Writers of the Future Podcast

Toni Weisskopf is an American science fiction editor and the publisher of Baen Books. She has won the Phoenix Award, the Rebel Award, and the Neffy Award for best editor. She uses the nom de plume T. K. F. Weisskopf as an anthology editor. Writers of the Future and Toni initially met in New York in 1989, where she was a volunteer helping at the Awards event! She has since worked with Jim Baen, working under him as an editor and wearing every hat in a publishing house. With Jim’s passing, Toni became the owner and publisher of Baen Books and is going strong! She was earlier on this podcast in episode 100. In this episode, we discuss the future of publishing.

Z.S. “Zac” Diamanti, per his own bio, went to college forever and has too many pieces of paper on his wall as a result. He is a USAF veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and has worked in ministry for 10 years. Zac came highly recommended by Superstars organizers. And rightly so. The “Guard in the Garden” is a cozy fantasy, a subgenre that has not been addressed before on this podcast. What is fascinating is how he successfully used cozy fantasy to deal with the aftermath of war. And I must say, I have not cried this much over a story for a long time! https://zsdiamanti.com/

Marc Cameron is a former US Marshal and author of the Arliss Cutter novels, the Jericho Quinn series, and the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan books starting with "Power" and "Empire." His law enforcement career has spanned over thirty years, from uniformed police officer to mounted patrol officer and detective before becoming a US Marshal, where he served as a Deputy, Fugitive Task Force Commander, Supervisory Deputy, Senior Inspector, and Chief. In this interview, we discuss his latest novel, “Bad River," and writing thrillers and how he has used life experience to create amazing stories. https://marccameronbooks.com/

Scot Noel was a guest earlier, which you can listen to on episode 210. Scot was a Writers of the Future Volume 6 winner in 2010 and has since gone on to write more SF and created DreamForge, now in its fourth year. He has also spent quite some time working in computer science, specifically AI, and likens it to the parable of the two blind men describing an elephant, which we discuss in this interview.

Douglas Richards was a guest earlier in episode 211. In it, we discuss the blur between science and science fiction and the theme will continue in this episode. His most recent book, “The Breakthrough Effect,” was written as ChatGPT made its official appearance and so is very relevant.

David Hankins was a “Writers of the Future Volume 39” winner in 2023 with his short story “Death and the Taxman.” In this interview, we discuss science fiction comedy vs. satire and its value to the overall genre. He has since gone on to create a series based on his short story. The first was appropriately titled “Death and the Taxman,” and the second, now releasing, “Death and the Dragon.” He was a guest earlier as a winner and you can hear him in episodes 238 and 239 with fellow winners following the awards gala. Learn more about David at davidhankins.com/

Victoria Sutherland created Foreword Reviews Magazine in 1998. Since its inception, Foreword Reviews has never strayed from its mission to help booksellers and librarians discover great books from indie presses. Authors may not know that librarians need a trade review to order books, which is what Foreword Reviews is. They include 100–125 reviews per bi-monthly issue. Anyone listening to this podcast will receive a 15% discount for any Foreword service using discount code “WOTF" at www.ForewordReviews.com.

Steve Smith is the President and Publisher of Sky Turtle Press/Oasis Family Media. He began his publishing career in 1984. Throughout the 1990s, he was active in licensing entertainment industry properties for publishing projects, working with Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Sony Pictures. This interview discusses the importance of family-friendly content and the evolution of print books to audiobooks.

Adam Schomer is a filmmaker who created “Selling Superman,” which is the basis of this podcast interview. He is president of i2i Productions and goes to extreme lengths to follow stories that empower. His documentaries include award winners: “The Highest Pass,” “The Polygon,” “One Little Pill,” “Women of the White Buffalo,” and the documentary I watched, “Selling Superman,” about a family whose father collected comics … tens of thousands and including Issue #1 of Superman valued somewhere between $3-4M! Check out the documentary at https://www.sellingsuperman.com/

Andrea Fleck-Nisbet is the CEO of IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Assn), which is growing rapidly. After this interview with Andrea, it is no wonder why. She is a significant force of nature and, from my perspective, a major reason for this growth. In this interview, we discuss Indie publishing as well as author publishing. (She corrected me when I used the term self-publishing.) We discuss IBPA, its importance to the future of publishing, and its importance to authors and indie publishers. Learn more at www.ibpa-online.org/