Writers of the Future Podcast
Providing writing and illustrating tips and advice from Contest Judges, Winners and industry professionals for writers and artists, along with needed inspiration to keep on going! Based on the world-famous Writers of the Future Contest created in 1983 by L. Ron Hubbard.
Episodes
Today’s guests are Jim, Tamra, and Taylor Meskimen along with Kirby Heyborne. The Meskimens were recorded in a studio in Los Angeles while Kirby was from his home in Utah. This episode discusses creating the Writers of the Future Volume 41 audiobook.
Jim is an actor, comedian, and impressionist best known for his voice-over work in video games. His IMDB page has over 330 entries, some of which include Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Thun...
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April 19, 2025 • 58 mins
On the evening of Thursday, April 10, 2025 at the 41st Annual Writers of the Future and the 36th Annual Illustrators of the Future L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards Gala in the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Randyn C. J. Bartholomew from Brooklyn, NY was named the 2025 Grand Prize Writer Winner and Jordan Smajstrla of Boerne, TX was named the 2025 Grand Prize Illustrator Winner.
Randyn C. J. Bartholomew said, “This is a d...
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March 30, 2025 • 62 mins
Robert Hatch has over thirty years experience as a director/producer/writer of dramatic films, documentaries, and television series, and his films have received over three hundred awards and honors from film festivals in the U.S. and internationally.
He stated that he is always on the lookout for new material to turn into movies.
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March 24, 2025 • 59 mins
David Howard, renowned for his screenplay of DreamWorks’ Galaxy Quest, brings a wealth of experience from television and live theatre. Interestingly, his spot on the podcast isn’t just due to his film industry credentials. The mix-up between Galaxy Press and Galaxy Quest, a common occurrence at conventions where fans routinely confuse the two, made him an especially relevant guest when the opportunity presented itself at the Life, ...
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March 17, 2025 • 59 mins
Jen Finelli is a physician and injured adventurer. Her real-life adventures have ranged from the funny and silly (like getting herself locked in a German nunnery by accident) to the beautiful (like scuba diving with sharks) to the severe and tragic (like breaking her spirit as she held the dying and watched sexual assault victims suffer without justice).
So she often writes fantastical science fiction with a real-life military, me...
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March 10, 2025 • 58 mins
Michael La Ronn built a writing career publishing 10-12 books per year while raising a family, working a full time job, and even attending law school classes in the evenings. In this interviews, we discuss how he has juggled all this and maintained a very positive outlook.
Learn more at www.michaellaronn.com
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March 2, 2025 • 60 mins
Today’s guest is Edward Ashton, author of "Mickey 7" along with his most recent title "The Fourth Consort."
His novel, "Mickey 7" has been made into the just released movie "Mickey 17."
When Edward is not writing his international bestselling novels, he enjoys cancer research, teaching quantum physics to sullen graduate students, and whittling.
https://www.edwardashton.com/
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February 24, 2025 • 64 mins
Dave Butler, pen name DJ Butler, and David Afsharirad have created a new publisher, Ark Press. Dave Butler was a guest on episode 246, discussing navigating right and wrong in storytelling.
Ark Press mission is to provide stories where humans win in the end.
In this episode, we discuss a new press called Ark Press and an exciting writing competition—America 2076—to be published in 2026. That’s why it's speculative fiction.
Learn...
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February 18, 2025 • 59 mins
Toni Weisskopf is an American science fiction editor and the publisher of Baen Books. She has won the Phoenix Award, the Rebel Award, and the Neffy Award for best editor. She uses the nom de plume T. K. F. Weisskopf as an anthology editor.
Writers of the Future and Toni initially met in New York in 1989, where she was a volunteer helping at the Awards event! She has since worked with Jim Baen, working under him as an editor and we...
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February 10, 2025 • 61 mins
Z.S. “Zac” Diamanti, per his own bio, went to college forever and has too many pieces of paper on his wall as a result. He is a USAF veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and has worked in ministry for 10 years.
Zac came highly recommended by Superstars organizers. And rightly so. The “Guard in the Garden” is a cozy fantasy, a subgenre that has not been addressed before on this podcast. What is fascinating is how he successfully u...
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February 4, 2025 • 61 mins
Marc Cameron is a former US Marshal and author of the Arliss Cutter novels, the Jericho Quinn series, and the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan books starting with "Power" and "Empire."
His law enforcement career has spanned over thirty years, from uniformed police officer to mounted patrol officer and detective before becoming a US Marshal, where he served as a Deputy, Fugitive Task Force Commander, Supervisory Deputy, Senior Inspector, and C...
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January 27, 2025 • 67 mins
Scot Noel was a guest earlier, which you can listen to on episode 210. Scot was a Writers of the Future Volume 6 winner in 2010 and has since gone on to write more SF and created DreamForge, now in its fourth year. He has also spent quite some time working in computer science, specifically AI, and likens it to the parable of the two blind men describing an elephant, which we discuss in this interview.
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January 20, 2025 • 60 mins
Douglas Richards was a guest earlier in episode 211. In it, we discuss the blur between science and science fiction and the theme will continue in this episode. His most recent book, “The Breakthrough Effect,” was written as ChatGPT made its official appearance and so is very relevant.
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January 14, 2025 • 57 mins
David Hankins was a “Writers of the Future Volume 39” winner in 2023 with his short story “Death and the Taxman.” In this interview, we discuss science fiction comedy vs. satire and its value to the overall genre.
He has since gone on to create a series based on his short story. The first was appropriately titled “Death and the Taxman,” and the second, now releasing, “Death and the Dragon.”
He was a guest earlier as a winner and...
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January 5, 2025 • 61 mins
Victoria Sutherland created Foreword Reviews Magazine in 1998. Since its inception, Foreword Reviews has never strayed from its mission to help booksellers and librarians discover great books from indie presses. Authors may not know that librarians need a trade review to order books, which is what Foreword Reviews is.
They include 100–125 reviews per bi-monthly issue.
Anyone listening to this podcast will receive a 15% discount ...
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January 1, 2025 • 60 mins
Steve Smith is the President and Publisher of Sky Turtle Press/Oasis Family Media. He began his publishing career in 1984.
Throughout the 1990s, he was active in licensing entertainment industry properties for publishing projects, working with Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Sony Pictures.
This interview discusses the importance of family-friendly content and the evolution of print books to audiobooks.
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December 21, 2024 • 58 mins
Adam Schomer is a filmmaker who created “Selling Superman,” which is the basis of this podcast interview.
He is president of i2i Productions and goes to extreme lengths to follow stories that empower.
His documentaries include award winners: “The Highest Pass,” “The Polygon,” “One Little Pill,” “Women of the White Buffalo,” and the documentary I watched, “Selling Superman,” about a family whose father collected comics … tens of t...
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December 18, 2024 • 60 mins
Andrea Fleck-Nisbet is the CEO of IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Assn), which is growing rapidly. After this interview with Andrea, it is no wonder why. She is a significant force of nature and, from my perspective, a major reason for this growth.
In this interview, we discuss Indie publishing as well as author publishing. (She corrected me when I used the term self-publishing.)
We discuss IBPA, its importance to the future o...
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December 8, 2024 • 61 mins
Elise Stephens credits much of her storytelling influence to a lifelong love of theater and childhood globetrotting. Her work focuses on themes of family, memory, and finding hope after a devastating loss.
I originally met her when she won the Writers of the Future competition in 2018 with her short story “Untrained Luck” appearing in Writers of the Future Vol 35.
When I learned of her book, “Forecast,” her invitation to this po...
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December 1, 2024 • 59 mins
Myke was a Writers of the Future Contest winner in volume 19 with his story “Blood and Horses.”
He is an American author of fantasy, science fiction, and nonfiction. His series includes the Shadow Ops, Reawakening, and Sacred Throne. His career also involves television, and he has appeared on the CBS reality show Hunted and the Discovery Channel series Contact.
Myke Cole is a fire/rescue responder in New York’s Hudson Valley. He...
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