by Harrison Held
The Writers & Illustrators of the Future Awards were presented at the luxurious Taglyan Complex in Hollywood nicely hosted by Galaxy Press president Gunhild Jacobs.
The big winners were writer Jack Nash of Arlington VA & illustrator Tyler Vail of Bryan TX who respectively won Grand Prizes for the 40th Annual Writers of the Future & 35th Annual Illustrators of the Future of the 2024 L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards in Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Writers from all over the world compete and the elegant black tie event featured great entertainment provided by the British Swing Band the Jive Aces and the Hollywood Hotshots dance team. As always the Taglyan Cultural Centers' gourmet food was delicious with great service.
Twelve pairs of awards were presented by contest judges. Winning writers are paired with the winning illustrators--a wonderful collaboration for both.
Video highlights included the 40-year history of the awards and I enjoyed seeing video of the late great scifi writer Ray Bradbury who was a mentor & inspiration to so many aspiring writers. I remember attending a birthday party for Ray at the WGA hosted by Hugh Hefner & will never forget him saying that every morning he woke up with his brain exploding with ideas.. What a wonderful state for a Sci fi writer to be in!
For more information and photos visit www.writersofthefuture.com