drew raucous laughter and applause from the crowd, based on accuracy and irony–as well as predictions from late masters of the genre like Isaac Asimov.

Dr. Gregory Benford, Joni Labaqui, and Dave Wolverton read a capsule prediction

After that was the most hotly anticipated part of the evening–the part where the winners accepted their awards. The speeches were sometimes dramatic and often moving. Winners thanked the judges, family members, writing groups–support groups who had helped them to the podium. Finally, near the end of the ceremony, the L. Ron Hubbard Gold Award winners were announced. Hunter Bonyun snagged the Illustrators of the Future Gold Award, and the Writers of the Future Gold Award went to David Carani, writer of The Paradise Aperture.

Hunter Bonyun walks down the aisle after hearing that she won the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Gold Award

David Carani delivers his second speech of the night after accepting the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Gold Award

Following the actual awards ceremony, the winners and the artists all retired to one of the wings of the Wilshire Ebell for the traditional book signing. Artists were arrayed around tables displaying their portfolios, while writers clustered at central tables where pens were ready at hand for the crush of attendees come to get their books signed. Sales of of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future vol. XXVIII were brisk, and the writer winners and illustrator winners all got a final, smashing taste of the limelight as they signed, and signed, and signed, and signed some more,and kept signing, for over two hours.

Marie Croke signs a copy of Volume 28 for Todd McCaffery as Harry Lang looks on.

There was also a new time capsule created for opening in the year 2037, wherein the question was answered: What will humanity’s greatest achievement be in the year 2037? Both winners, judges and attendees were invited to have their photos taken with the time capsule as they dropped their sealed envelopes into the silver metal cylinder. On display nearby were the collected predictions and notions of all the 1987 contributors, including many notable literary figures both living and dead, some of whom had wildly diverging ideas about life in 2012–occasionally accurate, but also visionary, if not always 100% correct.

Cliff Nielsen drops his prediction into the new time capsule.

At the end of the book signing, with the attendees trailing for the exits, the winners–their writing hands fatigued and their eyes drooping, but with smiles still bright–took limousines back to the Hilton hotel where the traditional late-night after-gala meal was convened. It was a chance to loosen collars, kick off shoes, grab a bite to eat, and have a good time with both new friends and old, before heading off to bed in preparation for the final day of the workshop.

Dave Wolverton (David Farland) congratulates illustrator Paul Pederson.

It was a rainy morning, with fat water droplets splattering the windshields of the vans transporting the winners to Bang. Low, grey clouds didn’t dampen the mood, however, seeing as how most of the winners had never seen their work in professional print before.

The winners start their tour of Bang Printing

Once arrived at Bang, the writer and illustrator winners were escorted down a lengthy corridor to a makeshift conference room, where they were served a continental breakfast of fruit, coffee, and bagels while the West Coast director of operations for Bang began the tour with an explanation of the roots and status of the company.

Once departed to the factory floor, the tour moved quickly past banks of gargantuan equipment, both old and new. All of the winners quickly pulled out their digital cameras, phones, and other picture and video-taking devices for extensive recording of the experience. It’s not often an author or an illustrator gets to see the innards of a modern printing plant.

The winners check out some of the massive printing presses

All aspects of Bang’s publishing process were covered in the tour, from the types and sizes of books printed, to how they make and laminate the covers, how they make and trim the interior pages, how the many and various presses work, as well as the “train” taking the Writers of the Future book from its arrival at the factory as an electronic file to its finished destination — fully printed and bound and trimmed — in cartons for shipment to stores.

2012 is the third year Author Services and Galaxy Press have taken the illustrator and writer winners to see their books actually being printed, trimmed and bound.

Having observed the various stages of printing throughout the factory, the winners suddenly became children in a candy store as they got their first glimpse of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future, vol. XXVIIIrolling through the perfect binder, through the trimmer, and eventually into the shipping cartons. The winners clustered eagerly around the binding and trimming machines — video and photo devices trained eagerly on the volumes as they rolled past.

Roy Hardin takes a few pictures

As a concluding gift, Bang presented each artist and illustrator winner with a fresh, literally hot-off-the-press copy of the Contest anthology — the first time many of the winners ever had the opportunity to hold a printed copy of a book with his or her work in it. Smiles were large, the excitement was palpable, and the group exited the plant chattering about the small miracle in paperback form, otherwise known as their book.

With rain still falling, they assembled on the lawn in front of Bang for a group photo, then crowded back into the vans for the 35 minute trip back to the Hilton Garden Inn, Hollywood, CA.

The winner pose outside of Bang Printing

Back at the hotel, everyone had roughly 90 minutes to dry off, relax, grab something to eat, then it was back over to Author Services, Inc., for the second big event of the day: the unveiling of the illustrators’ artwork for each of the published stories in the 28th volume. Having been sworn to secrecy for weeks and months, each illustrator was finally allowed to officially present each writer with the illustration done for each piece of fiction. The illustrations were arrayed in a horseshoe formation and placed on easels — each piece of art framed, most rendered in brilliant, full color — in the L. Ron Hubbard gallery on the first floor of Author Services, Inc.

Illustrator Mago Huang is interviewed by Chinese and Taiwanese television

Emily Grandin talks about her illustration with Harry Lang and Tom Doyle

It was a unique and sometimes emotional moment for each pair of writers and artists. Suffice it to say that it’s one of the signature events of the entire workshop week, and nicely sets the stage for the rest of the event, to include additional guest lectures, and group critiques — the artists on their work, the writers on their work; specifically, their 24 hour stories from the 24 hour short story exercise.

The goings-on of the critiques are traditionally held in confidence with only the winners and the instructors, so there can be no report of them here.

The Illustrators critique each other's portfolios

That evening was the welcome barbecue for the judges, and was the first opportunity for many of the winners to meet with their heroes. Many of them sat with Jerry Pournelle, J. Storrs Hall the keynote speaker for the Awards Ceremony tomorrow, Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. The illustrators were introduced to potential employers, and were able to show off their portfolios to an interested audience.

Illustrator Judge Robert Castillo and Keynote Speaker J. Storrs Hall

Later on, Mike Resnick and Eric Flint held court on one side of the bar, and a circle had gathered on the other side around Sean Williams, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Stephan Martinere. Though the winners were exhausted from their 24 hour story/illustration marathon followed by their early morning tour, most of them still stayed up until 2am before trudging back up to their rooms.

Judge Cliff Nielsen discusses art with illustrator Paul Pederson

Tomorrow the arriving judges are holding panels all day, which is one of the most eventful activities of the week!

Each of the writers has exactly one day — start to finish — to complete a short story. The rule is: it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be done. At the end of the day they turn their work in to Tim Powers and Nina Kiriki Hoffman for eventual critique by both instructors, and also by their writer winner peers.

Corry L Lee works on her 24 hour story

The illustrators resumed their workshop at Author Services Inc., under the direction of judges and instructors Cliff Nielsen, Ron Lindahn, and Val Lakey Lindahn. Each of the illustrator winners had been tasked with creating 10 idea sketches based on a phrase found in a fortune cookie. For example, winner Hunter Bonyun created ten thumbnails in pencil based on her cookie’s phrase, in addition to her usual daily habit of sketching her own concepts and prototypes in her personal sketchbook. Said Hunter, when she was asked to expound on her process, “My sketchbook is with me wherever I go. If I ever forget my sketchbook or don’t take it with me, I feel almost naked.”

L to R Carly Trowbridge, Mago Huang, Greg Opalinski, Pat Steiner, Rhiannon Taylor

Hunter wasn’t alone. Many of the illustrators carry physical or digital sketch media with them as a matter of habit, or they simply make the most of what’s readily at hand, including the workshop syllabus or even coffee cup napkins. For many artists, it seems, anything and everything is a potential vehicle for a mental image demanding to be rendered.

Following review and discussion of the winners’ sketchwork, Ron and Val gave an extended video presentation of their own portfolios, with subject matter and mediums that spanned the gamut from science fiction to fantasy and all points in between. Afterwards, they lectured the illustrators on the importance of seeing possibilities in unexpected places and having the confidence to try new ideas — experiment with creation. To paraphrase one of Ron’s key points: the first step to success is to believe that a thing is possible. Ron hit the illustrators with this several times, and re-emphasized something from the previous day: that fear of failure being one of the greatest stumbling blocks any creative person may face, because it halts him or her before (s)he might ever start.

Hunter Bonyun and Fiona Meng

Lunch time found some of the writer winners going out for sushi at a small restaurant near the hotel. They were joined by new arrival and former Writers of the Future and Nebula award winner, Eric James Stone. Lunch discussion ranged across a variety of writing topics, with the writers constantly checking their watches — because the longer they stayed at lunch, the less time they had to complete their stories.

Back at the hotel former Writers of the Future Gold Award winner Laurie Tom, and Writers of the Future judge and Hugo-award winner Mike Resnick, both arrived. Mike had to immediately split for a Hollywood pow-wow — many of the judges being engaged in movie business meetings while they’re in town for the workshop and awards gala — while Laurie joined former Writers of the Future winner and current Nebula award nominee Tom Crosshill at Author Services to sit in on the afternoon illustrators lecture by artist and judge Stephen Hickman.

Stephen Hickman discusses his decades-spanning career with the Illustrators

Stephen led the group through an extensive look at his portfolio, discussing techniques, mediums, and inspirations for each of the pieces. Following the portfolio review, Stephen took questions from the artists, who asked about both craft and business aspects, pertaining to what they’d just seen.

Also joining the artists was former Illustrators of the Future winner Nico Photos. Cliff Nielsen introduced Nico to the illustrators as a “bridge” between where they are now and where they might be even twelve months later, provided that they apply some of what they’ve learned. In his time since winning, Nico has done book covers, displayed in galleries, done work for video game companies, and is now engaged in a project for a theme park. In this regard, Nico provides a potentially successful road map for the illustrator winners, much as the returning writer winners provide a potentially successful road map for current writer winners. Nico gave the illustrators a look at his digital portfolio and discussed the operational, commercial, and professional changes and events in his career since he last sat in the winners’ seats.

Nico Photos discusses his "next steps" after winning the contest.

Nico Photos discussing different styles of art

At five o’clock precisely, the writers all stumbled blearily into the ASI building to drop off their 24 hours stories. The average length was 3000-4000 words, but Marie Croke turned in a monster 6800 word piece–and that was after she’d had an 800 word false start that she’d had to toss. The feeling in the room was pretty positive as they were debriefed, but Nina Kiriki Hoffman made it a point to tell the winners always to use proper manuscript format, even in situations like this.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman distributes stories for the winners to workshop

After adjourning for a quick dinner, the writer winners were treated to a panel with judges Sean Williams and Todd McCaffery. Sean focused on the “10.5 Commandments of Being a Successful Writer”, and punctuated each commandment with a story about his writing career. Todd’s panel was a much looser, question-and-answer format. He spoke about his own career, but also what it was like working with his famous mother, and how the winners should deal with large numbers of fans at conventions.

Marie Croke, Scott T Barnes and William Ledbetter as Sean Williams speaks

Todd McCaffery speaks about both his solo career, and his experiences collaborating with his famous mother.

Later that evening, the winners were fitted for their tuxes then headed back to the hotel, stories in hand.

Jacob A Boyd is fitted for his tux.

That evening a few of the winners stopped at the bar to celebrate being done with their stories. Only a couple of minutes had gone by when they were joined by Dr. Harry Kloor who holds two PhDs (Physics & Chemistry) and both writes, produces, and directs his own films. Previous Illustrator Gold Award winner Seth J Rowanwood (WotF 26) now works for Dr. Kloor, a fact that peaked the interest of current IotF winners Paul Pederson, Greg Opalinski, and Pat Steiner who were sitting nearby. Other judges soon joined the party and the winners were quickly chatting with the likes of Sean Williams, Tim Powers, Kevin J Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, and Mike Resnick. Even though many winners had just stayed up all night writing their stories, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk with their heroes and conversation didn’t wind up until 2:00am, with writer winner Nick T Chan being among the last to leave.

William Ledbetter chats with former Gold Award Winner Laurie Tom

Tomorrow, they’re all due at ASI at 8am for a tour of the printing facilities where the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Anthology is currently being printed. I have a feeling that adrenaline is all that’s sustaining them at this point, but it’s worth it!

Day 3 in the Writers Workshop started at 9:30am sharp with Tim Powers giving an impromptu lecture in a hallway on the advantages and disadvantages of writing groups. Contest Judge Sean Williams and Workshop Instructor Nina Kiriki Hoffman agreed with some of Tim’s points and disagreed with others, and the ensuing discussion was enormously illuminating for the winners. Even casual conversations during the workshop week are packed with useful information.

Jacob A Boyd in the foreground, Nick T Chan in the background

As the workshop resumed, Tim and Nina elaborated on their thoughts on workshops and critique groups and this time Todd McCaffery was present to add his opinions to the mix. Conversation quickly turned to the problem of deadlines and whether one should keep to them religiously, and then how to behave professionally at conventions. Next, the winners read more articles on writing authored by L. Ron Hubbard.

As lunch neared, discussion gradually ceased. It was time to tackle the 24 hour story challenge.

There are three components to the 24 hour story challenge, which is where the writers are asked to complete a story in a mere 24 hours. The first of these is a random object, which we talked about yesterday. The second is research. For this, Tim and Nina shepherded the writers down to the LA Public Library and told them to find a few books that interested them.

Corry L Lee showed me a book she’d found on Circuses and Jacob A Boyd settled on one focusing on Kabuki, which is Japanese dance-drama.

David Carani peruses the stacks.

Once they’d done their research they set out for lunch, and then for the most challenging part of the exercise–engaging a complete stranger in conversation and getting them to divulge personal information without revealing that you’re a writer. Our roving team of photographers tried to capture some of their interactions from a distance and were effective enough that, at the end of the day, Writer winner David Carani called them “photography ninjas” for their ability to blend into their surroundings.

Harry Lang speaks to his stranger

Meghan Muriel chats up Rambo

Roy Hardin talks to...um...she has horns.

When the winners returned, they discussed some of their experiences. Writer winner Meghan Muriel met a street performer dressed as Rambo who was, in actuality, a Buddhist monk. William Ledbetter found as inspiration a women clutching a silver Thermos to her breast as she was waiting outside a changing room, and Tom Doyle ended up talking to a group of amateur musicians. All in all it was quite a success.

At five o’clock, the writers were turned loose and told not to return to the Author Services building until 24 hours had passed and they had a story in hand. Some chose to write in their rooms while others co-opted a meeting room in the lobby where they stared intensely into lit monitors as they tapped out the beginnings of a story.

L to R: Harry Lang, William Mitchell, William Ledbetter, David Carani

On the Illustrators of the Future side, Day 3 for the writers meant Day 2 for the artists. Having received an introduction to the workshop the night before, the artists were given their first tour of Author Services, Inc., the home of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest, that included a look at the L. Ron Hubbard Library, which contains many original illustrations from the Golden Age.

L To R: Rhiannon Taylor, John W Haverty Jr, Carly Trowbridge, Greg Opalinkski, Paul Pederson, Hunter Bonyun, Contest Coordinator Joni Labaqui

L to R: Carly Trowbridge, Greg Opalinski, Emily Grandin, John W Harverty Jr, Paul Pederson, Fiona Meng, Joni Labaqui

Guiding the illustrator winners were Contest judges and professional artists Ron Lindahn, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephen Hickman, Cliff Nielsen, and Guest Instructor Peter Green. Each of them has decades of experience in graphic design, novel and music album cover painting, interior illustration, commissioned private work, still advertising, television advertising, motion pictures, and many other visual arts mediums. In fact, the first lecture the illustrator winners received was a branched expose on all the many, many venues for professional work as a visual artist, ranging from the familiar–cover art, interior black-and-white drawings–to the emergent, such as digital animation, web design and logo creation, video games, and motion picture CGI.

For the school-trained illustrator winners, some of these avenues were already familiar while for the self-taught it was new information. Judge Stephen Hickman freely acknowledged that much of his own ability was self-taught, following exposure via an exceptional high school arts program.

The Illustrators in their workshop

The morning wrapped up with a slide-show presentation by Peter Green, detailing his multi-faceted career–especially his portrait work, both realistic and caricature–that includes Hollywood celebrity work, marketing work for major-league professional sports, and national politics. Peter’s main emphasis for the illustrator winners? Adapt, adapt, adapt. Find the niches. Be a creator first, and mold your art to the opportunities available.

After lunch, Peter Green took the group through a series of essays by L. Ron Hubbard which focused on the questions: what is art, and what makes art good? Each essay having been plucked from Hubbard’s contemplation on the commercially creative process, dovetailed with concerns about the operating practices of the working professional. These concepts are certainly portable between both the written arts and the visual arts–as the essays for the illustrators’ workshop mirror much of the content delivered in the writers’ workshop.

Following Peter, the illustrators were engaged by Cliff Nielsen who tackled both the font of ideas, and the steps one takes from raw concept all the way through to contracts. Much of the lecture focused on distilling creative impulses and notions, channeling them, and doing the work at a competent level, but also retaining both fun and spontaneity. He also addressed overcoming the fear of failure: failed concepts, failed projects, failed renderings.

Back to Front: Workshop Instructor Cliff Neilsen, Pat Steiner, Emily Grandin, Jay Richard, John W Haverty Jr

Ron, Val, Cliff, and Stephen Hickman all emphasized the necessity for detached objectivity, where criticism and public perception are concerned–which is something Writers of the Future judge and bestselling author Larry Niven once codified as: never argue with the reader. For the illustrators, it might be best put: never argue with the observer. There will be insights and opportunities for growth as a creative professional, as long as the illustrators resist the urge to explain or defend.

The day ended with an idea-generation exercise, during which all winners received a fortune cookie — not just for a late-afternoon snack, but as a generator for fresh ideas, to be rendered as concept sketches.

Illustrator Pat Steiner doing his homework

Gunhild Jacobs, Executive Director of Fiction Affairs at Author Services Inc. greets writer Winner David Carani while Workshop Coordinator Nina Kiriki Hoffman looks on.

There the authors were treated to a tour of the L. Ron Hubbard library, where Joni Labaqui talked about his many bestselling novels. She showed us a Japanese edition of Battlefield Earth that was broken into six small volumes suitable for reading in tight spaces (like a packed subway). Next, she talked a little bit about the enormous stack of twisted paper that is the manuscript of Hubbard’s opus, Mission Earth.

Tom Doyle admires pictures of past Awards Ceremony Events in the WotF Library

The next room was especially interesting to the winners because it is a library devoted specifically to them. Author Services has collected one of every volume published by winners of the contest, and its shelves are choked with books. There were displays for New York Times Bestselling authors like Karen Joy Fowler, Patrick Rothfuss, and Dave Wolverton whose careers were launched by the contest.

As a returning winner, I noticed one newly-empty display case that made me even more excited for Awards night. Twenty-five years ago, winners and judges were asked the question “What will life be like in the year 2012” and their predictions have sat in the WotF Library at ASI waiting for this day to arrive. Many of the biggest names in science fiction were present when the time capsule was sealed and I can’t wait to see what they said. This year’s winners were excited to hear that there would be a new time capsule ceremony during their Workshop week. The question they were asked is “What will be humanity’s greatest achievement by the year 2037?”

After the tour, the workshop began in earnest. In addition to Tim Powers and Nina Kiriki Hoffman teaching from the front of the class, we had visits from Todd McCaffery, Sean Williams, and previous winner Tom Crosshill who won in volume 26 and has been recently nominated for a Nebula award. The writers were issued their objects for their 24 hour stories and though some were initially hesitant, the ideas soon began to flow.

Gerald Warfield checks out the tiny lock he was issued for his 24 hour story

William Mitchell holds up the package of beans he was given for his story

Todd didn’t hesitate to throw his two cents in when needed and it made for a spirited discussion. I heard several winners say that that conversation alone was worth the trip. What did they discuss? Options, movie rights, agents, indie publishing. You name it. However, if you want more specifics…you’ll have to win the Contest yourself to find out.

William Ledbetter, Harry Lang and Gerald Warfield study articles on writing authored by L Ron Hubbard

At the end of the day the winners were assigned homework and we all trooped back to the hotel where we met the arriving illustrator winners. After some discussion we determined that Emily Grandin had the longest flight at 23 hours from Sweden, narrowly beating out Australian writer winner Nick T Chan.

The illustrators were then introduced to Illustrators of the Future Workshop instructors Ron and Val Lindahn who went through some of the basics of what to expect and what material will be covered during the week. They were soon joined by Illustrator Judges Cliff Neilsen and Stephen Hickman, who introduced themselves and dispensed a little advice to the illustrators on how to maximize their experience here in Hollywood.

Ron and Val Lindahn and Stephen Hickman welcome the illustrators to the Workshop Week

Mago Huang talks about attending art school in California

Fiona Leng introduces herself to the group

After the introduction adjourned, the writers and illustrator winners all assembled in the lobby and left for Miceli’s, Hollywood’s oldest Italian restaurant, for an informal mingler that had been arranged by one of the returning winners. We walked from the hotel to the restaurant in a huge group of thirty creative people and the conversation was fascinating. When a bunch of strangers first meet, often there’s an awkward feeling-out period, but in this case they all had one thing in common–a love of art and science fiction, and that was enough to break the ice. I have a feeling that many friendships and future partnerships were formed that night.

The Writers and Illustrators head out for dinner.

The winners check out the menu at Miceli's

We returned to the hotel after 10:30pm and headed to bed. Tomorrow is a long day for the writers because they are starting their twenty-four hour story and many expect to stay up all night writing it. It’s also the first day of the illustrators workshop and many of them had only just arrived when we swept them up and took them to dinner. Both groups have something to look forward to tomorrow, and I can’t wait to report on their experiences!

Day 1 at the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest workshop is always a hectic one. The staff at Galaxy Press and Author Services, Inc. must coordinate the arrival of roughly a score of writer winners and judges from all over the globe. This year’s crop of winners includes writers from multiple locations in both the Eastern and Western United States, as well as Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Left to Right: Nick T Chan, Meghan Muriel, Corry L Lee

All day long it’s a non-stop shuttle marathon from Los Angeles International Airport to the front doors of the Hilton Garden Inn, just a couple of blocks from Hollywood Boulevard, and the home of the Contest, Authors Services, Inc. The Hilton is the Contest’s latest residence for workshoppers and judges alike. Newly renovated, the hotel gleams with possibilities, much as the arriving winners’ eyes gleam with excitement (or weariness, depending on the length of their flights!)

Contest Administrator Joni Labaqui greets Writer Winner Meghan Muriel

Contest administrator Joni Labaqui is ready and waiting to welcome each and every winner to his or her (soon to be) whirlwind of a week. For judges and returning winners, it’s like coming home. For new winners, it’s a chance to meet some of the most successful and accomplished professionals working in the genres of science fiction and fantasy such as Tim Powers and Nina Kiriki Hoffman, this year’s instructors for the duration of the workshop.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman and Gerald Warfield

Nina was one of the first Writers of the Future winners, whose story, “A Step Into Darkness,” was published in the very first volume of Writers of the Future, in 1985. Nina has either won or been nominated for numerous awards, including the Nebula, the Stoker, and the World Fantasy award. Multi-award nominee Tim Powers has most recently been involved with the production of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, as the last installment was based in part on Tim’s novel, On Stranger Tides, which also serves as the eponymous secondary title of the film.

Left to Right: Judge Tim Powers, David Carani, Harry Lang, Published Finalist Roy Hardin, Tom Doyle, Marie Croke

Bestselling Australian judge and former winner Sean Williams arrived ultra early this morning, while this year’s Aussie winner for Volume 28, Nick Tchan, was already in the hotel by the time the first US winners walked in the door — Nick had an advanced day to acclimate to the adjusted time difference between Australia and the American West Coast, but still has a day or two of catching up (or is it falling behind?) to do before he’s thoroughly synced with Los Angeles. And of course, by then, he’ll be looking at a return flight back to Australia.

Jacob A Boyd, David Carani, William Ledbetter, and Scott T Barnes

Several writer winners hail from Texas: Gerald Warfield, William Ledbetter, and M.O. Muriel. Muriel being this year’s “double threat” attendee, as she previously won the Illustrators of the Future Contest for Volume 27. Ledbetter also happens to administrate another writing contest: the Jim Baen Memorial Contest, dedicated to the memory of Jim Baen, founder of Baen Books, who are the primary publisher for former Writers of the Future winner and now judge, Eric Flint. Last year’s Writers of the Future Gold Award winner, R.P.L. Johnson, happens to be this year’s Jim Baen Memorial winner. Other arriving writer winners hail from Chicago, Philadelphia, California, Oregon, and Maryland.

Once everyone arrives and is accounted for, the evening commences with a general introduction to the workshop, with Powers and Hoffman outlining the structure of the week. Each of the winners can look forward to an extensive program of lecturing, reading, Q&A, a timed 24-hour short story exercise, and eventual guest lecturing from the many attending judges and former winners who will be flying in for the actual awards ceremony itself.

Introduction hosted by Tim Powers and Nina Kiriki Hoffman

For many winners, one of the most valuable parts of the workshop are the after-hours mingling with judges and other winners, which can last well into the night. These are especially exciting opportunities for international winners who don’t always have ready access to authors like Eric Flint, Mike Resnick, or Kevin J. Anderson.

Published Finalist Roy Hardin humorously asks Tim Powers for the Secret Decoder Ring issued to all Bestselling authors. Powers responds in kind.

After the introduction, many of the writer winners met in the lobby and then set off to dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen with Australian Judge, Sean Williams (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed). With such a creative group all at the same table, conversation steered well into the speculative realm, with serious subject like unicorn steaks and polar bear riding kangaroos being addressed. I wouldn’t be surprised to be reading a few short stories inspired by that conversation in the pages of Asimov’s or Lightspeed.

Writer winner Nick T Chan listens intently.

Day 2 will get started bright and early. Watch this blog for rolling updates of Volume 28′s latest goings-on, to include the arrival of the winners of the L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest.

By the time she could read, the basement had been turned into a library, shoved full of books of every genre imaginable on account of the number of people in her family and their very different tastes. Many science fiction and fantasy authors introduced themselves to her in that basement. Eventually, she did start having to buy her own books.

The two authors she credits with shaping her love of otherworldly stories are L. Frank Baum and Anne McCaffrey. In fact, the only childhood birthday she can remember with any clarity is the one on which she received the entire Oz series. She hopes to one day inspire other children to dream big the way these authors inspired her.

In 2008, Marie began following her own dreams. Her Writers of the Future win is her first professional sale and she has since sold two more stories, one to Daily Science Fiction and another to Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Marie graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a degree in economics and she currently lives in Maryland with her fiancé and their two children.

For more information go to: www.mariecroke.com.

In midlife, he went over to the dark side and began writing music textbooks and how-to books on finance and investing. This gave him the mistaken impression that he could write fiction. He lived in New York City for thirty years and moved to rural Texas in 2000, where he has served as chairman of the library board and president of the Mineral Wells Heritage Association.

Life began in 2010 when he was accepted by and survived the Odyssey Writers’ Workshop, with Jeanne Cavelos as director. That same year, his short story, “The Origin of Third Person in Early Paleolithic Epic Poetry,” won first prize in Grammar Girl’s short story contest. His story, “The Poly Islands,” constitutes his first professional sale in fiction.

Writing has long been part of a broad resume of artistic interests; decades of devoted effort have produced a truly impressive collection of rejections. It wasn’t until his first acceptance by the online publication Bewildering Stories that Harry realized he might not be crazy after all. “My Name Is Angela” is his first professional sale.

When not actually writing or attending to the myriad necessities of life here on Earth, Harry enjoys teaching creative writing to small groups of home-schooled students.

Harry graduated from Philadelphia College of Art with a BFA in painting in 1981. He is currently a review editor for Bewildering Stories. He lives in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, with his brilliant wife and six brilliant kids and works as a technical designer for a gargantuan aerospace corporation.