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2023 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest Winners Named

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Grand Prize winners David Henrickson and Dao Vi. Photo courtesy of Author Services Inc.

David Henrickson from Sterling, VA, was named the 2023 Grand Prize Writer Winner and Dao Vi from Sylmar, CA who was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam was named the 2023 Illustrator Grand Prize Winner at the 39th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards Gala for Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests on April 28. The event was held at the Taglyan Cultural Complex in Hollywood, CA.
 
David Henrickson said: “I never imagined I would be here. I’ve loved Science Fiction all of my life.  When I was nine years old I was first inspired by the genre of science fiction after reading Andre Norton’s Star Guard.  When somebody asks what I do and who I am, I give them an easy answer, ‘I am an Application Architect,’ that’s what I do, but that’s not who I am.  Five years before I retired I started writing.  I told myself if I could write 100,000 lines of code, I can write a novel.  Hopefully one day we will all be able to pay this forward.  Thank you!”
  
Dao Vi said: “Wow!  I didn’t believe I was going to win.  I am humbled and honored to be surrounded by so many talented writers and illustrators.  It’s been a huge blessing.  I want to thank Samuel Parr for his wildly provocative story, ‘The Last History,’ which I illustrated.  This award is for you too.  Life is what happens when you are having fun.  I’m excited to see where this leads for all of us.  Thank you very much!”
 
During the course of the awards show a Time Capsule from 25 years ago in 1998, was opened by Writers of the Future Judges Kevin J. Anderson and Tim Powers which contained predictions on the Quality of Education in 25 years from famous Science Fiction writers.  As it turned out, one prediction from Tim Powers was quite accurate.  On October 2, 1998, Tim Powers wrote: “Voice recognition and transcription programs will have made literacy (all of spelling and most of grammar) obsolete; morality will be discarded as archaic.”
 
Winners from this year’s competitions hailed from all over the United States, as well as from Canada, China, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Romania, South Korea, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Joni Labaqui, Director of the Contests for Author Services, Inc. who oversaw the presentations of the Grand Prize Awards, said, “This year the theme for our awards show will be Fantasy and Illusion with a motif including a fiery dragon, and Asian pagodas and temples.”
 
Emily Goodwin, Vice President of Public Affairs for Author Services, Inc., served as Event Producer and presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Robert J. Sawyer, who penned sff classics like The Terminal Experiment and Flashforward, who has also served as a Writers of the Future judge since 2005.
 
During his acceptance speech, Dr. Robert J. Sawyer said, “Thank you all so very much!  Although I entered this contest when I was starting out, I’ve only ever been on the stage here at the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future Gala as a presenter, never an award recipient. I am thrilled to have finally made it!  I thank John Goodwin, Emily Goodwin, Joni Labaqui, and everyone else at Author Services, Inc. from the bottom of my heart—which is beating awfully fast right now!”

Left to right: John Goodwin, Emily Goodwin, Lifetime Achievement Recipient Robert J. Sawyer, Gunhild Jacobs and Joni Labaqui. Photo courtesy of Author Services, Inc.

An In Memoriam Tribute part of the awards show honored the late multiple New York Times bestselling author, Eric Flint, a Writers of the Future Winner for Volume 9 in 1993, writer of over 40 novels, Founder and Editor of Jim Baen’s Universe, and contest judge.

John Goodwin, President of Galaxy Press, unveiled Volume 39 of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, with cover artwork illustrated by Writers of the Future Illustrator Judge, Tom Wood, entitled, “Wyvern Crucible,” which was set to a cover story written by Writers of the Future Writer Judge, Kevin J. Anderson entitled, “Fire in the Hole.”  And simultaneously an audio book of Volume 39 of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, recorded by Jim, Tamra and Taylor Meskimen, was unveiled.

This year’s event, an Invitation Only function, was streamed live. Goodwin added: “According to United Public Radio Network, this year’s awards show was seen by 340,000 viewers on Roku and was heard by over 1.1 million listeners on the live broadcast.”

Keynote Speaker Dan Farr, Founder and CEO of the FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, said:  “It is indeed my honor to be speaking to you tonight about something that is near and dear to me.  Pop culture and pop culture conventions.  The modern concept of a fan convention dates back to the late 1930s with various gatherings of a few dozen science fiction fans in Philadelphia and New York. Hardcore science fiction readers met at these underground affairs, mainly to discuss science fiction, which at that time consisted of pulps.
 
“In the 60s fans and culture started to explode, when mainstream TV series and movies such as Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Forbidden Planet, came onto the convention scene.  And with the film industry popularizing characters such as Batman, Spider Man, The X-Men, the Green Lantern, and about a dozen other superheroes, the convention landscape exploded by leaps and bounds through the 70s, 80s and 90s.  By the mid-2000s, upwards of 300,000 people would flock to what had truly turned into pop culture conventions that embrace far more than the original buying and selling of comics.
 
“Fashion, costumes, characters, dance, film, cyberculture, music, art, literature, television, and radio – none of it would exist without the writer or the artist creating that script, that picture, that song, that universe.  Writing and art has always been and will always be a healing influence.  As writers and artists, you carry a large responsibility for the future.  Because it is you who carry that powerful torch to unite, while others are trying to tear it down.  Do not ever give up on your dreams.  As L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the contests stated:  ‘The greatest joy there is in life, is creating.  Splurge on it!’  Writers and Illustrators, congratulations on your accomplishments and…keep creating!”
 
Writer’s Contest Coordinating Judge, Jodi Lynn Nye and Emmy Award-winning actress, Nancy Cartwright, announced writer David Henrickson as the 2023 the Golden Pen Award winner presenting him a trophy and check for $5,000, for his story, “White Elephant.”

Coordinating Illustrator Contest Judge Echo Chernik and Keynote Speaker Dan Farr announced illustrator Dao Vi as the 2023 Golden Brush Award winner presenting him a trophy and a check for $5,000.  Dao Vi illustrated writer Samuel Parr’s story, “The Last History.”

The 12 quarterly winners and one published finalist of the 2023 writer’s contests who were presented with trophies and cash prizes included:  Samuel Parr of Market Harborough, United Kingdom; Spencer Sekulin of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada; L.H. Davis of Malabar, FL; Devon Bohm of West Hartford, CT; Arthur H. Manners of Cambridge, England; David Hankins of Bettendork, IA; David Henrickson of Sterling, VA; J.R. Johnson of Ottawa, Canada; Elaine Midoch of Pembroke Pines, FL; Marianne Xenos of Amherst, MA; Jason Palmatier of State College, PA;  and T.J. Knight of Glen Spey, NY.  Britany Rainsdon of Blackford, IN a 2022 Quarterly Writer winner was also honored.
 
The 12 Quarterly Winners of the 2023 Illustrator’s Contests who were presented with trophies and cash prizes included:  Alexandra Albu (AKA Cyberaeon) of Iasi, Romania; Clarence Bateman of Bronx, NY; Dao Vi of Sylmar, CA, born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Sarah Morrison of Malden, MA; Ximing Luo of Ellicott City, MD born in Hangzhou, China; Alaya Knowlton of Sarasota, FL; Kristin Hadaway of Abington, MD; José Sánchez of San José, Costa Rica; Helen Yi of Sarasota, FL and Seoul, South Korea; Chris Binns of Hillsboro, OR;  April Solomon of Laguna Beach, CA and Chris Arias of Cartago, Costa Rica.
  
Contest Writer Judges in attendance included: Kevin J. Anderson, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Rebecca Moesta, Larry Niven, Jody Lynn Nye, Dr. Nnedi Okorafor, Timothy Thomas “Tim” Powers, Dr. Robert J. Sawyer, Dean Wesley Smith and S.M. Stirling.

Other Distinguished Writer Judges who were not able to be in attendance include:  Dr. Doug Beason, Dr. Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Brian Herbert, Katherine Kurtz, Todd McCaffrey, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Silverberg and Dr. Sean Williams.
 
Contest Illustrator Judges in attendance included: Echo Chernik, Lazarus Chernik, Larry Elmore, Dr. Laura Freas Beraha, Brian C. Hailes, Brittany “Bea” Jackson, Val Lakey Lindahn, Sergey Poyarkov, Rob Prior, Dan dos Santos and Tom Wood.
 
Other Distinguished Illustrator Judges who were not able to be in attendance include:  Vincent Di Fate, Diane Dillon, Stephan Martiniere, Mike Perkins, Irvin Rodriguez, Shaun Tan and Stephen Youll.

A photo gallery from the award ceremony is here: Writers & Illustrators of the Future Workshop Week 2023 – Day 7.

Author Services, Inc. and Galaxy Press Executives with 2023 Writer and Illustrator Winners and Judges. Photo courtesy of Author Services, Inc.

[Based on a press release.]
 

Pixel Scroll 6/29/21 It Takes A Heap Of Pixels To Make A File A Scroll

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(1) DAYTIME EMMYS. The Daytime Emmy winners announced June 25 included this item of genre interest:

Outstanding Daytime Promotional Announcement
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous / Launch Campaign (Netflix)

Subsequently, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has revealed the nominations in its Children’s, Animation, Lifestyle Categories. Fansided reports that Star Wars: The Clone Wars picked up three nominations:

The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released to widespread critical acclaim, and now the animated series will look to pick up some new accolades. It was announced this week that the seventh season of The Clone Wars has received three nominations at the upcoming Daytime Emmy Awards.

The show will look to take home the trophies for Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Animated Program, Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Preschool, Children’s or Animated Program, and Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Daytime Animated Program.

The winners in the Children’s Programming and Animation category will be announced in a stand-alone show streaming at 8 p.m. ET July 17 on the Emmy OTT platform.

(2) THE LEVAR BURTON READS WRITING CONTEST. FIYAH Literary Magazine today announced the LeVar Burton Reads Origins & Encounters Writing Contest sponsored by FIYAH.

FIYAH is partnering with the LeVar Burton Reads podcast for their first-ever writing contest! Do you write speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror)? Do you love the podcast? Have you dreamed of getting your work in front of THE LeVar Burton ever since the days of Reading Rainbow? Well, here’s your shot. We are looking for one special story to be featured in Season 10 of the podcast

The first place winner will receive $500 and the story will be read by LeVar Burton on an upcoming episode of the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. The second place winner gets $250, and the third place winner, $100.

Editors for this contest include Diana M. Pho and L. D. Lewis, with the final selection being made by LeVar himself. View full submission guidelines and contest rules here.

(3) WHEN NEW WORLDS WAS REALLY NEW. At Galactic Journey, Mark Yon reviewed the July 1966 issues of Impulse and New Worlds. To everybody’s surprise and delight, New Worlds editor Michael Moorcock himself dropped by to leave a comment: “[June 28, 1966] Scapegoats, Revolution and Summer Impulse and New Worlds, July 1966”. (Yon’s review of New Worlds covers an early story by Jon De Cles, who comments here.)

(4) WORDS BY ROY THOMAS. The Cromcast has published another recording from the 2021 Robert E. Howard Days:  “The Roy Thomas Interview!” Thomas was this year’s guest of honor.

(5) VERTLIEB ON THE ZONE. Paradelphia Radio featured Steve Vertlieb on January’s podcast about The Twilight Zone.

After over 50 years of rubbing shoulders with the giants of the entertainment industry, Steve Vertlieb’s resume reads like a cinephile’s dream. This week I speak with the award winning journalist and film historian about the cultural impact of Rod Serling and his seminal science fiction anthology series “The Twilight Zone”.

The late 1950s/early 1960s were a time of staunch conservatism in America. This ideology was prevalent in the mainstream entertainment Americans watched on their television sets and at the local cinema. Rod Serling was a man with a message but it wasn’t a message many at this time wanted to hear. A talented writer, Serling was also a student of history and he knew that to get a message through a fortress wall, sometimes you needed to give the gift of a Trojan horse. “The Twilight Zone” was that gift and in the guise of science fiction, black comedy and horror Rod Serling’s voice reached out to open the eyes, ears and hearts of a fascinated public. This week we welcome award winning journalist, film historian and archivist Steve Vertlieb to the show as we discuss the cultural impact of “The Twilight Zone” and how Rod Serling’s message is still relevant over 60 years after the show’s debut.

(6) CASTAWAYS. James Davis Nicoll chronicles these (unwanted) homes away from home in “Five SFF Tales of Survival in a Strange Place (or Time)” at Tor.com.

… I’m sure you could find many SFF novels about such fuddy-duddy tourism turning strange. There are also novels that up the stakes by marooning the protagonist far from home. This will certainly give the protagonist a way to display do-or-die determination by denying them any choice in the matter…

Consider these five works about castaways.

The Luck of Brin’s Five by Cherry Wilder (1977)

Travel on Torin is a simple matter of hopping into a convenient space-plane and jetting to some other location on the Earth-like world that orbits 70 Ophuichi. Or it would be, if Scott Gale had not just crashed his expedition’s only space-plane on the far side of Torin, near the Terran expeditionary base’s antipodes. Oops.

Torin’s native population is unaware that they have off-world visitors until Scott’s space-plane falls from the sky. To the family of weavers known as Brin’s Five, Scott could become their new Luck (an integral member of each Moruian family’s five-member structure). His arrival may save the weavers from misfortune and starvation.

To Great Elder Tiath Avran Pentroy, also known as Tiath Gargan (or Strangler), technologically superior aliens are an unwanted disruptive element. Best to quietly dispatch Scott before Strangler has to deal with the ramifications of alien contact. And if Brin’s Five are not public-minded enough to surrender their Luck? Why, they can be dispatched as well.

(7) WEISSKOPF WILL KEYNOTE WRITERS OF THE FUTURE CEREMONY. Authors Services President John Goodwin announced today Toni Weisskopf will speak at this year’s WOTF Awards Ceremony. Goodwin indicated they are looking at October 22 as the date of the event.

I am very happy to announce Toni Weisskopf, Publisher of Baen Books, as this year’s keynote speaker for the combined Writers and Illustrators of the Future 36/37 Awards Ceremony. Many of our past winners and current judges are published by Baen Books. Writers of the Future and Toni first connected up in 1989, when as a volunteer, she helped out at the Writers of the Future Awards Event in New York City. We are happy she will be back again!

(8) TIME ENOUGH FOR CATS. Did we mention there is a Japanese adaptation of Heinlein’s The Door Into Summer? Let’s make sure it hasn’t been overlooked by the Scroll:

(9) MEMORY LANE.

1999 — Twenty-two years ago, Charles Vess wins a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature for the illustrated version of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust which was published by Vertigo the previous year. Gaiman of course shared in that Award. It would also win a World Fantasy Award as well. 

(10) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.

[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]

  • Born June 29, 1919 — Slim Pickens. Surely you remember his memorable scene as Major T. J. “King” Kong in Dr. Strangelove? I certainly do. And of course he shows up in Blazing Saddles as Taggart. He’s the uncredited voice of B.O.B in The Black Hole and he’s Sam Newfield in The Howling. He’s got some series genre work including several appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, plus work on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Night Gallery. (Died 1983.)
  • Born June 29, 1920 — Ray Harryhausen. All-around film genius who created stop-motion model Dynamation animation. His work can be seen in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (his first color film) which was nominated for a Hugo at Detention, Jason and the Argonauts,  Mighty Joe Young and Clash of the Titans. (Died 2013.)
  • Born June 29, 1943 — Maureen O’Brien, 78. Vicki, companion of the First Doctor. Some 40 years later, she reprised the role for several Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio works. She had a recurring role as Morgan in The Legend of King Arthur, a late Seventies BBC series. Her Detective Inspector John Bright series has been well received.
  • Born June 29, 1947 — Michael Carter, 74. Best remembered  for being Gerald Bringsley in An American Werewolf in London, Von Thurnburg in The Illusionist and Bib Fortuna in the Return of the Jedi. He plays two roles as a prisoner and as UNIT soldier in the Third Doctor story, “The Mind of Evil”. 
  • Born June 29, 1950 — Michael Whelan, 71. I’m reasonably sure that most of the Del Rey editions of McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series was where I first noticed his artwork but I’ve certainly seen it elsewhere since. He did Heinlein’s The Cat Who Walks Through Walls cover which I love and many more I can’t recall right now. And there’s a wonderful collection of work available, Beyond Science Fiction: The Alternative Realism of Michael Whelan.
  • Born June 29, 1956 — David Burroughs Mattingly, 65. He’s an American illustrator and painter, best known for his numerous book covers of genre literature. Earlier in his career, he worked at Disney Studio on the production of The Black Hole, Tron, Dick Tracy and Stephen King’s The Stand. His main cover work was at Ballantine Books where he did such work as the 1982 cover of Herbert’s Under Pressure (superb novel), the 2006 Anderson’s Time Patrol and the 1983 Berkley Books publication of E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith Triplanetary.
  • Born June 29, 1968 — Judith Hoag, 53. Her first genre role was in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as April O’Neil followed by being in Armageddon playing Denise Chappel and then a Doctor in A Nightmare On Elm Street. She filmed a cameo for another Turtle film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, but it was deleted. She’s got one one-offs in Quantum Leap, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.,  Strange World, The Burning Zone, X-Files, Carnivàle and Grimm. Her latest genre role was in The Magicians as Stephanie Quinn.

(11) COMICS SECTION.

(12) TOP DOGS AND OTHERS. Gizmodo has an opinion – do you? “DC Super-Pets Ranked: Krypto, Ace the Bat-Hound, Streaky, and More” Daniel Dern sent the link, adding “For those who are wondering ‘Hey, where’s Proty?’ I’ll let Tom Galloway or Kurt Busiek field that one.” (Warning – it’s a click-through slideshow.)

It is a good time to be a superheroic animal. DC’s League of Super-Pets animated movie is on the way and has somehow nabbed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the voice of Krypto the Superdog, along with Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound, plus Keanu Reeves, Kate McKinnon, Diego Luna, and more. But these critters—and maybe others—have long had superhero careers in the pages of DC Comics. It’s time to look at every member of the Legion of Super-Pets— and see how they compare….

(13) SALE OF THE MID-CENTURY. See a bit of sf history in a photo here on Facebook – at the 1968 Worldcon in Oakland/Berkeley, Harlan Ellison auctions off the services of David Gerrold (standing).

(14) BRING THE ANSWERS. For those who’ll be in Wellington, NZ on August 3 and 4, SFFANZ points out the availability of “A quiz from galaxies far away” at the Foxglove Bar & Kitchen. Ticket includes: canapés, two drinks and quiz.

Battle of the Galaxies

It’s time for a showdown of galactic proportions…
In which universe does your loyalty lie, are you Team Spock or is Darth your daddy? Foxglove and Gee Quiz are proud to strike back in 2021 bringing you a quiz from galaxies far away, a showdown between Star Wars and Star Trek superfans.

Whet your whistle in Mos Eisely Cantina while the food replicator whips you up dishes from culinary worlds like Endor, Naboo, Vulcan and Remus. Have you ever tried Petrokian Sausage? All teams answer questions from both universes, including specialty bonus food and beverage rounds to test your knowledge of culinary delights that are out of this world. Every ticket includes 2 drinks, canape and shared table banquet dishes from all corners of the universe!

Book your six person team ($450) or book a single ticket ($75) and declare your loyalty and we’ll match you up with like-minded quizzers.

(15) YOUR NEXT $500 TOY. Er, I’m sorry, only $499.99. “Massive Playmobil Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Playset Gets Official Images” — Comicbook.com has photos.

Playmobil appears to be taking on LEGO and some of the massive Star Wars sets in their Ultimate Collector’s Series lineup with the 70548 Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Playset. It’s being touted as “the biggest and most deluxe Playmobil playset created up to this point”. UPDATE: Official images added. Additional images are available here at Entertainment Earth, where the set can be pre-ordered for $499.99.

ORIGINAL: How big? When complete the starship will measure 42-inches long and 18-inches wide. Features will include electronic lights and sounds that can be controlled via an app, and you can open up the saucer section of the Enterprise to see a full 1966-style bridge. The body of the ship will also open to display the engineering room.

(16) A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE. “Astrophysicists Detect Black Holes and Neutron Stars Merging, This Time for Certain” – let Gizmodo fill you in.

A large collaboration of astrophysicists report they have made the first-ever confirmed detections of shockwaves produced by mergers between neutron stars and black holes. The detections, 10 days apart, represent two of these enormous cosmic unions.

In January 2020, Earth quivered ever so slightly as shockwaves imperceptible to human senses passed through it. Those ripples were gravitational waves, perturbations in spacetime generated by all massive objects but only detectable from extremely huge events, like two black holes colliding. The waves were strong enough to be picked up by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in Louisiana (the Washington branch of the instrument was offline at the time) and the similar Virgo experiment in Pisa, Italy. These experiments detect gravitational waves using a sensitive arrangement of mirrors and laser beams.

Black holes are points in space with such intense gravitational fields that not even light can escape. They form when a star dies and collapses in on itself. Neutron stars form similarly; they are the extremely dense collapsed remains of dead stars and are mostly composed of packed-in neutrons.

(17) AROUND THE BLOCK. The New York Times reports “Venus Lacks Plate Tectonics. But It Has Something Much More Quirky.”

… Venus doesn’t have plate tectonics. But according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it may possess a quirky variation of that process: Parts of its surface seem to be made up of blocks that have shifted and twisted about, contorting their surroundings as they went.

These boogying blocks, thin and flat slices of rock referred to as campi (Latin for “fields”), can be as small as Ireland or as expansive as Alaska. They were found using data from NASA’s Magellan orbiter mission, the agency’s last foray to Venus. In the early 1990s, it used radar to peer through the planet’s obfuscating atmosphere and map the entire surface. Taking another look at these maps, scientists found 58 campi scattered throughout the planet’s lava-covered lowlands….

(18) SHOW BIZ WANTS YOU. Universal Studios Hollywood put out a call for contestants to be on “the first ever Harry Potter quiz show.” The application is here.

(19) VIDEO OF THE DAY. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In “Honest Game Trailers: Ratchet and Crank:  Rift Apart,” Fandom Games says the latest line extension of the Ratchet and Crank franchise is so familiar that “if it seems like a new coat of paint on an old favorite, that’s what it is” and shows the rule of the gaming industry, that, “If it ain’t broke, just slap newer-looking graphics on it and charge full price.”

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Cat Eldridge, Mike Kennedy, Cora Buhlert, James Davis Nicoll, Daniel Dern, Andrew Porter, Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, and Michael Toman  for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to contributing editor of the day Andrew (not Werdna).]