33rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards Celebrates Global Writers

Author Services, Inc. and Galaxy Press will present The 33rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards celebrating the winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests, honoring 12 writers and 12 illustrators from around the world in the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

30 Celebrities and VIPS:

• Wofilof, A 12 Foot Long Medieval Dragon Head, which is 6 Feet Tall and 6 ½ Feet Wide; A Knight in Shining Armor (played by Matt Eusey), and Dazzling Damsel (played by Rebecca Eusey). A Don't Miss Photo Op!!!
• Marisol Nichols (Award Presenter, Riverdale, NCIS, Felon, Lost Girls, Teen Wolf, 24, Resurrection Blvd.)
• Erika Christensen (Award Presenter, Screen Actors Guild Award Winner for Traffic, Parenthood, Flightplan, Swimfan, The Upside of Anger)
• Jim Meskimen (Award Presenter, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Frost/Nixon, How The Grinch Stole Christmas)
• Sean Cameron Michael (24, Shooter, Black Sails, Tears in the Rain, Blood Drive)
• Jade Pettyjohn (School of Rock, McKenna Shoots for the Stars, Girl Flu, Rufus-2, Henry Danger, The Last Ship)
• Sheena Chohan (Award Presenter, Indian Actress and Model for Kolkata. Won the Lakme Miss Kolkata title; winner of the "I am voice" title at Miss India Universe; films include Piprabidya, The Train, Ant Story)
• Kerri Kasem (American Radio and Television Host and Multimedia Personality, Producer, Writer, Activist and Speaker; Founder of Kasem Cares Foundation; Co-Host of the syndicated The New American Funding Radio and The Mortgage Radio Show and Anchor, with Ashley Marriott of The Kerri Kasem Podcast; Writer and Producer for ALO Magazine as their Motor Editor; Daughter of the late legendary and iconic radio host, Casey Kasem)
• Pat Henry, President and Co-Founder of Dragon Con, Inc. (Keynote Speaker)
• Mike Resnick, Science Fiction and Fantasy's all-time leading award-winner for short fiction, authoring 62 novels, over 250 short stories and editing more than 40 anthologies. (Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient)
• Jesse Kove (On Wings of Eagles, Show No Mercy, The Shadow, SyFy Channels' Axe Giant, Steve The Intern, Son of actor Martin Kove)
• Lisa London (Casting Director for Hannah Montana, Grandma's Boy, The House Bunny, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Hit The Floor, The First Family, Supah Ninjas, Grace Under Fire, Roseanne, Ellen, Falcon Crest)
• Steven L. Sears (Producer for Xena: Warrior Princess, Sheena, Raven, Swamp Thing)
• Jon Shestack (Producer for Air Force One, Dan In Real Life, Before I Fall)
• Lee-Anne Summers (South African-born actress, Momentum, Big Fellas, Safari, Binnelanders)
• Laura Compton (ClownTown; Dreaming Don't Make it So; Killer Camera Monsters)
• Dennys Ilic (Camera and Electrical Department for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; The Matrix Revolutions)
• Spencer Jones (Film Editor for In Search of Fellini, I Had a Bloody Good Time at House Harker, Wanderer and Lennon)
• Thorsten von Overgaard (Danish Writer and Photographer specializing in portrait photography and documentary photography. Publications include: After the Tsunami, The Lightroom Survival Kit andThe Salzburg Collection)
• Victoria Summer (Transformers: Age of Extinction; Saving Mr. Banks: Game of Aces; How Sweet It Is)
• Joy Villa (Also known as Princess Joy Villa is an American Singer and Songwriter. Know for her EP, I Make The Static, and her dresses worn at the Grammy Award)
• Brianna Winner and Brittany Winner, The Winner Twins (Authors of "The Stand Prophecy," "Extinctions Embrace," "PCT," "Secret Writing Method")
• Gunhild Jacobs (Awards Show Emcee and Executive Director for Author Services, Inc.)
• Meliva Koch (Event Producer, Author Services, Inc.)
• Joni Labaqui (Contests Director and Director of Public Affairs, Author Services, Inc.)
• Emily Jones-Goodwin (Vice President, Public Relations, Author Services, Inc.)
• John Goodwin (President and Publisher, Galaxy Press)

8 Live Performances:

• EMCirque, the Hollywood and Las Vegas based Circus Entertainment Production Company, which creates a large variety of performances in the United States and internationally, will be performing at the event. The company fuses together difference circus techniques, styles and world cultures. The group has appeared at the Academy AwardsÔ, Intel, Caesar's Palace, The Mirage and Mandalay Bay. Show Opening Performance: Fire Fan Dancers, Kess Lito (Ksenia Litomisky), Kit Kat (Katelyn Dawn Carano) and Anya Panchenko with Renowned Speed Illustrators ambidextrous Rob Prior and Larry Elmore painting a Dragon. Other EMCirque performers who will be performing during the show include: Jumping Stilts Artists Antonio Moore and Katt McLaren (Kathryn McLaren) andAerialist Elisabeth Marie Blanchard. There will be three dance performances inspired by the stories, including: "Moonlight One" by Stephen Lawson with two acrobats on bouncing stilts; "The Drake Equation" by C.L. Kagmi with an aerialist using straps and "The Fox, The Wolf and The Dove" by Ville Meriläinen with one hoop dancer with fire.

The 12 Writer Winners of this year's contest include:

• Walter Dinjos of Anambra State, Nigeria (Second Quarter Winner) (who will participate via video). Story: "The Woodcutters' Deity" illustrated by Chan ha Kim. Synopsis: Nduka thinks he is going insane. He may be right, for only an insane person would talk to a tree. The problem is, the tree someTimes Talks back. It has a devious plan for him, and he's not going to like it. Inspiration: "I once thought that African fantasy was vastly unexplored-I still think that. However, I didn't imagine that I could do anything about it until I read Nnedi Okorafor's "Who Fears Death." Then I thought, Hmm, it seems these white folks enjoy traditional tribal tales that are peculiar to Africa, particularly the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, West Africa. 'The Woodcutters' Deity' is simply one of my attempts at capturing that African feeling."

Websites: https://www.walterdinjos.com/ https://www.dinjos.com/ and Sub-Saharan Magazine, http://www.subsaharanmagazine.com/
Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://ng.linkedin.com/in/walterdinjos
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WalterEmekaDinjos
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WalterDinjos
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+WalterDinjos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walterdinjos/

• Sean Hazlett of Pleasant Hill, CA (First Quarter Winner). Story: "Andramelech" illustrated by Aituar Manas. Synopsis: "Adramelech" is the story of a man named Logan who makes a Faustian bargain with an ancient demon in exchange for strange powers. The demon forces Logan to use these gifts to do unspeakable things forcing Logan to discover the true meaning of free will.

• Inspiration: "To be honest, I'm not really sure what inspired me to write 'Adramelech.' It may have been one of those lazy Sunday afternoons when I was trolling the Internet for ideas. One thing I do know is that in these meanderings, I discovered the existence of two books on demons. The first was called The Lesser Key of Solomon and the second, The Dictionnaire Infernal. The former was an anonymous grimoire compiled sometime in the mid-seventeenth century from sources several centuries older than that and is divided into five books. The first of these books, the Ars Goetia, includes descriptions of the evocation of seventy-two distinct demons. The latter book, was The Dictionnaire Infernal, a book on demonology composed by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy and published in 1818. It was in one of the various editions of this book that Adramelech appeared. References to Adramelech have also appeared in the Bible (2 Kings 17:31) and John Milton's Paradise Lost. Adramelech was a Mesopotamian sun god akin to Moloch. In its various incarnations, Adramelech has often been depicted as having a human body, a mule's head, and a peacock's tail. The demon is frequently associated with human sacrifice, specifically the practice of burning children as a form of worship. In crafting this story, I combined many of these elements in addition to adding some of my own, particularly Adramelech's ability to possess others and to bestow that power onto others. This is my seventeenth submission to Writers of the Future."
  Website: www.reflectionsofarationalrepublican.com Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanphazlett
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sphazlett/

• Ziporah Hildebrandt of Shutesbury, MA (Fourth Quarter Winner). Story: "The Long Dizzy Down" illustrated by Asher Ben Alpay. Synopsis: In the distant future, humans and intelligent machines can communicate telepathically. After multiple memory wipes, and AI starship is the only home Bill knows. He loves his work, his brother, the ship...and being a hero. Then it all changes.

• Inspiration: Inspired by a dream, 'The Long Dizzy Down' tells Bill's story as his world is turned inside out. I woke up with the character, the world, the intensity, and then years of translation to transform those dream impressions into a story."

• Stephen Lawson of Louisville, KY (Second Quarter Winner). Story: "The Moonlight One" illustrated by Jason Park. Synopsis: Ehrly and Gwen Kennedy are the only two people living in an enclosed biosphere on the Moon. When Gwen wakes up to find Ehrly brutally stabbed to death, she has no one to turn to. In desperation she contacts her ex-fiancé, Jonas Wren, to help her prove her innocence. Stephen Lawson's blog, which regularly features exclusive flash fiction and short stories can be found at:

• http://stephenlawsonstories.wordpress.com

• C.L. Kagmi of Ann Arbor, MI (Third Quarter Winner). Story: "The Drake Equation" illustrated by Michael Michera. Synopsis: 'The Drake Equation' explores why we haven't heard from alien life - and whether we may be in danger of extinction. When a scientist becomes the victim of a freak accident, she must determine whether she is experiencing extraterrestrial contact - or the hallucinations of a dying brain. Inspiration: "I've long been fascinated by the Drake Equation. This is an equation, which, if solved, would tell us the total number of technological civilizations in our galaxy. Scientists have long debated - and worried - over why the number seems, based on current data, to be 'one.' If you look at the equation, there are three possible reasons why the number might be so low. It could be that technological civilizations are vanishingly rare and only appear around one out of 100 billion stars. It could be that they're hiding from us, that we're not hearing from them because they're choosing not to broadcast radio signals. Or it could be that technological societies are incredibly short-lived, driving themselves to extinction soon after developing radio. My story, named for this equation, examines the second and third options - and leaves the reader to decide which is more likely true, and why."

• Jake Marley of Garden Grove, CA (Third Quarter Winner). Story: "Acquisition" illustrated by Ryan Richmond. Synopsis: Barlow is a collector of the dead, acquiring wandering ghosts and binding them to their bones for sale to the highest bidder. When he encounters a loose spirit in the California desert, something stronger than he's ever seen before, he realizes that there might be more to these ghosts than he previously thought.

• Inspiration: "The idea came to me driving home at night from Las Vegas years ago. The desert is vast and black on the edges of that road, when all you can see are lights of the cars around you. I imagined a young woman running out of that darkness, needing help but full of strange secrets, and the story evolved from there."

Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jake.marley.58?pnref=story
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeofEarth2
Blog: https://jakemarley.wordpress.com/
Monthly article for ThisIsHorror.co.uk: http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/?s=midnight+mix-tape

• Ville Meriläinen of Joensuu, Finland (Third Quarter Winner). Story: "The Fox, The Wolf and The Dove" illustrated by David Furnal. Synopsis: When winter seems eternal, three sisters embark on a path of myth and tradition to bring back spring. Inspiration: "I wrote the story during my language studies in the UK, during a heat wave that made me miss the Finnish winter so much that I put on some Black Metal and decided to write a cold story drawing from Nordic mythology."

• Andrew Peery of Durham, NC (Fourth Quarter Winner). (This is his first entry; he is a doctor of anesthesiology.) Story: "Useless Magic" illustrated by Hanna Al-Shaer. Synopsis: In the modern world, the children of the great magical families find that the skills of their parents have not passed on to them. As one failed magician settles into an ordinary life, he struggles with his own regret and the cruel disapproval of his father. Only when a chance encounter finally gives him insight into the powers he has always wanted does he come to understand both the value and limitations of magic. Inspiration: "For most of us, it is hard to become an adult. We don't become the people we thought we would be. Even when we are successful our successes may not be what we imagined. The dream of magic, for me, is really a dream of fixing ourselves, and the world. I wanted to write about magicians who kept failing and what that failure would feel like."

• Andrew L. Roberts of San Lorenzo, CA (Fourth Quarter Winner). Story: "Tears From Shülna" illustrated by Rachel Quinlan. Synopsis: William Ghallchoir's father is dying, but a hole in ground in no place for a man of the sea. So, William will summon a selkie - his father's first love and the last of her kind- to end his pain and take him to his final rest. It is a kindness, the cost of which is beyond the young man's imagining. Inspiration: "This story was inspired in part from having cared for my mother as she was dying of cancer, coupled with my love of Celtic culture, Folklore and stories of the sea. It was also a gift for my wife, who loves selkies and mermaids."

• Anton Rose of Durham, United Kingdom (First Quarter Winner). Story: "A Glowing Heart" illustrated by Anthony Moravian. Synopsis: When their mother falls ill and they can't afford hermedicine, Nevan and his brother are faced with a terrible choice: they can watch their mother die, or they can scale the dangerous cloud-cliffs to hunt for heart of a light-hawk.

• Inspiration: "I had the idea for the story while reading H is for Hawk, a beautiful memoir by Helen MacDonald about her experience of training a goshawk while trying to come to terms with her father's death." Website: www.antonrose.com Twitter: @antonjrose

• Doug C. Souza of Modesta, CA (Second Quarter Winner). Story: "The Armor Embrace" illustrated by Christopher Kiklowicz. Synopsis: The mech-suit 'Viathan of the Slayer class is a walking tank of raw power. 'The Armor Embrace' takes a look at the man controlling the suit. He's been in a terrible battle and feels he doesn't have much time left. He's trapped in the machine and wants to get home to his daughter before it's too late.

• Inspiration: "For the longest time I wanted to do a story with mech-bots; giant machines of heavy metal and awesome strength. Nothing happened in the first few drafts--just a bunch of robots going at it. Then I had a daughter. Among the infinite joy, I was surprised at how helpless I felt when she was two days old and reached up to grab my pinky when she was having routine blood drawn. Everything I knew--all the collected knowledge and experience--was useless because I couldn't ease her pain. About a month later I was writing about a rugged soldier in a mech-suit and realized what a dichotomy it was for a father to be in that situation. Plus, I really dug the opening scene of a little girl smiling up at a walking tank."

Website: www.dougcsouza.com
Author Page: www.amazon.com/authordougsouza
Facebook: at Doug Souza

• Dustin Steinacker of Orem, UT (First Quarter Winner). Story: "Envoy in the Ice" illustrated by Yader Fonseca. Synopsis: More than a century ago, a being calling itself 'Envoy' was discovered in the Antarctic. Since then it's been the subject of theory, efforts at diplomacy, and worship--yet the human race still knows nothing of its origin or purposes. Sang, a member of the international Envoy program, makes his ninth yearly visit to Envoy's stomping grounds, and what he finds there just might reshape the Earth itself....

• Inspiration: "This story's biggest influences are Peter Watts, 80s genre films, and the dozens of 'mission to a mysterious planet' Star Trek episodes I watched growing up."

In addition, this year's book will also include the stories of two published finalists. They are:

• Molly Elizabeth Atkins, Speculative Fiction Writer of St. Louis, MO. Story: "Obsidian Spire" illustrated by Aituar Manas. Synopsis: A young warrior sets out to quash rumors that a long dead wizard has returned to wreak havoc on the countryside, but when she grudgingly accepts a village boy as her guide, she discovers that there's more to everything than meets the eye.

• Inspiration: "This story began as a simple exercise to explore a side character for a different story, but when the story began to click, I realized I had something bigger on my hands. Varga, and her friend Fiske, sprang to life. Now, I don't even remember what the original story was supposed to be about. This one turned out to be much more fun!"

Website and Blog: https://matkinswrites.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MollyElizabethAtkins/
Twitter: @matkinswrites

• David VonAllmen of St. Louis, MO. Story: "The Magnificent Bhajan" illustrated by Chan ha Kim. Synopsis: In an alternate medieval India, the once-famous Bhajan has become useless - his magic abilities fading as he grows elderly. When he finds evidence that a traitorous threat to the kingdom - a sorcerer he thought he'd defeated for good in his glorious youth - has returned to take revenge, Bhajan realizes that only he can save his homeland. But as he pieces together the means to track down his former nemesis he is plagued by one question: has the traitor really returned, or is he fooling himself so that The Magnificent Bhajan can feel useful once again?

• Inspiration: "I'm from St. Louis, the hometown of Rock and Roll legend Chuck Berry who, despite being nearly 90 years old, has been known to perform at small venues around town on rare occasion. He's nothing like he used to be, and can barely play guitar anymore. It got me wondering what it would be like to be truly great at something and have age take it away from you.

Website: http://davidvonallmen.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidvonallmenwrites/
Twitter: @VonAllmenDavid

The 12 Illustrator Winners of this year's contest include:

• Asher Ben Alpay of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines (Fourth Quarter Winner) illustrated "The Long Dizzy Down" written by Ziporah Hildebrandt.

Website: www.artofasher.com
https://www.artstation.com/artist/artofasher

• Hanna Al-Shaer of Grand Rapids, MI (Third Quarter Winner) illustrated "Useless Magic" written by Andrew Peery.

Website: http://yoyokat55.devianart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoyokat/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ARTyoyokat/
http://hannaalshaer.portfoliobox.io/

• Yader Fonseca of Woodside, NY (First Quarter Winner) illustrated "Envoy in the Ice" written by Dustin Steinacker.

• David Furnal of Beaverton, OR (Third Quarter Winner) illustrated "The Fox, The Wolf and The Dove" written by Ville Meriläinen.

Social Media: Instagram: @InfernalDavid
Tumblr: http://Piratewithoutacause.tumblr.com
Twitter: @dfurnal

• Christopher Kiklowicz of Lakewood, CA (Second Quarter Winner) illustrated "The Armor Embrace" written by Doug C. Souza.

https://artstation.com/artist/chrisik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopherjameskiklowicz/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

• Chan ha Kim of Los Angeles, CA (First Quarter Winner) illustrated "The Woodcutters' Deity" written by Walter Dinjos and "The Magnificent Bhajan" written by David VonAllmen.

• Aituar Manas of Kazakhstan, Almaty (First Quarter Winner) illustrated "Obsidian Spire" written by Molly Elizabeth Atkins and "Adramelech" written by Sean Hazlett.

• Michael Michera of Pabianice, Poland (Third Quarter Winner) illustrated "The Drake Equation" written by C.L. Kagmi.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michera.machine/
Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/artist/michera
Facebook: https://facebook.com/michaelmichera
CGPlus: https://michera.cgplus.com/

• Anthony Moravian of Brooklyn, NY (Second Quarter Winner) illustrated "A Glowing Heart" written by Anton Rose.

• Jason Park of Pasadena, CA (Second Quarter Winner) illustrated "Moonlight One" written by Stephen Lawson.

• Rachel Quinlan of St. Clair Shores, MI (Fourth Quarter Winner) illustrated "Tears For Shülna" written by Andrew L. Roberts.

Website: http://www.rachelquinlan.com

• Ryan Richmond of Carmel, IN (Fourth Quarter Winner) illustrated "Acquisition" written by Jake Marley.

Website: http://www.ryanrichmond-art.com
Social Media: https://www.artstation.com/artist/ryanrichmond
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanrichmond_art/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanrichmondart/

This year's 13 Distinguished Writer Contest Judges include:

• Kevin J. Anderson (An international bestselling author of more than 100 books, as well as a comic writer, anthology editor, record and film producer. Co-Author of the "Dune" prequels.)
• Dr. Doug Beason (Has written 14 high-tech novels. He also served in the President's Science Office in Washington, D.C.)
• David Farland (Editor of "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 33;" Grand Prize Winner of Writers of the Future Volume Three; a New York Times bestselling author as Dave Farland (his pen name for fantasy stories) and as Dave Wolverton (his real name that he uses for science fiction stories.)
• Nina Kiriki Hoffman (A 1985 contest winner, Hoffman is the winner of the Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards.)
• Nancy Kress (Multiple award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy, two Hugo, six Nebula, one Campbell and one Sturgeon awards.)
• Todd McCaffrey (Has authored many novels and short stories, including works in the Pern Series, created by his mother, Anne McCaffrey.)
• Larry Niven (Winner of every major science fiction award. The legendary creator of "Ringworld" and the"Known Space"series.)
• Jody Lynn Nye (Authored or co-authored over 50 books and over 150 short stories and she has written everything from science fiction, fantasy, military to humor.)
• Nnedi Okorafor (An international award-winning novelist and professor of African-based science fiction, fantasy and magical realism for both children and adults. She was a finalist in Writers of the Future in 2002. Her novels include: "Binti: A Novella Series," Winner of both the Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novella.)
• Dr. Jerry Pournelle (A multiple award-winning, bestselling writer and popular columnist including such novels as "Lucifer's Hammer.")
• Timothy Thomas "Tim" Powers (American science fiction and fantasy author. He has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels "Last Call" and "Declare." His 1988 novel,On Stranger Tides served as the inspiration for the "Monkey Island" franchise of video games and was optioned for adaptation into the four "Pirates of the Caribbean" film.)
• Mike Resnick (Recipient of this year's L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award. The genre's all-time leading award-winner for short fiction, authoring 62 novels, over 250 short stories and editing more than 40 anthologies.)
• Robert J. Sawyer (Dean of Canadian Science Fiction. Sawyer has won every major science fiction award. One of his novellas was the basis for the ABC-TV series,"Flash Forward.")

This year's 8 Distinguished Illustrator Judges include:

• Echo Chernik (Award-Winning Illustrator for advertising, packaging and publishing, whose work has been featured in many commercial design magazine articles. Her artwork has also been displayed in many galleries.)
• Lazarus Chernik (An experienced Creative Director, Brand Manager, and award-winning Designer)
• Circuelo Cabral (Born Gustavo Cabral, Ciruelo is an Argentine fantasy artist whose work focuses especially on dragons. He now resides in Spain.)
• Laura Freas Beraha (She was married to the famous artist, Frank Kelly Freas. She won a Chelsey Award for illustration.)
• Larry Elmore (Well known as a fantasy artist for"Dungeons & Dragons." He worked on "Dragonlance" amongst dozens of magazines and book covers. Cover Designer of this year's book, "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 33")
• Val Lakey Lindahn (Illustrator Judge since the inception of the contest. Lindahn was nominated twice for the Hugo, Chesley, Frank R. Paul and Jack Gone Awards.)
• Sergey Poyarkov (A 1991 contest winner from the Ukraine, who has now become a contest judge and has gone on to a successful career as a fine artist with works displayed in exhibitions across Russia, United Kingdoem, Europe and the USA.)
• Rob Prior (Artist who paints with two hands, event paints two separate paintings at the same time. He has created comics, most notably "Spawn," "Terminator," "Deep Space 9" and "Heavy Metal.")

WHERE & WHEN:
Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 743 Lucerne Boulevard (on the Wilshire Boulevard and Lucerne Boulevard), Los Angeles, CA 90005 on Sunday, April 2, 2017. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the General Public. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.

HOW:
This Black Tie Optional or Medieval Formal Awards Show is open to the General Public and is FREE of Charge, however RSVPs are required, and may be made by calling Author Services, Inc. at 323-466-3310 or 800-624-7907, or by E-mailing contests@authorservicesinc.com. Complimentary Parking will be provided at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre for guests attending the event. To view a B-roll link of what to expect at this year's show, please visit: https://youtu.be/lk8OZVU3aRk

For more information, on the Contests, please visit the website, www.writersofthefuture.com . Network with Writers of the Future athttps://www.facebook.com/WritersAndIllustratorsOfTheFuture and on Twitter @RealWotF, as well as on Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr.

MORE INFO:
Author Services, Inc. and Galaxy Press will present the 33rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards celebrating the winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests, honoring 12 writers and 12 illustrators from around the world for their excellence in the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy. The Black Tie Optional or Medieval Fantasy Formal event will be held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 743 Lucerne Boulevard (at Wilshire Boulevard), Los Angeles, CA 90005 on Sunday, April 2, 2017. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the General Pubic. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.

Joni Labaqui, Director of the Contests for Author Services, Inc. said, "Author Services, Inc. will present awards to 24 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers and Illustrators of the Future that have been chosen as winners of the 33rd Annual Contests adjudicated by 27 world renowned Science Fiction and Fantasy writer and illustrator judges. One Grand Prize Writer Winner and One Grand Prize Illustrator Winner will be selected from a field of 12 Quarterly Writer Winners and 12 Quarterly Illustrator Winners, respectively. Our theme for this year's awards show and event attire will be Medieval Fantasy,with a predominant dragon theme. The opening performance of the event will feature performers from EMCirque in a Live Fire Dance on stage while internationally renowned artists and Contest Judges, Rob Prior and
Larry Elmore, together create a painting from scratch for the audience during the performance. Acrobats, Stilt Artists and Aerialists from EMCirque will also perform during the course of the awards show."

Pat Henry, President and Co-Founder of Dragon Con, Inc., Atlanta's 31-year-old internationally known pop culture, fantasy and science fiction convention, combining fandoms and genres into a single event featuring comics, film, television, costuming, art, music and gaming over Labor Day Weekend, will serve as the event's Keynote Speaker. Henry said, "I am honored to speak at an event recognizing emerging new talents in the genres of fantasy and science fiction, which I am so passionate about. I've heard the event will have a Medieval Dragon theme to it, which thrills me to no end. I'm looking forward to it!"

John Goodwin, President and Publisher of Galaxy Press, publishers of the fiction works of author L. Ron Hubbard, said: "This year's
L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Mike Resnick, the genre's all-time leading award-winner for short fiction, authoring 62 novels, over 250 short stories and editing more than 40 anthologies."

Gunhild Jacobs, Executive Director for Author Services, Inc. will Emcee the event, and Joni Labaqui will present The Golden Pen Award and a $5,000 Grand Prize Check to the winner of the of the Writers of the Future Contest, and The Golden Quill Award and another $5,000 Grand Prize Check will be presented to the winner of the Illustrators Contest.

John Goodwin will unveil the 33rd edition of "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 33" as painted by internationally renowned artist, Larry Elmore.

This year's live awards show will be simultaneously broadcast to a worldwide audience via the Internet. Streaming will be live beginning at 6:30 p.m. PST from www.writersofthefuture.com where a link will be set up. The airing time of the broadcast will vary depending on the time zone viewers are residing in. Directly following the awards show the winning authors and illustrators will sign books at a reception to be held on the Wilshire Ebell Theatre grounds. This year's contest winners will also have the opportunity to attend workshops held here in Los Angeles one week prior to the awards show to network with the renowned writer and illustrator judges of this year's competitions to gain valuable feedback to help them advance their careers in their chosen fields of interest.

About The Keynote Speaker and His Company, Dragon Con:
Pat Henry is the President and Co-Founder, along with David Cody, John Bunnell and Robert Dennis of Dragon Con, Inc., Atlanta's 31-year-old internationally known pop culture, fantasy and science fiction convention, combining fandoms and genres into a single event featuring comics, film, television, costuming, art, music and gaming over Labor Day Weekend annually. For many Dragon Con fans, the quality of the cosplay and costuming distinguishes this one convention from all the others. Under Pat Henry's leadership, Dragon Con has become one of the largest pop culture conventions in the nation, based on attendance. The convention attracted over 77,000 unique individuals (over 250,000 turnstile) for the thirtieth anniversary in 2016.

Over nearly three decades, Dragon Con has grown from the little Atlanta convention that defied the rules to one of the largest pop culture conventions in the world. Along the way, it changed the expectations for a successful convention. While small conventions still focus on one or two genres, the largest conventions combine literature, television and movies, comics and gaming, just as Dragon Con did for the first time back in 1986. To learn more, please visit www.dragoncon.org .

About The Lifetime Achievement Award Winner:
Mike Resnick is a native of Chicago. He attended the University of Chicago from 1959 to 1961 where he met his future wife, Carol. The couple married in 1961. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Resnick wrote more than 200 "adult" novels under pseudonyms, edited seven tabloid newspapers, and edited a trio of men's magazines. He also produced a weekly column on horse racing for more than a decade, and for 11 years wrote a monthly column on purebred collies, which he and his wife bred and exhibited. His wife Carol is also a writer, as is his daughter, Laura Resnick, who is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author. Resnick's papers, consisting of at least 125 boxes, are in the Special Collections Library of the University of South Florida in Tampa. He was the Guest of Honor at Chicon 7, the 2012 Worldcon held in Chicago. He now lives in Cincinnati, OH. Resnick is the recipient of five Hugo Awards. He has won numerous other awards from places as diverse as France, Japan, Spain, Croatia and Poland. Mike Resnick is first on the Locus list of all-time award winners, living or dead, for short fiction, and 4th on the Locus list of science fiction's all-time top award winners in all fiction categories. To learn more, please visithttp://mikeresnick.com .

About The Contests:
Following the 1982 release of his internationally acclaimed bestselling science fiction novel, "Battlefield Earth," written in celebration of 50 years as a professional writer, L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Contest (www.writersofthefuture.com) in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers of speculative fiction to get that much-needed break. Due to the success of the Writing Contest, the companionIllustrators of the Future Contest was created in 1988.

The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. The 380 past winners of the Writing Contest have published 1,150 novels and 4,450 short stories. The contests have produced 32 New York Timesbestsellers written by 12 authors: Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland), Sean Williams, Jo Beverly, Nancy Farmer, Linda Smedman, Karen Joy Fowler, Patrick Rothfuss, Tim Myers, Eric Flynt, Dean Wesley Smith, Tobias Buckle and Elizabeth Wein.

Writers of the Future Winners have garnered 117 major awards including: National Endowment for the Arts Award, Newbery Honors - American Library Association Award, The National Book Award, Ditmar Awards, Aurealis Awards, South Australia Great Literature Awards, Peter McNamara Awards, RITA Awards, Nebula Awards, World Fantasy Awards, Pen/Faulkner Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, Smithsonian Magazine, Storytelling World Award, Children's Literature Choice Lists, Family Magazine, Philip K. Dick Memorial Awards, International Book Awards, West Hollywood Book Festival, Global E-book Awards, Next Generation Book Awards, Quill Award, Gemmell Awards, The Edgar Award, World Fantasy Award, Theodore Sturgeon Award, Bram Stoker Award and Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.

17 Illustrators of the Future Contest Winners have won 144 awards, including: Academy Award Winner (Shaun Tan for Best Animated Short Film for 2011, The Lost Thing), Emmy Award nomination (David Hartman for Roughneck: Starship Trooper), National Society of Arts and Letters, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Ditmar Awards and Hugo Awards.

Collectively, the winners of the contests have sold over 53 million books over the years. The 310 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 4,500 illustrations, 356 comic books, graced 594 books and albums with their art and visually contributed to 36 television shows and 46 major movies.

The Writers of the Future Award is the genre's most prestigious award of its kind and has now become the largest, most successful and demonstrably most influential vehicle for budding creative talent in the world of contemporary fiction. Since its inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 33 anthology volumes and awarded upwards of $1 million in cash prizes and royalties. For more information please visit www.writersofthefuture.com and www.galaxypress.com

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