Dragon-Themed Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award April 2

{All images courtesy Steve Moyer Public Relations and Galaxy Press.}

Note: this article was also published on SciFi4Me.com.

It’s time again for tales of dragons and spaceships. Next Sunday, April 2, are the the 33rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers & Illustrators of the Future Achievement Awards.

Honoring 12 writers and illustrators for their excellence in science fiction and fantasy, the awards are presented by Galaxy Press and Author Services, Inc. Each of the writers and illustrators are quarterly winners. Additionally, there will be a grand prize winner for each: the Golden Pen Award for the Writers of the Future Contest, and the Golden Quill Award for the winner of the Illustrators of the Future Contest.

Started in 1983, the contest was created to inspire more beginning writers to help break into the industry. It was so successful that the Illustrators award was created in 1988. Each year, the winners are invited to a week-long workshop that ends in the awards ceremony, which is also where the winning entries are released into a published anthology. The success of the program is apparent: since starting, the writing winners have published 1,150 novels and 4,450 short stories, producing 32 New York Times bestsellers. Meanwhile, the illustrators have produced over 4,500 illustrations, 356 comic books, and produced visually to 36 television shows and 46 movies.

The event this year is themed ‘medieval fantasy’, and as such there will be a 12-foot long dragon head included in the red carpet. Dress code is listed as black tie-optional or medieval fantasy formal. The keynote speaker this year will be Pat Henry, the president and co-founder of Dragon*Con, Pat Henry. The awards will also have performances from EMCirque, and will also have artists Rob Prior and Larry Elmore create a painting from scratch. Finally, this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to author Mike Resnick, author of 62 novels and over 250 short stories, and editor of over 40 anthologies.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, the event is free and open to the public. It will be at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, and doors open at 5:30 pm, with the event starting at 6:30 pm. Following the show, there will be a book signing by the winning writers and illustrators.

The event will once again be livestreamed on the Writers of the Future website, starting at 6:30 pm PST. (Prior award ceremonies are available to view on the Writers of the Future YouTube channel.)

For more information about the awards, and to RSVP if you want to attend, visit the Writers of the Future Award website.