Writers of the Future Podcast

Today’s guests are William Joseph Roberts, AKA Hillbilly, and Benjamin Tyler Smith. Hillbilly is an award winner author for the JTF Legends. He is also an editor and publisher of Three Ravens Publishing. Ben is a writer of sf & f and is one of the co-publishers of Three Ravens Publishing. Their dream has been to help other authors get published and we became best of friends since virtually meeting...

Ron Collins was a very enthusiastic writer winner back in 1998. His is one of our iconic photos for Writers of the Future with him kissing his framed certificate after having been announced. He was initially published in WOTF 14 as a finalist with the story “The Disappearance of Josie Andrew” and then the following year as a winner in volume 15 with his story “Out of the Blue.” He has since gone o...

Douglas E. Richards discusses the blur between science and science fiction. He speaks to the furious pace of progress, and how he's come to believe that almost nothing is out of reach. This is a topic covered in his recent novel, "Portals." We also discuss addiction, not drugs, but all forms and how it fits into "Portals." DIA is researching "Traversable Wormholes, Stargates, and Negative Energy"...

Scot Noel was published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 6 in 1990, which helped launch a very successful career as a writer and in starting his own science fiction and fantasy magazine, DreamForge. This is his story. He also reveals what he is looking for from authors wanting to be published. Scot views the world with the perspective that the glass is half full and the futu...

J.L. George lives in Cardiff, Wales, and writes weird and speculative fiction. She was a winner published in Writers of the Future Volume 36 with her story "Catching My Death" and has just released her novel, "The Word" (www.amazon.com/Word-JL-George-ebook/dp/B09C52NZ38). She also writes contemporary/urban fantasy as Louise Long. We discuss the importance of having great titles for your work. We d...

Illustrators of the Future Volume 38 winner Natalia Salvador, from Spain, discusses her new illustrated children's book and how she is creating her career as an artist. She started as a self-taught artist who then studied art in college but quit her art after being told that illustration wasn't valid. It required family and friends to get her to create her art again. See her art at www.nataliasalv...

This is my second interview with Hugh Howey. I've now read three of his books: Wool, Sand, and the just-released Across the Sand. They are all science fiction thrillers. But they allude to a not-too-distant future, never stated but knowable of a world turned upside down but moving forward. We tackle superstition vs technology and the lessons taught by the nomads that you are the only one holding y...

Rebecca Hardy (penname for Rebecca Danese) is a writer, photographer, and artist working in London while residing in West Sussex, England. "The House of Lost Wives" is her debut adult novel set in 1813, pre-Victorian England, which relies upon the existence of ghosts that only the protagonist can see. We discuss her journey to becoming a published author and why she chose the route she did. Hers i...

Jonathan Mabery is a New York Times best-seller, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, recipient of the Inkpot Award, three Scribe Awards, and was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. We discuss many things, including the importance of research. He is the author of the Joe Ledger series, with which I am most acquainted. He is the creator, editor, and co-author of V-Wars, a shared-world v...

Artem Mirolevish was born in Minsk, Belarus. He traveled to the United States when he was 17. Artem won Illustrators of the Future in 2007 and was published in Volume 23 has participated in over 100 solo and group exhibitions in museums, galleries, and art fairs worldwide, including solo shows in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Japan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and the USA. In this in...

Hank Garrett published an autobiography, "From Harlem Hoodlum to Hollywood Heavyweight," and this interview discusses his journey through life and creating this book. Hank was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and has received a New York Film Critics Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. Some of you old enough will know him as Officer Nicholson on the TV Seri...

Brian Trent, who I originally met almost 10 years ago when he was a Writers of the Future winner, published in volume 29 with his story “War Hero.” His work appears in the New York Times bestselling Black Tide Rising series, Weird World War series, Analog Science Fiction, Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Escape Pod, Galaxy’s Edge, and in 2...

Thomas Vitale was Exec VP of SyFy Channel and produced over 350 movies. He has now gone independent, making his own movies. www.imdb.com/name/nm1973942/ We discuss a movie he is producing called "57 Seconds" starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson, based on a short story he read called "Lucifer" by E.C. Tubb. We discuss what TV and movie series buyers are looking for in Intellectual Property....

Today is a very special show in celebration of episode # 200. During the Writers of the Future Volume 38 workshop week, a live performance of L. Ron Hubbard’s “The Professor Was a Thief” was presented to the Contest winners and judges. Why "The Professor Was a Thief"? Because it is the L. Ron Hubbard story included in Writers of the Future volume 38. So sit back and enjoy the performance. It’s onl...

Elizabeth Wein was a Writers of the Future Volume 9 and later a #1 NYT bestselling author of "Code Name Verity" and discusses her career as an author and her trajectory to success. She transitioned from Arthurian legend to science fiction -- including a Star Wars novel -- and thrilling adventure. Her storytelling is character driven and she explains how she goes about doing this. She became a pilo...

From science to science fiction: Jeffrey A. Carver, Edward M. Lerner, Alan Smale, Edward Willett discuss their journey from aspiring writers to award-winning and bestselling authors. We cover how they transitioned technical careers to hard sci-fi, alternate history, and space opera. Jeffrey A. Carver: www.starrigger.net/ Edward M. Lerner: www.edwardmlerner.com/ Alan Smale: www.alansmale.com/ Edwar...

The Illustrators of the Future Panel was held at the Salt Lake City FanX Convention in a packed hall and is now turned into a podcast. The panel pictured from l to r: Xiaomeng Zhang, Nick Jizba, Emily Jones-Goodwin, and Brian C. Hailes. The first half of the panel was discussions on how to create a career as an artist, and the second half was open mic Q&A. Enjoy!!

The Writers of the Future Panel was held at the Salt Lake City FanX Convention in a very packed hall. The panel pictured from l to r: Darci Stone, Eric James Stone, Todd McCaffrey, Brandon Sanderson, John Goodwin, Wulf Moon, Kary English, Z.T. Bright, and Martin Shoemaker. Plus, a 5-minute video from Anne McCaffrey on Writers of the Future and her tips to writers. The first half of the panel was d...

Evan Leikam, perhaps better known by the handle "Book Reviews Kill," is a pioneer TikToker with around 150k followers. In this podcast, we discuss how to create a TikTok brand and the value of BookTok. Find Evan on TikTok and Twitter at @BookReviewsKill; Instagram @Book_Reviews_Kill

In this episode, Crystal Crawford discusses the new Amazon episodic publishing platform - Vella. Crystal has been involved with Vella since its implementation a year ago and answers many questions regarding the platform. Vella is one of the fastest-growing publishing platforms and is very much worth checking out as a reader and author. It provides a new revenue stream for authors who can make a ve...

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author—writing mystery, thriller, YA, SF, and humor/satire. But... The reason I invited Brian to this podcast is his understanding of data analytics to bring conversion rate to publishing and... how to master Amazon descriptions. Brian Meeks created three discount codes for my Mastering Amazon Description Course (Full Price = $199.00) 1) Code = 75Hook (First 100 save...

Z. T. Bright is a Writers of the Future winner with his story "The Magic Book of Accidental City Destruction: A Book Wizard’s Guide." He was the winner of the inaugural Mike Resnick Memorial Award and was published in Galaxy’s Edge magazine in 2021. He writes anything speculative, ranging from sci-fi short stories to middle-grade fantasy novels. Writers of the Future was his second sale. “The Magi...

Ken Liu is a multiple Hugo Award-winning American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic fantasy series, “The Dandelion Dynasty,” is the first work in the “silkpunk” genre, which he created. AMC's "Pantheon" was created around the Singularity-based stories in “The Hidden Girl,” a collection of short stories by Ken. His story, “The Paper Menagerie,” is the first piece of fiction to win thr...

N. V. Haskell is a winner published in "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 38" with her story, "The Mystical Farrago." Nicole has been in healthcare for 30 years as an occupational therapist and loves people and has developed an understanding that translates into amazing character development in her award-winning storytelling. Learn more at https://NVHaskell.com

Echo Chernik is one of the most diverse and successful artists you will ever meet. In this interview, she will discuss the business of illustration and art, including how to charge for one's work. She attended Pratt Institute and has been a working artist all of her adult life and has built a very successful career, and wants to share her hard-won advice.