Writers of the Future Podcast

Michael Z. Williamson is an author who writes both military fiction and science fiction and is best known for his libertarian-themed Freehold series, exploring military and political themes as well as first contact with alien beings. With 25 years of service in the Army and Air Force, he has consulted on military matters and disaster preparedness for Discovery Channel and Outdoor Channel and is Editor-at-Large for Survivalblog. www.facebook.com/Michael-Z-Williamson-115086425180711

Otto Penzler has been involved with publishing since 1975, when he founded The Mysterious Press, dedicated to publishing the best books by the best authors. We talk about the one vital element in storytelling that is common to all genre-fiction and that sets a story above others and makes it timeless.

In this podcast, we discuss the Power of Story in society, that a successful society is a society of successful stories. Our guest, David Doering, creator of the Life, the Universe and Everything convention, addresses how all human endeavors are storytelling. We will cover all forms of storytelling from gossip … to biography … to history … to criticism … to fiction … and its antithesis, censorship, and book burning.

Many know Frank Frazetta as the godfather of fantasy art noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, record album covers, and other media. While his work is world-renowned, what about the man, or in this case, the grandfather? Sara Frazetta is the granddaughter of Frank Frazetta and founder of Frazetta Girls, a family initiative dedicated to maintaining the legacy of Frank Frazetta. If you are a fan of fantasy art, you won’t want to miss this episode.

What do you ask someone who knows virtually everything there is to know about the pulp fiction era and its impact on today’s popular fiction? Anything and everything. That’s what I tried to do when he was the keynote speaker at Writers of the Future Awards ceremony a few years ago. And that’s what I attempt on this episode of the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Podcast with our very special guest, editor, author, and publisher of Murania Press, and my good friend, Mr. Ed Hulse.

What began as a childhood hobby grew into a full-fledged passion. It eventually led Pat Henry, along with a few friends, to co-found Dragon Con, one of the largest fantasy conventions in the world in Atlanta, Georgia, of which Pat is now CEO. We will discuss why conventions are important to a writer and artist and why DragonCon is one of the biggest supporters of Writers & Illustrators of the Future.

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 165 books, 56 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes. He has been a judge for Writers of the Future for 25 years and has a simple philosophy: I’m successful at this, but I feel it’s important to pay forward to the next generation of writers.” He also teaches a Masters Program in Publishing which we discuss. www.wordfire.com

India has recently taken the #2 spot behind the United States with students participating in the Writers of the Future Online Workshop and Bhagyashree Prabhutendolkar is the driving force behind that. She is a published author, illustrator, public speaker, and the founder of Youth Magazine, an international youth-led publication aimed to bring positive change in the world. She is a former recipient of ‘The Hindustan Times Scholarship Award’ and her work has been published in prominent newspapers such as Hindustan Times, Times of India, Mumbai Times and she was nominated for the Crossword Book Awards '19 as well. She was also selected as Yale University's Yale Young Global Scholars 2021. She can be found at youthmag.net and https://www.facebook.com/digambar.prabhutendolkar.9

The Space Western Science Fiction sub-genre has had great success beyond the page in the television and movie industries—Longmire, Firefly, Serenity, Avatar, not to mention Han Solo, Bobba Fett and the Mandalorian. To make western sci-fi work, though, you have to know what makes the western work and that’s our guest in the next episode of the Writers of the Future Podcast. Learn how the sci-fi west was won with this week’s guest, Dakota Livesay.

Dr. Beatrice Kondo is the Assistant Program Director for the Masters of Science program in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University. Yes, the same university providing up to date information on the current pandemic. Biotechnology is now moving so fast that a lot of the science that not so long ago was just fiction is now part of our daily lives. If you are an author and are interested in biotechnology in your science fiction, then you will enjoy this episode.