The 26th annual L. Ron Hubbard achievement awards for the winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest were presented on Saturday, August 28, in Los Angeles in a gala celebration at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
Twelve winners were selected in the writing and illustrating categories as judged by such science fiction luminaries as Larry Niven, Kevin J. Anderson, K.D.Wentworth, Jerry Pournelle, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Dave Wolverton. The L. Ron Hubbard Gold Award winners, who each received $5,000, were writer Laurie Tom and illustrator Seth Rowanwood. All of the winners were published in Galaxy Press’s 26th annual Writers of the Future anthology, which was just released, and receive royalties for their selections.
As explained by John Goodwin, president and publisher of Galaxy Press, “The purpose of the contest is to provide a forum for aspiring writers and illustrators to be acknowledged. When the awards were initiated in 1983 we had a few hundred applicants; today that number has grown exponentially.” Among the first judges for the achievement awards were Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, and Robert Sawyer, who is considered the dean of science fiction in Canada and is the creator of the Flash Forward series.
More than 500 people, including family and friends of the award winners, attended the Saturday evening event that began with a sit-down dinner and was followed by a lavish multimedia ceremony in the hotel’s Blossom Room, where the first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929.
There is no entry fee for award applicants, who retain all rights to their work. “This is strictly a merit competition,” Goodwin said, “and all applicants, whether or not they’re selected as winners, receive a handwritten response from the judges.” Unlike the Nebula Awards, which are selected by the authors’ peers, and the Hugos, voted on by fans of published books, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Awards fill a void where amateurs are encouraged and supported in their creative efforts.
In addition to the other benefits awarded the winners, they are flown into Los Angeles for a week of workshops given by established writers and illustrators that are held in the Galaxy Press offices. They also receive free promotion on XM Sirius radio, as well as local print, TV, and radio publicity in their hometowns. More than 100 Writers and Illustrators of the Future winners have gone on to achieve major career success since the awards were first established.
