Writers of the Future Podcast

Tom Wood is a fantasy art illustrator among the best-selling poster artists in the US and Canada. We met at the Dragon Con in Atlanta 10 years ago, where he exhibited at a booth next to ours. We became friends, then great friends. We also appreciated his desire to help other artists. We invited him and he has been an Illustrators of the Future judge since 2021. In “Writers of the Future Volume 41,” he wrote an article titled “An Artist’s Path,” describing his journey from very humble beginnings to being one of the most successful poster artists in North America, which we discuss in this episode. Learn more about Tom and his art at tomwoodfantasyart.com/

Robert J. Sawyer entered Writers of the Future and won three Honorable Mentions before disqualifying himself by selling professionally. We met 20 years ago at Torcon III, where he won his first Hugo award. The following year, he was invited to Hollywood to attend the Gala and subsequently invited to be a judge. He agreed and has been a judge for 20 years as of this interview. Find him at https://www.sfwriter.com/

Tim Powers is a three-time World Fantasy Award winner and Writers of the Future Contest judge and instructor. In this podcast, we discuss why fantasy has to be believable...and how to make that happen!

Sean Williams was a Writers of the Future winner in 1992 and published in Volume 9. He became a judge in 2003. He is a NYT bestselling author of 60 books and over 120 short stories for adults, young adults, and children. Sean wrote the cover story based on Craig Elliot’s cover art for “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Volume 41” titled “Under False Colours.” In this episode, we discuss his journey as a writer, which is an inspiration in and of itself to the amateur, and the importance of short stories in establishing oneself as an author. Sean is one of the nicest people you will ever know, and this episode will provide some insight into why. Learn more about Sean at https://seanwilliams.com/

Four Illustrators of the Future winners: CL Fors, illustrator of "A World of Repetitions"; Tremani Sutcliffe, illustrator of "Ascii"; Breanda Petsch, illustrator of "Karma Birds"; and Daniel Montifar, illustrator of "The Boy from Elsewhen." We discuss their journeys as artists, Illustrator Workshop week, illustration, and the Illustrators of the Future Forum. Sign up on the forum at https://writersofthefuture.com/forum/.

These eight winners from year 41 at the Writers & Illustrators of the Future workshop and awards gala: Seth Atwater, Jr., author of "A World of Repetitions," Jefferson Snow, author of "The Rune Witch," Joel C. Scoberg, author of "The Stench of Freedom," Sandra Skalski, author of "Slip Stone," T.R. Naus, author of "Storm Damage," Haileigh Enriquez, illustrator of "Storm Damage" and "Slip Stone," HeatherAnne Lee, illustrator of "Code L1," and Andrew Jackson, author of "Code L1." We discuss their journey as creative individuals and what makes the workshop so special for them and what Writers and Illustrators of the Future means to them and to the genre.

These four winners from year 41 at the Writers & Illustrators of the Future workshop and awards gala: David Hoffrichter, illustrator of "The Rune Witch"; Lauren McGuire, author of "Karma Birds"; Barlow Crassmont, author of "The Boy from Elsewhen"; and, Patrick MacPhee, author of "Thirty Minutes or It's a Paradox."

These four winners from year 41 at the Writers & Illustrators of the Future workshop and awards gala: Robert Lowell, author of "Kill Switch"; Jordan Smajstrla, illustrator of "Kill Switch"; CL "Cherrie" Fors, illustrator of "A World of Repetitions"; Ian Keith, author of "Blackbird Stone." We discuss their journey as creative individuals and what makes the workshop so special for them and what Writers and Illustrators of the Future means to them and to the genre.

Jonathan Merkh is the President and Publisher at Forefront Books. Andrea Fleck-Nesbit, president of the Independent Book Publishers Association and a previous podcast guest, introduced Merkh to the host. Merkh previously served as vice president and publisher at Thomas Nelson Publishers, led Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, and Guidepost. Jonathan has published nearly 100 New York Times bestsellers. In 2023, Publishers Weekly recognized Forefront Books as the second fastest-growing publisher in the United States, and Inc. Magazine included Forefront Books among the nation’s top fastest-growing companies. In this episode, we discuss the history of publishing, the need to have a platform as an author, the specialty niche that Forefront Books specializes in, and tips for writers of fiction and nonfiction. Learn more at www.forefrontbooks.com/

Isaac Stewart, once an independent author and artist, now serves as the Vice President of Creative Development at Dragonsteel Entertainment. Isaac designed and illustrated the interior art for Brandon Sanderson’s “The Way of Kings,” including the Alethi Women’s script, maps, Shallan’s and Navani’s notebook pages, and additional artwork. He also created the interior art for the Mistborn series, featuring the Steel alphabet, maps, and Allomantic table. Stewart is closely linked to two Cosmere characters: Nazrilof, a character he created and partially based on himself, and the cartographer Isasik Shulin, whose name derives from Isaac’s. Beyond his contributions to Sanderson’s works, Isaac is writing books, creating cartography, and designing book covers. He collaborated with Shawn Boyles on the webcomic “Rocket Road Trip.” Isaac and his wife, Kera, joined Dragonsteel Entertainment around 2013, with Isaac hired as an in-house artist before the publication of “Words of Radiance.” Isaac attended the Life, the Universe, & Everything (LTUE) annual booksales event, where he gifted the podcast host a copy of his book “Monsters Don’t Wear Underpants” and which became part of this podcast discussion. Learn more about Isaac at https://coppermind.net/wiki/Coppermind:Artists/Isaac_Stewart