Are you a new sci-fi or fantasy author that’s looking for some well earned recognition? Then you may want to consider entering the Writers of the Future contest!

It’s free to enter your story and you can enter one each quarter. You’ll be competing with other new authors and your story will be judged blind, meaning that your name and address will be removed prior to judging to ensure your story wins on merit alone. Here are the current judges.

Each quarter has three cash prizes: a First Prize of $1,000, a Second Prize of $750, and a Third Prize of $500, in US dollars. In addition, at the end of the year the first place winners will have their entries judged by a panel of judges, and a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $5,000. 

Winners are paid for their story, but still retain the rights so you can still publish this story on Kobo Writing Life. Winners are also flown out to Hollywood to participate in the writers workshop lead by some of the top genre authors. 

Many past winners & finalists have gone on to professional careers, using the boost from Writers of the Future. A few include: Nnedi Okorafor, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Sean Williams, Eric Flint, Stephen Baxter, etc.  

In the 35 years of the Writers of the Future Contest, there have been 416 winners and 80 published finalists. The 416 past winners of the Writing Contest have published 1,150 novels and nearly 4,500 short stories, with nearly 100 new sci-fi books and stories published in just the last year. They have produced 32 New York Times bestsellers and their works have sold over 60 million copies! 

If you’re interested in applying, you can do it by following this link. The deadline this quarter is March 31st.

If you’re interested in learning about the winners but aren’t quite ready to submit yourself, you can stream the 36th annual Writers of the Future Contest and its companion Illustrators of the Future Contests on Thursday, Aug 27, 7:30 p.m (PST). Streaming will be live from www.writersofthefuture.com. 

To help you get your story ready, they have also launched a free online writing workshop, led by Contest judges and bestselling authors David Farland, Tim Powers, and Orson Scott Card. It covers story structure, character development, the formulation of story ideas, and the business of writing.

You can also pre-order the latest release here:
https://www.kobo.com/ebook/l-ron-hubbard-presents-writers-of-the-future-volume-36