Story Details
Published on 2024-04-14
Congratulations on 40 Years of success! Has it really been four decades? Along the way, the Contest has grown in stature, reputation, and success, adding the Illustrators of the Future Contest in 1988 and launching many new careers in writing and illustration. Now in our 5th year, DreamForge Magazine itself was inspired by L. Ron Hubbard’s contest and the work of long-time Coordinating Judge Algis Budrys, whose editorial work in Tomorrow Speculative Fiction magazine is, in part, a model for our efforts. In founding the Contest, L. Ron Hubbard saw Writers of the Future as a way of giving back to the speculative fiction community by finding, promoting, and educating new talent. That effort has brought prominent new voices to the field, ranging from Hugo Award-winning Robert Reed and NYT Best Seller David Farland to U.S. National Book Award-winner Nancy Farmer, just to name a few. While the big success stories stand out, it should never be forgotten that well over 500 contest winners have published thousands of novels and short stories or have used their skills to found and edit anthologies, write for computer games, become writing coaches, and more. Like many other Contest winners, DreamForge Editor and Publisher Scot Noel adheres to the ‘Pay it Forward’ lessons of the Contest, using DreamForge to help find and publish first time authors. And our DreamCaster writers’ group continues to encourage new authors and help them hone their craft. We wish L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest a wonderful 40th Anniversary and godspeed on its way to half a century of success. From everyone at DreamForge Magazine!
