L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest (3rd quarter 2024)

L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new science fiction and fantasy artists worldwide to have their work judged by some of the masters in the field and discovered by a wide audience.

This Contest will run from April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024.

The Contests

Writers & Illustrators of the Future

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests have left an indelible mark on the fields of science fiction and fantasy. With more than three decades of developing new professional writers and more than a quarter century of cultivating new professional illustrators, the impact that the two Contests have had on the field is impossible to measure.

Renowned author and critic Algis Budrys led the original Writers of the Future Contest, with a blue-ribbon panel of science fiction legends serving as judges: Dr. Gregory Benford, Robert Silverberg, Theodore Sturgeon, Jack Williamson, and Roger Zelazny. The first awards ceremony was held in 1985 in Beverly Hills, California.

But the Contest was formed for a purpose beyond simply giving awards—it was intended to help foster the next generation of master writers. Budrys developed a world-class workshop to accompany the awards ceremony. The prototype workshop was held in Taos, New Mexico, with fellow authors (and Contest judges) Frederik Pohl and Gene Wolfe.

RULES

• Each entrant may submit only one set of illustrations in each Contest quarter. The entry must be original to the entrant and previously unpublished. Plagiarism, infringement of the rights of others, or other violations of the Contest rules will result in disqualification. Winners in previous quarters are not eligible to make further entries.
• The entry shall consist of three illustrations done by the entrant in a color or black-and-white medium created from the artist’s imagination. Use of gray scale in illustrations and mixed media, computer generated art, and the use of photography in the illustrations are accepted. Each illustration must represent a subject different from the other two.
• ENTRIES SHOULD NOT BE THE ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, but should be color or black-and-white reproductions of the originals of a quality satisfactory to the entrant. Entries must be submitted unfolded and flat, in an envelope no larger than 9 inches by 12 inches.
• All hard copy entries must be accompanied by a self-addressed return envelope of the appropriate size, with the correct US postage affixed. (Non-US entrants should enclose international postage reply coupons.) If the entrant does not want the reproductions returned, the entry should be clearly marked DISPOSABLE COPIES: DO NOT RETURN. A business-size self-addressed envelope with correct postage (or valid e-mail address) should be included so that the judging results may be returned to the entrant. We only accept entries that do not require a delivery signature for us to receive them.
• To facilitate anonymous judging, each of the three photocopies must be accompanied by a removable cover sheet bearing the artist’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and an identifying title for that work. The reproduction of the work should carry the same identifying title on the front of the illustration and the artist’s signature should be deleted. The Contest Administration will remove and file the cover sheets, and forward only the anonymous entry to the judges.