Writers of the Future Podcast

Illustrators of the Future Volume 38 winner Natalia Salvador, from Spain, discusses her new illustrated children's book and how she is creating her career as an artist. She started as a self-taught artist who then studied art in college but quit her art after being told that illustration wasn't valid. It required family and friends to get her to create her art again. See her art at www.nataliasalvador.es/

This is my second interview with Hugh Howey. I've now read three of his books: Wool, Sand, and the just-released Across the Sand. They are all science fiction thrillers. But they allude to a not-too-distant future, never stated but knowable of a world turned upside down but moving forward. We tackle superstition vs technology and the lessons taught by the nomads that you are the only one holding yourself down. Plus the function of morality and integrity as an author. Learn more about Hugh at: hughhowey.com/

Rebecca Hardy (penname for Rebecca Danese) is a writer, photographer, and artist working in London while residing in West Sussex, England. "The House of Lost Wives" is her debut adult novel set in 1813, pre-Victorian England, which relies upon the existence of ghosts that only the protagonist can see. We discuss her journey to becoming a published author and why she chose the route she did. Hers is a very interesting story to arrive as a published author, and I am very happy I could interview her. I initially met her after she wrote a blog post on the cameras of Battlefield Earth. Learn more at www.rebeccadanese.com/

Jonathan Mabery is a New York Times best-seller, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, recipient of the Inkpot Award, three Scribe Awards, and was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. We discuss many things, including the importance of research. He is the author of the Joe Ledger series, with which I am most acquainted. He is the creator, editor, and co-author of V-Wars, a shared-world vampire anthology adapted into a Netflix series. And we will address the role of research in how this series came about. We met at Superstars earlier this year, and I found him to be an incredibly nice person who I am excited to have on this podcast. Discover his works at www.jonathanmaberry.com/

Artem Mirolevish was born in Minsk, Belarus. He traveled to the United States when he was 17. Artem won Illustrators of the Future in 2007 and was published in Volume 23 has participated in over 100 solo and group exhibitions in museums, galleries, and art fairs worldwide, including solo shows in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Japan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and the USA. In this interview, we discuss his painting in surrealism and creating a career so that he survives with his family completely as an artist. We also discuss how to work with galleries as an artist. The trick to being a successful illustrator is to process others' ideas so they become yours. When you illustrate their ideas, you do it for yourself, not for them. Discover his art at www.artemart.com.

Hank Garrett published an autobiography, "From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight," and this interview discusses his journey through life and creating this book. Hank was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and has received a New York Film Critics Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. Some of you old enough will know him as Officer Nicholson on the TV Series Car 54 Where Are You? And pretty much everyone will know him as the postman in Three Days of the Condor with Robert Redford. He openly acknowledges Sammy Davis Junior for helping save his life. You can find his book here: https://harlemhoodlum.com/

Brian Trent, who I originally met almost 10 years ago when he was a Writers of the Future winner, published in volume 29 with his story “War Hero.” His work appears in the New York Times bestselling Black Tide Rising series, Weird World War series, Analog Science Fiction, Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Escape Pod, Galaxy’s Edge, and in 2019 he was the winner of Baen Books’ Readers’ Choice Award. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since we met back in 2013. He just published a fantastic novel that I read in preparation for this podcast, “Red Space Rising.” It was based on his winning Writers of the Future short story, which we discuss. https://briantrent.com/

Thomas Vitale was Exec VP of SyFy Channel and produced over 350 movies. He has now gone independent, making his own movies. www.imdb.com/name/nm1973942/ We discuss a movie he is producing called "57 Seconds" starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson, based on a short story he read called "Lucifer" by E.C. Tubb. We discuss what TV and movie series buyers are looking for in Intellectual Property. Original work is great, but books, short stories, and graphic novels are better. Then we discuss how a script is created from the story.

Today is a very special show in celebration of episode # 200. During the Writers of the Future Volume 38 workshop week, a live performance of L. Ron Hubbard’s “The Professor Was a Thief” was presented to the Contest winners and judges. Why "The Professor Was a Thief"? Because it is the L. Ron Hubbard story included in Writers of the Future volume 38. So sit back and enjoy the performance. It’s only 30 minutes, and it will be followed by a Q&A with actors R.F. Daley, Travis Oates, and Roger Scott.

Elizabeth Wein was a Writers of the Future Volume 9 and later a #1 NYT bestselling author of "Code Name Verity" and discusses her career as an author and her trajectory to success. She transitioned from Arthurian legend to science fiction -- including a Star Wars novel -- and thrilling adventure. Her storytelling is character driven and she explains how she goes about doing this. She became a pilot using her royalty advance from her second book to pay for it. Her knowledge as a pilot played a key role in "Code Name Verity." Learn more at www.elizabethwein.com/