Writers of the Future Podcast

Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (WOTF 18) grew up a great student and athlete, competing semi-pro Tennis. As a result of a surgery, she was paralyzed from the waist down. She turned to writing. The very first story she wrote was the character in her winning story Windseekers published in volume 18. She could fly, which was special to Nnedi who could not walk at that time. She became a Contest judge in 2013 and provided her first how-to essay for the contest, "The Sport of Writing." Her philosophy: if you don't love the craft and art of it, you'll never experience this pure form of success. It grows from that love. Her take on a blank page: if you fear something, you give it power over you. She also explains Nnedi Rule #1: Don't look a novel in the eye until you are done with your first draft. She is now writing screenplays for Hollywood comics in the Black Panther universe with her Shuri books for Marvel. Discover her writing at Nnedi.com.

Mark Payton was an Illustrators of the Future winner in volume 25. At 57, he is now back in school studying graphic illustration. Currently, he is one of four production artists of the Star Trek fan film Axanar and has created illustrations for social media promotion and portraits of the cast of the first part of the production called, "Prelude to Axanar." Mark discusses the history of Axanar, the thousands of fans who have supported it, and the battle with CBS and Paramount to continue producing the fan movie. Here is the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W1_8IV8uhA Beyond this, Mark has been doing spot character design work for non-profits, the Salvation Factory, and magazine illustrations of turn-of-the-century architecture for the "Landmark Society of Western NY." @mpgraphics https://mpgraphicillustration.blogspot.com/

Melissa Yuan-Innes (WOTF 16) loved reading and writing as a child. She was taught to play "the safe" game for her career. So she put off being a writer. Instead, she became a medical doctor working as an emergency room doctor. That accomplished, she returned to seriously addressing her writing and has gone on to publish nearly 15 novels in SF, Fantasy, and Medical Thrillers (as Melissa Yi). At her Writers of the Future Workshop, Tim Powers told her that she had to ground him with all five senses to get him to believe. Immerse me in your environment to make me accept the fantastic. Taking this to heart, she has certainly accomplished this as in the short story - a good Melissa primer - "Fairy Tales are for White People" https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-are-White-People-ebook/dp/B01L6EDECE Find her books at melissayuaninnes.wordpress.com

Brittany Jackson had a different set of artistic goals when she started out with her career: comics or video games. She eventually realized that for a bright future she would have to make changes. With the constantly changing art environment, she has evolved and is making a living illustrating children's books as a full-time artist, with an agency representing her. For FB and IG she can be found at @beagifted.

James C. Glass, the 1991 Grand prize winning author (WOTF 7) has written 10 novels and 4 compilations, primarily hard science fiction. His first love was writing which transitioned to education for a career with twin Masters in Astronomy and Physics and then a PhD in Physics. After a long successful career, kids grown up, he transitioned back to writing in 1987 when he published his first story. He entered WOTF initially in 1987 after being introduced to the Contest by Algis Budrys, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Dean Wesley Smith. www.author-jamesglass.com

Jean-Paul Garnier is a poet, science fiction author and has become an indie bookstore owner ⎯ Space Cowboy Bookstore in Joshua Tree, CA ⎯ to pay back the joy he has gotten from science fiction. He talks about the value of science fiction, both as a fan, writer, and bookstore owner. He discusses how his involvement with Writers of the Future has paralleled his involvement with science fiction. Check out his bookstore, currently selling online, at spacecowboybooks.blogspot.com He can be reached at spacecowboybooks@gmail.com

Michael Michera, from Warsaw, Poland, was Illustrators of the Future Golden Brush Award winner for volume 33. He worked three weeks on the art he submitted to win. That is his work ethic: it requires hard work to be in the right place at the right time. And he has several examples to prove how this works. Since winning the Contest, he has been extremely busy to the point of not looking for new work as it comes to him. Here are some of tips: 1. Believe in yourself. 2. Artists are frequently shy, but you should endeavor to be everywhere. Post your art every place where it can be found. 3. In addition, have a good website. 4. Put ONLY your best work in your portfolio. 5. Be honest about deadlines with your clients. www.artstation.com/michera

Multiple World Fantasy Award-winner Tim Powers discusses suspense in storytelling. How do Ian Flemming, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly do it? They don't tell you. Luckily Hubbard did. It's a whole article. You know suspense when you read it. But with this article it helps crystalize with the examples and descriptions, you can see where you fall short and are so half-way to doing it." The essay is available in the free L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Online Workshop. www.writersofthefuture.com/writing-workshop

Dustin Panzino won Illustrators of the Future in 2011 when he was 19. Two judges in particular, Cliff Nielsen and Steven Hickman, made an impression on him to move beyond being a gallery artist with his oil paintings. He now survives well through his art as a full time profession. He transitioned from being a traditional oil painter to many other styles, including digital. When the shut down occurred, it took a few weeks to adjust his attitude, which has a lot to do with being successful during the current times. He also discusses the importance of setting goals as an artist and then moving forward and how social media has helped to keep him visible and selling. He discusses the importance of a portfolio for the type of art you want to pursue. He can be found on Instagram: inkwell_illustrations Twitter: @inkwell_ILLust Facebook: @inkwell_illustrations

Corry Lee graduated with a PhD in Physics from Harvard, but had wanted to be a writer since a young girl. She was published in Writers of the Future Volume 28 with her story, "Shut Down." Writing short fiction has improved her craft of writing overall. Now, as a PhD physicist, award winning science teacher, data geek, mom, and with the support of her husband, she has now released her first fantasy novel, "Weave the Lightning" (Solaris Books) www.corrylee.com