CONTEST RULES    
    

OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW AND AMATEUR WRITERS OF NEW SHORT STORIES OR NOVELETTES OF SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY

NO ENTRY FEE IS REQUIRED

ENTRANTS RETAIN ALL PUBLICATION RIGHTS
 

ALL AWARDS ARE ADJUDICATED BY PROFESSIONAL WRITERS ONLY    
     
PRIZES EVERY THREE MONTHS: $1,000, $750, $500    
     
ANNUAL GRAND PRIZE: $4,000 ADDITIONAL!    

DON'T DELAY!
SEND YOUR ENTRY TO:

L. Ron Hubbard'S
WRITERS OF THE FUTURE
CONTEST
P.O. BOX 1630
LOS ANGELES, CA 90078

1. No entry fee is required, and all rights in the story remain the property of the author. All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror with fantastic elements, are welcome.

2. All entries must be original works, in English. Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person's universe, without written permission will result in disqualification. Excessive violence or sex, determined by the judges, will result in disqualification. Entries may not have been previously published in professional media.

3. To be eligible, entries must be works of prose, up to 17,000 words in length. We regret we cannot consider poetry, or works intended for children.

4. The Contest is open only to those who have not had professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium. Professional publication is deemed to be payment, and at least 5,000 copies, or 5,000 hits.

5. Entries must be typewritten or a computer printout in black ink on white paper, double spaced, with numbered pages. All other formats will be disqualified. Each entry must have a cover page with the title of the work, the author’s name, address, telephone number, email address and an approximate word count. Every subsequent page must carry the title and a page number, but the author's name must be deleted to facilitate fair judging.

6. Manuscripts will be returned after judging only if the author has provided return postage on a self addressed envelope.  If the author does not wish return of the manuscript, a #10  (business size) self-addressed, stamped envelope (or valid email address) must be included with the entry in order to receive judging results.

7. We accept only entries for which no delivery signature is required by us to receive them.

8. There shall be three cash prizes in each quarter: a First Prize of $1,000, a Second Prize of $750, and a Third Prize of $500, in U.S. dollars or the recipient's locally equivalent amount. In addition, at the end of the year the four First Place winners will have their entries rejudged, and a Grand Prize winner shall be determined and receive an additional $4,000. All winners will also receive trophies or certificates.

9. The Contest has four quarters, beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1. The year will end on September 30. To be eligible for judging in its quarter, an entry must be postmarked no later than midnight on the last day of the quarter.

10. Each entrant may submit only one manuscript per quarter. Winners are ineligible to make further entries in the contest.

11. All entries for each quarter are final. No revisions are accepted.

12. Entries will be judged by professional authors. The decisions of the judges are entirely their own, and are final.

13. Winners in each quarter will be individually notified of the results by mail.

14. This contest is void where prohibited by law.
          

 
ABOUT THE
L. Ron Hubbard
WRITERS OF THE FUTURE
CONTEST        
     

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest is an ongoing competition designed to discover new and amateur writers of science fiction and fantasy, present certificates of merit when earned and award monetary prizes to the winners. L. Ron Hubbard established the Writers of the Future Contest in 1983 to help new writers and his literary agency, Author Services Inc., has continued to sponsor it ever since. As early as 1935, he had begun helping other writers—a lifelong commitment-by publishing articles on the art and craft of writing. Later, in 1940, he launched his very first contest for aspiring writers over the radio in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Publication of his own first professional short story in 1934 launched one of the most spectacular and prolific writing careers of the 20th century, embracing genres ranging from adventure, western, historical, romance, mystery, suspense and horror to science fiction and fantasy. L. Ron Hubbard produced more than 250 published works of fiction, close to one third of those in the speculative fiction genres.

L. Ron Hubbard marked his return to science fiction in 1982 with the publication of his bestselling, highly acclaimed Battlefield Earth. Why science fiction? As he wrote in the Introduction, science fiction “is the herald of possibility. It is the plea that someone should work on the future. Yet it is not prophecy. It is the dream that precedes the dawn when the inventor or scientist awakens and goes to his books or his lab saying, ‘I wonder whether I could make that dream come true in the world of real science.’”

Underscoring his own success as a writer, his love of the speculative fiction genre and his lifelong commitment to helping new writers, L. Ron Hubbard launched the Writers of the Future Contest in 1983. His embracive vision for it was clear: to have the top professional science fiction and fantasy authors as judges, with a published anthology of the winning stories, illustrated by professional artists of the genre. The resounding success of the Contest and the anthology—and public demand for more—led to another Contest year and another anthology, yet another Contest year and yet another anthology.

In 1988, the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest was launched as an expression of L. Ron Hubbard’s wish that the relationship between the written word and the illustrator’s art would not perish. In the Golden Age of Science Fiction—in which he played such an instrumental part—he fondly remembered that the illustrators of his stories—and those of others—were as important to the readers as were the writers.

The full scope, impact and influence of these competitions are almost undefinable. From the very first L. Ron Hubbard Awards Event held in 1984, from the very first writing workshop based on L. Ron Hubbard’s essays on writing, from the very first volume of the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Anthology of newly discovered talent, there has been a swelling tide of interest in the program. Professional speculative fiction authors and artists of the first rank offer to lend a hand; the broad media takes enthusiastic notice; agents and publishers look to the Contest’s winners for their next publishing contracts; hundreds of writers have been discovered and many have—after their initial publication in the anthology—pursued distinctively successful careers in writing. Awards, recognitions and proclamations for L. Ron Hubbard and the Writers of the Future Contest have abounded.

L. Ron Hubbard passed from this life in 1986. Yet his history-making legacy of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests—and its enduring significance as a prime discovery vehicle for the best new creative talent continues to flourish vitally under the auspices of his literary agency, Author Services Inc., in Hollywood, California. Just as L. Ron Hubbard, the writer, changed the genre of speculative fiction in the 20th century, so too is this legacy changing the genre as we embark upon the 21st century.
     

"A culture is as rich and as capable of surviving as it has imaginative artists. The artist is looked upon to start things. The artist injects the spirit of life into a culture. And through his creative endeavors, the writer works continually to give tomorrow a new form.

"In these modern times, there are many communication lines for works of art.
    

Because a few works of art can be shown so easily to so many, there may even be fewer artists. The competition is very keen and even dagger sharp.

"It is with this in mind that I initiated a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged."

—L. Ron Hubbard

© 1986 — 2003 L. Ron Hubbard Library. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. WRITERS OF THE FUTURE and the Writers of the Future logo are trademarks owned by
L. Ron Hubbard Library.

Source:

http://www.writersofthefuture.com/index2.htm