L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 35 Read online

  Wonder, adventure, and mystery abound in these exciting new stories!

  In a strange country in a distant future, a desperate mediator must negotiate a contract between two crime lords—“Untrained Luck” by Elise Stephens

  Sometimes the gods are cruel, and sometimes they are kind; sometimes they need a person to show them the difference—“The First Warden” by Kai Wolden

  A kindly old murderer on a doomed ship finds himself pitted against an evil god as he battles to save mankind—“The Damned Voyage” by John Haas

  Idealists generally start revolutions—and either die in them, or are condemned by the men they fought for—“The Idealist” by L. Ron Hubbard

  Li is struggling to defeat God, but is he following his own will, or is he just another one of God’s puppets?—“Thanatos Drive” by Andrew Dykstal

  At the edge of a faraway solar system, an android with noble intent finds that they must rob the dead to aid the living—“A Harvest of Astronauts” by Kyle Kirrin

  It’s tough to be a disabled girl struggling to live on the moon, especially when your best friend is in danger, but having a great attitude helps—“Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler” by Wulf Moon

  Beneath Lake Mead lurks an ancient warrior—“Lost Robot” by Dean Wesley Smith

  When aliens take over the world, one father decides to take vengeance on the people who bullied his daughter—“Are You the Life of the Party?” by Mica Scotti Kole

  Would you kill a child?—“Release from Service” by Rustin Lovewell

  Those who can see the beauty of math sometimes find it overbearing—“Dark Equations of the Heart” by David Cleden

  Buying your first submarine is always exciting, but it can also be a struggle—“Yellow Submarine” by Rebecca Moesta

  When Claire’s father cuts down the old tree at the edge of the garden, it was because the old enchanter had an itch for something he couldn’t quite describe—“An Itch” by Christopher Baker

  There’s a lot to be learned from the crotchety old wizard who lives in the trailer house at the end of the road, but perhaps the most important things aren’t what he is trying to teach—“Dirt Road Magic” by Carrie Callahan

  Walter has always loved his wife, but is his love for her more enduring than time itself?—“A Certain Slant of Light” by Preston Dennett

  Read on to discover amazing tales from some of the most talented new authors from around the globe, along with gorgeous art and timely advice from our panel of blue-ribbon judges.

  L. RON HUBBARD

  Presents

  Writers of the Future

  Anthologies

  * * *

  “Not only is the writing excellent … it is also extremely varied. There’s a lot of hot new talent in it.”

  —Locus magazine

  “Where can an aspiring sci-fi artist go to get discovered? … Fortunately, there’s one opportunity—the Illustrators of the Future Contest—that offers up-and-coming artists an honest-to-goodness shot at science fiction stardom.”

  —Sci-Fi magazine

  “Always a glimpse of tomorrow’s stars.”

  —Publishers Weekly starred review

  “The book you are holding in your hands is our first sight of the next generation of science fiction and fantasy writers.”

  —Orson Scott Card

  Writers of the Future Contest judge

  “This is an opportunity of a lifetime.”

  —Larry Elmore

  Illustrators of the Future Contest judge

  “The road to creating art and getting it published is long, hard, and trying. It’s amazing to have a group, such as Illustrators of the Future, there to help in this process—creating an outlet where the work can be seen and artists can be heard from all over the globe.”

  —Rob Prior

  Illustrators of the Future Contest judge

  “The Writers of the Future experience played a pivotal role during a most impressionable time in my writing career. And afterward, the WotF folks were always around when I had questions or needed help. It was all far more than a mere writing contest.”

  —Nnedi Okorafor

  Writers of the Future Contest published finalist 2002 and Contest judge

  “I really can’t say enough good things about Writers of the Future.… It’s fair to say that without Writers of the Future, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

  —Patrick Rothfuss

  Writers of the Future Contest winner 2002

  “If you want a glimpse of the future—the future of science fiction—look at these first publications of tomorrow’s masters.”

  —Kevin J. Anderson

  Writers of the Future Contest judge

  “The Writers of the Future Contest is a valuable outlet for writers early in their careers. Finalists and winners get a unique spotlight that says ‘this is the way to good writing.’ ”

  —Jody Lynn Nye

  Writers of the Future Contest judge

  “The Contests are amazing competitions. I wish I had something like this when I was getting started—very positive and cool.”

  —Bob Eggleton

  Illustrators of the Future Contest judge

  “Speculative fiction fans will welcome this showcase of new talent.… Winners of the simultaneous Illustrators of the Future Contest are featured with work as varied and as exciting as the authors.”

  —Library Journal starred review

  L. Ron Hubbard PRESENTS

  Writers of the Future

  VOLUME 35

  * * *

  The year’s twelve best tales from the Writers of the Future international writers’ program

  Illustrated by winners in the Illustrators of the Future international illustrators’ program

  Three short stories from authors L. Ron Hubbard / Dean Wesley Smith / Rebecca Moesta

  With essays on writing and illustration by L. Ron Hubbard / Mike Resnick / Rob Prior

  * * *

  Edited by David Farland Illustrations

  Art Directed by Echo Chernik

  GALAXY PRESS, INC.

  © 2019 Galaxy Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

  Any unauthorized copying, translation, duplication, importation or distribution, in whole or in part, by any means, including electronic copying, storage or transmission, is a violation of applicable laws.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  For information, contact Galaxy Press, Inc. at 7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California, 90028.

  “Untrained Luck”: © 2019 Elise Stephens

  “The First Warden”: © 2019 Kai Wolden

  “The Damned Voyage”: © 2019 John Haas

  “Tomorrow’s Miracles”: © 1982 L. Ron Hubbard

  “The Idealist”: © 1992 L. Ron Hubbard

  “Thanatos Drive”: © 2019 Andrew Dykstal

  “A Harvest of Astronauts”: © 2019 Kyle Kirrin

  “Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing Moon Dawdler”: © 2019 Wulf Moon

  “Lost Robot”: © 2019 Dean Wesley Smith

  “Are You the Life of the Party?”: © 2019 Mica Scotti Kole

  “Release from Service”: © 2019 Rustin Lovewell

  “Dark Equations of the Heart”: © 2019 David Cleden


  “Yellow Submarine”: © 2007 Rebecca Moesta

  “An Itch”: © 2019 Christopher Baker

  “Dirt Road Magic”: © 2019 Carrie Callahan

  “A Certain Slant of Light”: © 2019 Preston Dennett

  Illustration on pages 8 and 39: © 2019 Aliya Chen

  Illustration on pages 9 and 63: © 2019 Alexander Gustafson

  Illustration on pages 10 and 95: © 2019 Allen Morris

  Illustration on pages 11 and 164: © 2019 Brian C. Hailes

  Illustration on pages 12 and 184: © 2019 Qianjiao Ma

  Illustration on pages 13 and 220: © 2019 Sam Kemp

  Illustration on pages 14 and 226: © 2019 Alice Wang

  Illustration on pages 15 and 273: © 2019 Josh Pemberton

  Illustration on pages 16 and 303: © 2019 Emerson Rabbitt

  Illustration on pages 17 and 333: © 2019 Vytautas Vasiliauskas

  Illustration on pages 18 and 359: © 2019 David Furnal

  Illustration on pages 19 and 373: © 2019 Jennifer Ober

  Illustration on pages 20 and 397: © 2019 Yingying Jiang

  Illustration on pages 21 and 403: © 2019 Christine Rhee

  Cover Artwork and pages 7 and 263: One of Our Robots Is Missing © 2019 Bob Eggleton

  Interior Design by Jerry Kelly

  This anthology contains works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Opinions expressed by nonfiction essayists are their own.

  Trade paperback ISBN 978-1-61986-604-1

  eBook ISBN 978-1-61986-601-0

  Kindle ISBN 978-1-61986-602-7

  Printed in the United States of America.

  BATTLEFIELD EARTH is a registered trademark owned by Author Services, Inc., and is used with its permission. WRITERS OF THE FUTURE (word and medallion) and ILLUSTRATORS OF THE FUTURE and its logo are trademarks owned by the L. Ron Hubbard Library and are used with permission.

  Download a free copy of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 25. Includes articles by L. Ron Hubbard and Robert Silverberg along with 24 award-winning authors and illustrators.

  Discover the new visionaries of imagination in the Writers of the Future 25th anniversary volume, showcasing the best new talent of the year.

  Contents

  * * *

  Introduction by David Farland

  Cover Art by Bob Eggleton

  The Illustrators of the Future Contest

  Directing the Art by Echo Chernik

  Untrained Luck by Elise Stephens

  ILLUSTRATION BY ALIYA CHEN

  The First Warden by Kai Wolden

  ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDER GUSTAFSON

  The Damned Voyage by John Haas

  ILLUSTRATION BY ALLEN MORRIS

  Tomorrow’s Miracles by L. Ron Hubbard

  The Idealist by L. Ron Hubbard

  ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN C. HAILES

  Thanatos Drive by Andrew Dykstal

  ILLUSTRATION BY QIANJIAO MA

  A Harvest of Astronauts by Kyle Kirrin

  ILLUSTRATION BY SAM KEMP

  Super-Duper Moongirl and the Amazing

  Moon Dawdler by Wulf Moon

  ILLUSTRATION BY ALICE WANG

  Tips for Embryonic Pros by Mike Resnick

  Lost Robot by Dean Wesley Smith

  STORY INSPIRED BY BOB EGGLETON’S One of Our Robots Is Missing

  Are You the Life of the Party? by Mica Scotti Kole

  ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH PEMBERTON

  Release from Service by Rustin Lovewell

  ILLUSTRATION BY EMERSON RABBITT

  Dark Equations of the Heart by David Cleden

  ILLUSTRATION BY VYTAUTAS VASILIAUSKAS

  Advice for Artists by Rob Prior

  Yellow Submarine by Rebecca Moesta

  ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID FURNAL

  An Itch by Christopher Baker

  ILLUSTRATION BY JENNIFER OBER

  Dirt Road Magic by Carrie Callahan

  ILLUSTRATION BY YINGYING JIANG

  A Certain Slant of Light by Preston Dennett

  ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINE RHEE

  The Year in the Contests

  Free Book Offer

  Writers’ Contest Rules

  Illustrators’ Contest Rules

  Introduction

  by David Farland

  * * *

  David Farland is a New York Times bestselling author with more than fifty novels and anthologies to his credit. He has won numerous awards, including the L. Ron Hubbard Gold Award in 1987, and has served as Coordinating Judge of the Writers of the Future for more than a dozen years.

  He has helped mentor hundreds of new writers, including such #1 bestselling authors as Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings), Stephenie Meyer (Twilight), Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), James Dashner (The Maze Runner), and others. While writing Star Wars novels in 1998, he was asked to help choose a book to push big for Scholastic, and selected Harry Potter, then helped develop a bestseller strategy.

  In addition to his novels and short stories, Dave has also assisted with video game design and worked as a greenlighting analyst for movies in Hollywood. Dave continues to help mentor writers through the Writers of the Future program, where he acts as Coordinating Judge, editor of the anthology, and teaches workshops to our winning authors. He also teaches online classes and live workshops. www.davidfarland.com

  Introduction

  Welcome to L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 35.

  In this collection you will find twelve outstanding stories from new authors that we’ve discovered from around the world, and it was my pleasure, as Coordinating Judge of the Writers’ Contest, to dig through the piles of manuscripts and discover these new writers. Each of the stories is also illustrated by an artist that we have discovered through our sister competition, the Illustrators of the Future Contest.

  Every three months, thousands of writers and artists send their entries to the Contest (usually submitting their work online), and then I get to read the stories, sift through them, consider them carefully, and then pass the top eight stories on to our panel of blue-ribbon judges, who vote for their favorite stories.

  In the field of short fiction, there really aren’t other contests quite like the Writers and Illustrators of the Future. Sure, there are other contests, but none of them offer quite so much as these do. Yes, the cash awards, payment for publication, the training of new writers and illustrators, and the opportunity to get published are all great. In fact, the Writers of the Future Contest has become the premiere vehicle to help new authors launch careers into the professional marketplace.

  Not only has the anthology become an international bestseller, topping many of the sales charts for anthologies of short stories, but it has also begun winning awards based on its high quality, as I mention in the “Year in the Contest” article at the back of this book.

  But this year I want to focus on just how long this has been going on. This is the 35th year for the Writers’ Contest and the 30th year for the Illustrators’ Contest. That means that if you are reading this, the chances are excellent that these contests have been going on since before you were born. (The median age for all people is only 29.6 years, so statistically, odds are that you’re under that age.) That’s unprecedented for this kind of talent search. As a young writer in college, I began searching for writing contests to enter, and every year I might find one or two, but all of the ones that I entered passed away long ago. Only this one endures.

  As a collection of stories, this one is unique. As an editor, the stories are submitted as “blind entries.” That means that I don’t know who wrote the story, whether the
author was male or female, old or young. I don’t know the author’s race, religion, or nationality. I don’t know anything about the entrants. All that I get to see is an assigned number on a story—nothing more.

  Of course, we accept submissions from anyone, anywhere in the world. Because there is no cost to enter either contest, no matter how humble the means of an author or illustrator, or how far away they are, anyone can enter. So we tend to get a lot of winners from around the globe. In fact, we had five winners from the UK this year (the most in any volume ever) along with one from Canada.

  Since the judging is blind, I get to focus on the various qualities of the story—the power of its concept, the exploration of themes, the author’s facility with story, the stylistic strengths of the piece, and the use of voice and tone.

  I can’t judge the stories based on any hard standard, I have to look at each story in the competition and then compare them to one another. Ultimately, I go through several rounds of judging and make my picks, and that can be hard. I might be trying to compare a comedy to a thriller, or a story with a strong futuristic voice to one that has a great historical flavor. In other words, I am comparing apples and oranges to bananas and kumquats.

  Some of the stories will be among our eight finalists, another few stories will be semi-finalists, perhaps thirty or so will be Silver Honorable Mentions, and others will be Honorable Mentions.

  The Honorable Mention awards are becoming more and more coveted, and part of me wants to give more of them out. Very often we will get fine stories that really don’t have anything particularly wrong with them. I sometimes wish that I could do more to encourage some of those writers who have their work “rejected.” In short, I see a lot of fine work by some dedicated writers who don’t place.

  At this point, I like to give young authors a hint about what I am looking for, and there is something that I have never mentioned: I search for stories where the author has a strong grasp not only of how the world works, but how it could work better.

  Let me explain that statement. Some people, when they write a story, will show characters with problems, and often those problems remain unresolved in the story. I might have a story, for example, that deals with a divorce, or with a broken legal system. But if an ending doesn’t resolve well, it worries me. One of the most common endings in stories by new authors is that the protagonist in the story faces a huge problem and gives up—usually by killing him or herself. I won’t publish those stories. I’m not looking for authors who recognize problems; I want authors who are bright enough to see solutions. I want authors who are not only capable of talking eloquently about problems, but who can ultimately, if they desire, have a positive effect upon the world.