2005 WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS OF THE FUTURE CONTESTS' WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR SEATTLE GRAND PRIZE EVENT

Hollywood, CA —- Winners and finalists of the 2005 L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests – one of the oldest and most prestigious international competitions for new and aspiring writers and illustrators of science fiction, fantasy and horror — were announced today by Author Services, Inc., Hubbard’s literary agency and the contests’ administrators.

From as far away as Australia’s New South Wales and Ukraine’s Kiev, the 27 winners and finalists (see lists below) have already received $35,000 in cash prizes. An additional $5,000 Grand Prize for each contest will be awarded at the 21st annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards ceremonies honoring the winners on August 19, 2005 to be held at the Science Fiction Museum and Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest winners and selected finalists will also appear in the award-winning, annual fiction anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future – Volume XXI, published by Galaxy Press. The anthology, featuring all the winning stories and including commissioned artwork by the winning illustrators, has been hailed as the premier international publishing showcase for emerging literary and artistic talent in the field of speculative fiction as well as other genres.

In addition to receiving their cash prizes, the winners are provided with an all-expenses’ paid trip and accommodations for Seattle to attend the ceremonies and a series of development workshops led by many of the world’s foremost professionals in their respective fields.

Selections from thousands of entries annually were made from two all-star panels in each discipline. Judging writer panelists included: Frederik Pohl, Orson Scott Card, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Gregory Benford, Tim Powers, Anne McCaffrey, Nina Kiri Hoffman, Robert Silverberg, Algis Budrys, Doug Benford, Hal Clement, Brian Herbert, Eric Kotani, K.D. Wentworth, Jack Willliamson, Robert Sawyer, and Kevin J. Anderson.

Judging panelists for illustrators included: Stephen Hickman, Edd Cartier, Vincent Di Fate, Leo and Diane Dillon, Bob Eggleton, Frank Frazetta, Laura Brodian Freas, Judith Holman, Ron and Val Lindham, Stephen Youll, Sergey Poyarkov, and H.R. Van Dongen.

The Writers of the Future Contest was created 21 years ago by L. Ron Hubbard to discover and encourage beginning writers beginning writers of science fiction. The Illustrators of the Future Contest was created three years later.

In his own 56 year writing career, Hubbard published more than 250 works of fiction. Among his most celebrated works were the international-bestselling Battlefield Earth and the award-winning decology series, Mission Earth.

More than 250 novels (including one New York Times’ bestseller) and over 2,000 short stories have been published by former winners of the Writers of the Future Contest. For more information on the Contest, visit www.writersofthefuture.com.
Winners of the 2005 Writers of the Future Contest.

Name Place Residence
FIRST QUARTER:
Sidra Vitale 1st Brighton, MA
Eric James Stone 2nd Eagle Mountain, UT
Cat Sparks 3rd Balmain, New South Wales

SECOND QUARTER:
John Schoffstall 1ST Pullman, WA
David Goldman 2ND Portland, OR
Mathew Reiten 3RD Stillwater, OK

THIRD QUARTER:
Stephen Stanley 1ST Eugene, OR
Scott Roberts 2ND Fredericksburg, VA
Michael Livingston 3RD Rochester, NY

FOURTH QUARTER:
Floris Kleinje 1ST Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
Sean Tinsley 2ND Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
Ken Scholes 3RD Gresham, OR

FINALISTS:
Andrew Gudgel Baltimore, MD
Michael Rimar Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Lon Prater Panama City Beach, FL

Winners of the 2005 Illustrators of the Future Contest

FIRST QUARTER WINNERS:
Steven Popovich Chicago, IL
Nik Shepard Maplewood, MO
Michael Brenner Lawrence, KS

SECOND QUARTER:
Youri Bobrikov Potava Distriki, Ukraine
Alex Quintero Ontario, CA
Mike Wohlwend Stow, OH

THIRD QUARTER:
Perrin Hendrick Exeter, NH
Alex Paramonov Kiev, Ukraine
Olga Madyar Kiev, Ukraine

FOURTH QUARTER:
Ali Hilton Crossville, TN,
Cornelius Cockroft Brooklyn, NY
Erik Valdez y Alanis Mexico City, Mexico