Another great review for Writers of the Future

The following review just came in for Writers of the Future Volume XXII from VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) a magazine that caters to the teen reader. Pretty good! WRITERS OF THE FUTURE VOLUME XXII BOOK REVIEW BY VOYA (VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES) L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XXII. Algis Budrys, Ed. Galaxy Press, 2006, 500p. $7.99 pb. 978-1-59212-345-1 Illus. L. Ron Hubbard is probably best known for his bestselling novels and for being the founder of Scientology. Perhaps less publicized is his role in encouraging emerging writers by initiating various writing contests, including the Writers of the Future Contest ®. This volume contains the twelve winning entries from the 2005 contest, as well as illustrations by the winners in the Illustrators of the Future ® program and essays on writing and art by such authors as Hubbard himself and Orson Scott Card. The stories vary widely in subject matter, but all exhibit consummate skill in crafting an imaginative and thought-provoking tale. A few of the stories merit particular applause. The opening story, The Sword from the Sea by Blake Hutchins, is reminiscent of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea cycle and its nautical focus, mystical elements, and character-driven plot. Schroedinger’s Hummingbird by Diana Rowland takes the familiar notion of traveling backward through time to change history to a new and eerie place. David John Baker’s contribution, On the Mount, provides a provocative look at the relationship between creator and creation. Many stories challenge the reader to ponder complex scientific concepts such as cosmology, nuclear fusion, cellular biology, and xenolinguistics, especially in At the Gate of God by Joseph Jordan and Tongues by Brian Rappatta. Without oversimplifying the material, each author manages to make the complicated subject matter understandable and relevant to the theme of the story. Card, in his essay, Are We at the End of Science Fiction?, speculates on reasons why “hard” science fiction has not maintained the level of success it had in the 1960s and 1970s, especially in comparison to fantasy literature. The stories contained in this volume demonstrate that the genre still attracts skilled, thoughtful writers who promise hope for the future of such speculative fiction. –Kathy Starks.

ILLUSTRATOR OF THE FUTURE WINNING ART

Starting tomorrow, I am going to start displaying the winning art of the newest winners of the Illustrators of the Future contest - at least the first 9 winners. This is the art they won the contest with and is not the art you will see published in Writers of the Future XXIII. I'll do one artist a day, beginning with the first quarter.

IF YOU ARE A PAST WINNER

If you are a past winner and have published books or art, send me the links or jpgs so I can post these on this blog.

And be sure to tell your friends to check out the blog. Its posted pretty much every day and there is a lot of great news about both contests to tell.