Writers of the Future Podcast

Craig Martelle is an international bestselling author of thrillers and science fiction. His nonfiction book, Wit and Wisdom, provides incredible advice to authors. His first podcast interview was based on his thriller Ian Bragg Series. This interview is built around his book—a must-read for writers wishing to improve their game. He founded IASFA (Independent Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Authors), which we also discuss in this interview. If you are a science fiction or fantasy writer, this is a great group to join. Learn more here: https://iasfa.org/

Brittany “Bea” Jackson illustrated the New York Times bestselling picture books, “Parker Looks Up,” about America’s First Lady, and LeBron James’s “We Are Family,” and her own “Lilly’s Dream,” which she both wrote and illustrated. She is a former grand prize winner of the Illustrators of the Future Contest and was published in “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 24.” She has been a judge since 2021. We discuss how she developed her style as a self-taught artist, having begun as a fan fiction artist. We also discussed how she was discovered by a major publisher finding her through social pages. Visit www.beagifted.com/

Tom Wood is a fantasy art illustrator among the best-selling poster artists in the US and Canada. We met at the Dragon Con in Atlanta 10 years ago, where he exhibited at a booth next to ours. We became friends, then great friends. We also appreciated his desire to help other artists. We invited him and he has been an Illustrators of the Future judge since 2021. In “Writers of the Future Volume 41,” he wrote an article titled “An Artist’s Path,” describing his journey from very humble beginnings to being one of the most successful poster artists in North America, which we discuss in this episode. Learn more about Tom and his art at tomwoodfantasyart.com/

Robert J. Sawyer entered Writers of the Future and won three Honorable Mentions before disqualifying himself by selling professionally. We met 20 years ago at Torcon III, where he won his first Hugo award. The following year, he was invited to Hollywood to attend the Gala and subsequently invited to be a judge. He agreed and has been a judge for 20 years as of this interview. Find him at https://www.sfwriter.com/

Tim Powers is a three-time World Fantasy Award winner and Writers of the Future Contest judge and instructor. In this podcast, we discuss why fantasy has to be believable...and how to make that happen!

Sean Williams was a Writers of the Future winner in 1992 and published in Volume 9. He became a judge in 2003. He is a NYT bestselling author of 60 books and over 120 short stories for adults, young adults, and children. Sean wrote the cover story based on Craig Elliot’s cover art for “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Volume 41” titled “Under False Colours.” In this episode, we discuss his journey as a writer, which is an inspiration in and of itself to the amateur, and the importance of short stories in establishing oneself as an author. Sean is one of the nicest people you will ever know, and this episode will provide some insight into why. Learn more about Sean at https://seanwilliams.com/

Four Illustrators of the Future winners: CL Fors, illustrator of "A World of Repetitions"; Tremani Sutcliffe, illustrator of "Ascii"; Breanda Petsch, illustrator of "Karma Birds"; and Daniel Montifar, illustrator of "The Boy from Elsewhen." We discuss their journeys as artists, Illustrator Workshop week, illustration, and the Illustrators of the Future Forum. Sign up on the forum at https://writersofthefuture.com/forum/.

These eight winners from year 41 at the Writers & Illustrators of the Future workshop and awards gala: Seth Atwater, Jr., author of "A World of Repetitions," Jefferson Snow, author of "The Rune Witch," Joel C. Scoberg, author of "The Stench of Freedom," Sandra Skalski, author of "Slip Stone," T.R. Naus, author of "Storm Damage," Haileigh Enriquez, illustrator of "Storm Damage" and "Slip Stone," HeatherAnne Lee, illustrator of "Code L1," and Andrew Jackson, author of "Code L1." We discuss their journey as creative individuals and what makes the workshop so special for them and what Writers and Illustrators of the Future means to them and to the genre.

These four winners from year 41 at the Writers & Illustrators of the Future workshop and awards gala: David Hoffrichter, illustrator of "The Rune Witch"; Lauren McGuire, author of "Karma Birds"; Barlow Crassmont, author of "The Boy from Elsewhen"; and, Patrick MacPhee, author of "Thirty Minutes or It's a Paradox."

These four winners from year 41 at the Writers & Illustrators of the Future workshop and awards gala: Robert Lowell, author of "Kill Switch"; Jordan Smajstrla, illustrator of "Kill Switch"; CL "Cherrie" Fors, illustrator of "A World of Repetitions"; Ian Keith, author of "Blackbird Stone." We discuss their journey as creative individuals and what makes the workshop so special for them and what Writers and Illustrators of the Future means to them and to the genre.