25 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators
Bonus short stories plus art and writing tips by
L. Ron Hubbard / Frank Herbert / Brian Herbert / Kevin J. Anderson / Diane Dillon
This 38th anniversary edition of the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, the bestselling and most widely influential anthology of its kind, brings you 12 strikingly original stories and illustrations—by the best new creative talent in speculative fiction, all winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests. The collection is rounded out with 3 bonus stories plus 4 articles providing art and writing tips from bestselling authors and internationally renowned artists. Experience these powerful voices—vivid, visceral, and visionary—as they explore uncharted worlds and reveal unlimited possibilities.
The Contests were created by L. Ron Hubbard out of his lifetime commitment to helping new writers and artists, and are judged by a hall-of-fame roster of top professionals. The Writers of the Future anthology has provided a spectacular launching pad for emerging writers and illustrators who over the past 4 decades have gone on to publish over 2,000 novels—many of them international bestsellers—and helped shape the field of contemporary speculative fiction as it is today and into the future.
Open the Writers of the Future and be carried away by stories—and illustrations—that will make you think, make you laugh, and make you see the world in ways you never imagined.
Art and Writing Tips:
“Boos and Taboos” by L. Ron Hubbard: L. Ron Hubbard challenges the restrictive “taboos” of writing for publications that bind stories in formula straitjackets. Urging writers to flout by-prescription storytelling, he describes his own conspicuous success in doing that, with a final, telling reflection on creative energy, sales—and writing stories that will be remembered.
“The Single Most Important Piece of Advice” by Frank Herbert: The last essay from Frank Herbert was written with the clear purpose of fulfilling what he saw as a paramount obligation to his art and craft—he provided the single most important piece of advice he would give a beginning writer.
“Teamwork: Getting the Best Out of Two Writers” by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson: Together, Brian and Kevin have written over twenty novels and numerous short stories, primarily expanding Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, but also on their original SF epic, the Hellhole Trilogy. Here they share the pitfalls and successes of their process and how they make it work.
“The Third Artist” by Diane Dillon: Leo and Diane Dillon chose to blend their talents, working together as one artist—the third artist—beginning a career that spanned fifty-four years. As an interracial couple, they dedicated their career to be inclusive of all races and cultures to reflect the world we live in.
3 Bonus Short Stories:
“A Word of Power” by David Farland: When Fava, a Neanderthal shaman, discovers the men of metal driving away her mammoths, she must find magic powerful enough to save the herd.
“The Daddy Box” by Frank Herbert: An abused boy finds an alien artifact that gives him the strength to reshape his life and stand up to his violent stepfather.
“The Professor Was a Thief” by L. Ron Hubbard: Grant’s Tomb—missing! Pennsylvania Station—missing! The Empire State Building—missing! New York City is disappearing piece by piece.…
