Writers of the Future, Volume 29 (2 page)
Read Writers of the Future, Volume 29 Online
Authors: L. Ron Hubbard
© 2013 Galaxy Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any unauthorized copying, translation, duplication,
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embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, contact Galaxy Press,
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www.GalaxyPress.com
“War Hero” © 2013 Brian Trent
“Planetary Scouts” © 2013 Stephen Sottong
“Twelve Seconds” © 2013 Tina Gower
“The Manuscript Factory” © 2010 L. Ron Hubbard Library
“The Grande Complication” © 2013 Christopher Reynaga
“Cop for a Day” © 2013 Chrome Oxide
“Gonna Reach Out and Grab Ya” © 2013 Eric Cline
“Vestigial Girl” © 2013 Alex Wilson
“Holy Days” © 2013 Kodiak Julian
“The Ghost Wife of Arlington” © 2013 Marilyn Guttridge
“Everything You Have Seen” © 2013 Alisa Alering
“Scavengers” © 2013 Shannon Peavey
“Dreameater” © 2013 Andrea Stewart
“Master Belladino's Mask” © 2013 Marina J. Lostetter
Illustrations for “War Hero” and “Cop for a Day” © 2013 Jon Eno
Illustration for “Planetary Scouts” © 2013 Joshua Meehan
Illustration for “Twelve Seconds” © 2013 Luis Menacho
Illustration for “The Grande Complication” © 2013 Olivia Xu
Illustration for “Gonna Reach Out and Grab Ya” © 2013 Daniel
Reneau
Illustration for “Vestigial Girl” © 2013 Jackie Albano
Illustration for “Holy Days” © 2013 Aldo Katayanagi
Illustration for “The Ghost Wife of Arlington” © 2013 Sida Chen
Illustration for “Everything You Have Seen” © 2013 Karsen
Slater
Illustration for “Scavengers” © 2013 James J. Eads
Illustration for “Dreameaters” © 2013 Lucas Durham
Illustration for “Master Belladino's Mask” © 2013 Tiffany
England
Cover Artwork:
Retro City
© 2013
Stephen Youll
Interior Design: Jerry Kelly
This anthology contains works of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents are either the product of the authors' imaginations or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental. Opinions expressed by nonfiction essayists are their
own.
ISBN-13 978-1-61986-202-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013934928
Battlefield Earth
is a registered
trademark owned by Author Services, Inc., and is used with its permission.
Writers of the Future
(word and medallion) and
Illustrators of the Future
and its logo are trademarks
owned by the L. Ron Hubbard Library and are used with permission.
Contents
by
Dave Wolverton
by
Brian Trent
Illustrated by Jon Eno
by
Stephen Sottong
Illustrated by Joshua Meehan
by
Tina Gower
Illustrated by Luis Menacho
by
L. Ron Hubbard
by
Christopher Reynaga
Illustrated by Olivia Xu
by
Chrome Oxide
Illustrated by Jon Eno
by
Eric Cline
Illustrated by Daniel Reneau
by
Nnedi Okorafor
by
Alex Wilson
Illustrated by Jackie Albano
by
Kodiak Julian
Illustrated by Aldo Katayanagi
by
Marilyn Guttridge
Illustrated by Sida Chen
by
Larry Elmore
by
Alisa Alering
Illustrated by Karsen Slater
by
Shannon Peavey
Illustrated by James J. Eads
by
Andrea Stewart
Illustrated by Lucas Durham
by
Marina J.
Lostetter
Illustrated by Tiffany England
Introduction
BY DAVE WOLVERTON
Dave Wolverton is an award-winning,
New York Times
bestselling author with dozens of books to his credit. He began his career writing short fiction winning the Gold Award in the Writers of the Future Contest, which vaulted him into prominence in the mid-1980s. His science fiction
novels include the highly praised
On My Way to Paradise,
which won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Special Award for “Best Novel in the English Language.”
Dave has also written novels in the Star Wars and Mummy Universes, and has worked as a video game designer, most notably for Starcraft's
Brood War.
In 1999 he set the Guinness record for the world's largest single-person, single-book signing.
In the mid-1990s he began to follow his love for writing fantasy under the pen name David Farland, where he became best known for his international bestselling Runelords series; he has also won the Whitney Award for best novel of the year for his historical novel
In the Company of Angels
, and the International Book Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year, along with the Hollywood Book Award for Best Book of the year for his young
adult fantasy thriller
Nightingale.
Dave now serves as Coordinating Judge for the Writers of the Future Contest.
Introduction
W
elcome to a
remarkable
anthology.
It's remarkable for a number of reasons, the first of which is simply
the history of how it got here. At the young age of twenty-nine, this is one of the
longest-running short story competitions of all time.
It's also a remarkable competition for what it offers to its winners. It
inspires thousands of people every year to produce new stories and art. It offers
the winners the chance to be seen and encouraged by top-ranking authors and
illustrators in their fields. It grants significant cash prizes to the winners, and
also offers what may be their first publication credits. Winners are also treated to
a free seminar taught by accomplished professionals, along with an elaborate award
ceremony. No other competition in the field of fantasy and science fiction offers so
much.
It's also remarkable because of the talent associated with it. It was
initiated by L. Ron Hubbard, one of the greatest writers of popular fiction in the
twentieth century. His career began during the pulp era of fiction, helped launch
the Golden Age and continued on into modern day with hits like
Battlefield Earth
and
Mission Earth
. The
author judges have included many of the best-known science fiction and fantasy
writers of our timeâpeople like Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, Jerry Pournelle,
Larry Niven, Andre Norton, Kevin J. Anderson, Tim Powers, Mike Resnick, Fred Pohl,
Gregory Benford and many more.
The Illustrators of the Future Contest is also one of the
longest-running art contests around, initiated in 1988, with celebrity judges who
are no less famous, people like Frank Frazetta, Diane and Leo Dillon, Will Eisner,
Jack Kirby, Bob Eggleton, Stephan Martiniere, Frank Kelly Freas, Stephen Hickman,
Paul Lehr, Stephen Youll and others who've had a tremendous impact on the world
through their graphic art, animations, and film design.
The contests have also helped launch the careers of a remarkable number
of writers and illustrators who have gone on to publish thousands of novels and
short stories, and literally more than a million pieces of art. In fact, a few of
our judges got early starts with the contests. People like Eric Flint, Dean Wesley
Smith, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, K.D. Wentworthâand myselfâwent up through the ranks of
contest winners, became professional writers who went on to win major awards and
become international bestsellers, and later were invited to become judges based upon
their merits.
In the same way, illustrators like Sergey Poyarkov, Robert Castillo and
Academy Award Winner Shaun Tan also started out first as illustrator winners,
established enviable careers and later came to the helm as judges.
Each year, we receive thousands of short stories and illustrations from
every continent around the world. In the third quarter alone this year, we had
entries from over thirty different countries. At the end of the year, we present the
best of our new discoveries. Many of these artists will go on to have their own
stellar careers, and some of them we hope will become your favorite authors and
illustrators in decades to come.
Finding those people has become difficult. The level of talent is so
high that at times it's hard to choose the winners. That's as it should be. In any
one quarter, we may have a mixture of great comedy, astonishing science fiction,
truly creepy horror, thrilling adventures and wondrous fantasies. Which one is
best?
The answer of course is up to you, in part. You'll find your own
personal favorites.
Meanwhile, thanks to L. Ron Hubbard and the many other writers, artists
and fans who have dedicated so much time and effort, this contest will continue to
become the premiere vehicle for inspiring and discovering new artistic talent in the
field of fantasy and science fiction. If you or someone that you know is interested
in becoming a writer or illustrator, don't hesitate to enter. The contest is open to
anyone, and there is no fee to enter!
War Hero
written by
Brian Trent
illustrated by
JON ENO
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Trent was born in a post-industrial factory town in Connecticut. He was rapidly introduced to speculative fiction through a lavishly illustrated edition of
One Thousand and One Nights.
As a child, he became a haunter of libraries and old ruins and developed a keen interest in both ends of history: the ancient past and far-distant future. Reading everything from Asimov to Xenophon, he began crafting his very first stories on a metallic-blue Brother 11 typewriter. After earning college degrees in English and philosophy, Trent worked as a professional journalist when not piloting expeditionary shuttles through the soupy atmospheres of alien worlds (otherwise known as going for long drives in the rain). His nonfiction writings have graced the cover of
The Humanist
magazine. His Writers of the Future win is his second professional sale, the first being to
COSMOS,
and he has since sold fiction to
Apex Magazine.
He recently completed the second novel in a “future history” series and, when not writing, Trent works in film. His website is
briantrent.com.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Jon Eno worked as an ambulance jockey when he was a teen and as a medic in the military. He has also worked the coal mines of Kentucky and sold securities as a stockbroker. He has owned a construction company and been a consultant and is currently a critical care RN, working in an intensive care unit. Jon can't remember how many times he has done chest compression in his career. He has worked ICU, CCU, ER and open heart, and he was a clinic administrator at one time.
In his spare time, all he wants to do is crack open a book and learn from it. Art comes naturally for him, and he is self-taught.
Throughout his life, art has been a big part of his world. One day he plans to find the time to advance his skills further and learn whatever it is he wishes to do next.
Jon also has a passion for writing science fiction. He has one novel completed, is starting a second, and has three more outlined and ready to go. Recently, he published a book of medical humor illustrations.
Jon lives in a log cabin in the foothills of north Texas. He prefers blue jeans and a T-shirt to a coat and tie. He drives an old pickup and still gets his hands dirty working on his property. He is married and has a son, who is the most incredible thing he has done yet in his life. He is thankful to have both his wife and son.