“Magic & Wizardry,” The 34th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards Gala Celebrating The Winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Honoring 12 writers and 12 illustrators from around the world for their excellence in the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy.  The Formal Attire event, a night of magic and wizardry, will be held at the The MacArthur in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, April 8, 2018.  Red Carpet Arrivals begin at 5:00 p.m. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.    This Formal Attire event is open to the General Public and is FREE of Charge, however RSVPs are required, and may be made by calling 323-466-3310 or 800-624-7907, or by E-mailing contests@authorservicesinc.com.

The opening of the show will feature Magician/Illusionist Joel Meyers (America’s Got Talent, Masters of IllusionÒ, Penn & Teller Fool Us) and Hypnotist/Mentalist Spidey (Canada’s Got Talent, Masters of IllusionÒ, Discovery Channel) performing spellbinding illusions.

Joni Labaqui, Director of the Contests for Author Services, Inc. said, “Author Services, Inc. will present awards to 24 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers and Illustrators of the Future that have been chosen as winners of the 34th Annual Contests adjudicated by world renowned Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer and Illustrator Judges.  One Grand Prize Writer Winner and One Grand Prize Illustrator Winner will be selected from a field of 12 Quarterly Writer Winners and 12 Quarterly Illustrator Winners, respectively.  Our contests promote the arts welcoming diversity, ethnicity, creativity and equality, with no age limits.  Our theme for this year’s two-hour awards show is Magic and Wizardry.  We are excited to present our event this year in The MacArthur, a historic landmark conceived in the visually opulent Gothic Revival architectural style, featuring enormous angels, elaborate murals and decorative paintings, and a cathedral-like ceiling evoking the Renaissance-era Villa Madama of Italy.  The award show will be held in Elks Hall, followed by a Book Signing and Reception in The Grand Ballroom.”

Awards Show Celebrity Guests and Presenters will include:

• Nancy Cartwright (Primetime Emmy Award-Winner, The Voice of Bart Simpson on “The Simpsons;” The Voice of Chuckie Finster in “All Grown Up” and “Rugrats” on TV
• Marisol Nichols (“Riverdale,” “NCIS,” “Teen Wolf,” “24,” “Resurrection Blvd.”)
• Catherine Bell (“Good Witch,” “Army Wives,” “The Triangle,” “JAG” and “Bruce Almighty”
• Sean Cameron Michael (“Black Sails,” “The Mummy,” “Shooter”)
• Martin Kove (“The Karate Kid,” “Rambo”)
• Lee Purcell (Primetime Emmy Award-Nominee, “Secret Sins of the Father,” “Long Road Home,” “J.L. Family Ranch,” “Kids Vs Monsters,” “Valley Girl”)
• Steven L. Sears (Co-Executive Producer, “Xena:  Warrior Princess,” Executive Producer, “Sheena,” Producer, “Raven”)
• Kerri Kasem (American Radio and Television Host and Multimedia Personality, Producer, Writer, Activist and Speaker; Founder of Kasem Cares Foundation)
• Jesse Kove (“On Wings of Eagles,” “Show No Mercy,” “The Shadow”)
• Lauren Compton (“Clown Town,” “Love Meet Hope,” “Battered,” “Created Equal”)
• Hank Garrett (“Death Wish,” “The Amityville Horror,” “Serpico”)
• Kerry O’Quinn (“Zombie Family,” “Down With David”)
• Jade Pettyjohn (“School of Rock,” “The Last Ship,” “Criminal Minds:  Suspect Behavior”)
• Phil Proctor (“Monsters, Inc.,” “Assassin’s Creed,” “Flightplan,” “Dr. Doolittle 2”)
• Judy Norton (“The Waltons,” “Stargate SG-1,” “Ed”)
  

           John Goodwin, President and Publisher of Galaxy Press, publishers of the fiction works of author L. Ron Hubbard, said: “This year’s L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Larry Elmore, the renowned Fantasy and Science Fiction Illustrator, whose distinguished career has spanned over 40 years.”  Elmore is perhaps best known for his work in the world of Dragonlance, exemplified by the covers of the DRAGONLANCE book series.  Goodwin added, “We will also have a special In Memoriam section of the show remembering two of our esteemed Contest Judges over the years, Jerry Pournelle and Yoji Kondo, who passed away recently, during which actress Judy Norton will sing.”

Gunhild Jacobs, Executive Director for Author Services, Inc. will Emcee the event, and Joni Labaqui will present The Golden Pen Award and a $5,000 Grand Prize Check to the winner of the of the Writers of the Future Contest, and The Golden Quill Award and another $5,000 Grand Prize Check will be presented to the winner of the Illustrators Contest. John Goodwin will unveil the 34th edition of “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 34” as painted by internationally renowned artist, Ciruelo, in addition to a First Time Event Audio Book of Volume 34.

This year’s live awards show will be simultaneously broadcast to a worldwide audience via the Internet.  Streaming will be live beginning at 6:30 p.m. PST from www.writersofthefuture.com where a link will be set up.  The airing time of the broadcast will vary depending on the time zone viewers are residing in.  Directly following the awards show the winning authors and illustrators will sign books at a reception to be held at The MacArthur.  This year’s contest winners will also have the opportunity to attend workshops held here in Los Angeles one week prior to the awards show to network with the renowned writer and illustrator judges of this year’s competitions to gain valuable feedback to help them advance their careers in their chosen fields of interest.
or more information, on the Contests, please visit the website, www.writersofthefuture.com Network with Writers of the Future at facebook.com/WritersAndIllustratorsOfTheFuture and on Twitter @RealWotF, as well as on Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr.

This year’s 13 Distinguished Writer Contest Judges attending include:

• Kevin J. Anderson (An international bestselling author of more than 100 books, as well as a comic writer, anthology editor, record and film producer.  Co-Author of the “Dune” prequels.)
• Dr. Doug Beason (Has written 14 high-tech novels.  He also served in the President’s Science Office in Washington, D.C.)
• Dr. Gregory Benford (Has won four Hugo Awards and is an astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physic and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.)
• David Farland (Coordinating Judge for the Writers; Editor of “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 34;” Grand Prize Winner of Writers of the Future Volume Three; a New York Times bestselling author as Dave Farland (his pen name for fantasy stories) and as Dave Wolverton (his real name that he uses for science fiction stories.)
• Eric Flint (A former contest winner from 1993, Flint has written over 40 novels, both solo and in collaboration and is Founder and Editor of Jim Baen’s “Universe.”)
• Nina Kiriki Hoffman (A 1985 contest winner, Hoffman is the winner of the Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards.)
• Nancy Kress (Multiple award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy, two Hugo, six Nebula, one Campbell and one Sturgeon awards.)
• Rebecca Moesta (Co-Author of The New York Times bestselling “Star Wars:  Young Jedi Knights” series as well as the “Star Challengers” books.)
• Larry Niven (Winner of every major science fiction award.  The legendary creator of “Ringworld” and the”Known Space”series.)
• Jody Lynn Nye (Authored or co-authored over 50 books and over 150 short stories and she has written everything from science fiction, fantasy, military to humor.)
• Timothy Thomas “Tim” Powers (American science fiction and fantasy author.  He has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels “Last Call” and “Declare.” His 1988 novel, “On Stranger Tides” served as the inspiration for the “Monkey Island” franchise of video games and was optioned for adaptation into the four “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.)
• Mike Resnick (The genre’s all-time leading award-winner for short fiction, authoring 62 novels, over 250 short stories and editing more than 40 anthologies.)
• Robert J. Sawyer (Dean of Canadian Science Fiction.  Sawyer has won every major science fiction award.  One of his novellas was the basis for the ABC-TV series,“Flash Forward.”)
  

This year’s 8 Distinguished Illustrator Judges attending include:

• Echo Chernik (Illustrator Contest Coordinating Judge) (Award-Winning Illustrator for advertising, packaging and publishing, whose work has been featured in many commercial design magazine articles.  Her artwork has also been displayed in many galleries.)
• Lazarus Chernik (An experienced Creative Director, Brand Manager, and award-winning Designer.)
• Laura Freas Beraha (She was married to the famous artist, Frank Kelly Freas.  She won a Chelsey Award for illustration.)
• Larry Elmore (This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winner.  Well known as a fantasy artist for “Dungeons & Dragons.”  He worked on “Dragonlance” amongst dozens of magazines and book covers.  Cover Designer of last year’s book, “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 33.”)
• Val Lakey Lindahn (Illustrator Judge since the inception of the contest.  Lindahn was nominated twice for the Hugo, Chesley, Frank R. Paul and Jack Gone Awards.)
• Stephan Martiniere (Has received a Gold Award from Spectrum in 2004 and Thea Award in 2001 for his work on Paramount’s “Super Saturator” theme park ride.  He was personally nominated for an Emmy Awardâ in 1994 for directorial work on Family Channel’s “Madeleine” series.)
• Sergey Poyarkov (A 1991 contest winner from the Ukraine, who has now become a contest judge and has gone on to a successful career as a fine artist with works displayed in exhibitions across Russia, the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.)
• Rob Prior (Artist who paints with two hands, event paints two separate paintings at the same time.  He has created comics, most notably “Spawn,” “Terminator,” “Deep Space 9” and “Heavy Metal.”)
  

The 12 Writer Winners of this year’s contest include:

• Janey Bell of Chicago, IL (First Quarter Winner)
• Eneasz Brodski of Lakewood, CO (Second Quarter Winner)
• Erik Bundy of Tyron, NC (Third Quarter Winner)
• Erin Cairns of Grapevine, TX (Fourth Quarter Winner)
• Vida Cruz of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines (Second Quarter Winner)
• Jonathan Ficke of Waukesha, WI (Fourth Quarter Winner)
• Amy Henrie Gillett of Katy, TX (Second Quarter Winner)
• Diana Hart of Kent, WA (First Quarter Winner)
• Cole Hehr of Norman, OK (Fourth Quarter Winner)
• N.R.M. Roshak of Ottawa, Canada (Third Quarter Winner)
• Darci Stone of Orem, UT (Third Quarter Winner)
• Jeremy TeGrotenhuis of Spokane, WA (First Quarter Winner)
  

The 12 Illustrator Winners of this year’s contest include:

• Bruce Brenneise of Seattle, WV (First Quarter Winner)
• Adar Darnov of Marlboro, NJ (Second Quarter Winner)
• Quintin Gleim of Franklin Furnace, OH (Fourth Quarter Winner)
• Alana Fletcher of Morrisville, VT (Third Quarter Winner)
• Duncan Halleck of Brussels, Belgium (First Quarter Winner)
• Anthony Moravian of Brooklyn, NY (First Quarter Winner)
• Maksym Polishchuk of Roundlake, IL (Third Quarter Winner)
• Jazmen Richardson of Sarasota, FL (Third Quarter Winner)
• Reyna Rochin of Atlanta, GA (Second Quarter Winner)
• Brenda Rodriguez of Indianapolis, IN (Second Quarter Winner)
• Kyna Tek of Gilbert, AZ (Fourth Quarter Winner)
• Sidney Lugo of Boston, MA (Fourth Quarter Winner)

About The Lifetime Achievement Award Winner:
           Larry Elmore has been creating Fantasy and Science Fiction art for over 40 years.  After receiving a BFA degree from Western Kentucky, Larry married
Betty Clemons and was drafted into the army almost at the same time.   After two years in the service, he got a job at Fort Knox, Kentucky as an illustrator.  In addition, he started freelancing at home and was published in a few magazines, including Heavy Metal and National Lampoon.  During this time he produced his best work with his wife, their two children, Jennifer and Jeremy.

Eventually, Elmore was contacted by TSR Inc., the company that produced the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and he went to work there from 1981 to 1987.  While at TSR, he helped set the standards of gaming art in the role-playing genre.  Besides creating covers for Dungeons & Dragons, AD&D, Star Frontiers and other gaming books, he created SnarfQuest Tales for the company’s Dragon Magazine.  Elmore is perhaps best known for his work with the world of Dragonlance, exemplified by the covers of the DRAGONLANCE book series.

Since 1987, Elmore has been working as a freelance illustrator, creating covers for comics, computer games, magazines, fantasy and science fiction books and many other projects.  Elmore has worked for other publishers such as BAEN books, Bantam, Warner Books, ACE/Berkley, Doubleday, and Del Rey.  He is also the co-author of Runes of Autumn and creator of the Sovereign Stone series.  In the gaming and comic industries, he has freelanced for TSR, Inc, FASA, Mayfair Games, Game Designer’s Workshop, White Wolf, Iron Crown Enterprises, Dragon Magazine, Amazing Magazine, Wizard Press, D. C. Comics, First Comics, Eclipse Comics and Frank Frazetta’s Fantasy Illustrated. Miscellaneous credits include LJN Toys, Mattel, Lucas Films, Tonka, Monogram Models, Western Publishing, Sony Entertainment’s EverQuest, and various computer game covers.  To learn more, please visit, www.larryelmore.com <http://www.larryelmore.com>

About The Contests:
           Following the 1982 release of his internationally acclaimed bestselling science fiction novel, “Battlefield Earth,” written in celebration of 50 years as a professional writer, L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Contest (www.writersofthefuture.com) in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers of speculative fiction to get that much-needed break.  Due to the success of the Writing Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was created in 1988.

The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful.  The 392 past winners of the Writing Contest have published 1,150 novels and 4,450 short stories.  The contests have produced 32 New York Times bestsellers.  Collectively, the winners of the contests have sold over 53 million books over the years.  The 322 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 4,500 illustrations, 356 comic books, graced 594 books and albums with their art and visually contributed to 36 television shows and 46 major movies.

The Writers of the Future Award is the genre’s most prestigious award of its kind and has now become the largest, most successful and demonstrably most influential vehicle for budding creative talent in the world of contemporary fiction.  Since its inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 34 anthology volumes and awarded upwards of $1 million in cash prizes and royalties.  For more information please visit www.writersofthefuture.com and www.galaxypress.com