Jake Marley & Michael Michera Named Grand Prize Winners Of The 33rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Achievement Awards

JAKE MARLEY, a writer from Garden Grove, CA and MICHAEL MICHERA, an illustrator from Pabianice, Poland were announced as the Grand Prize Winners of "Dreamers and Dragons," at the The 33rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards for Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests in Science Fiction and Fantasy held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, presented by Author Services, Inc. and Galaxy Press on Sunday evening, April 2, 2017.

In keeping with the Awards Show Medieval Fantasy Theme, a Knight in Shining Armor presented the envelope to award presenters, Coordinating Judge David Farland and actress Erika Christensen, who announced writer Jake Marley as the Golden Pen Award winner while presenting him his $5,000 check. Jake Marley's story, "Acquisition," was illustrated by artist Ryan Richmond.

A miniature dragon, dropping from the ceiling of the stage, delivered the winning envelope to Coordinating Judge Echo Chernik and actress Sheena Chohan, who announced illustrator Michael Michera as the Golden Brush Award winner while presenting him his $5,000 check. Michael Michera illustrated writer C.L. Kagmi's story, "The Drake Equation."

Jake Marley said, "There is no better contest for new writers in the world than L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future. This experience is unparalleled. Read, write and finish what you write. Persistence is invaluable. This is an incredible honor!"

Michael Michera said, "It has been my desire to see Los Angeles for a very long time. I have had the great fortune to meet so many people. I am very grateful to L. Ron Hubbard and everyone who has made this possible. My dream is to become a concept artist in the film industry. This prize is a game changer for me!"

John Goodwin, President Galaxy Press, unveiled the 33rd Volume of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future featuring the work of the 24 award-winning new authors and illustrators and two published finalists from this year's contests. Edited by David Farland, with cover artwork by Larry Elmore, the book also features stories written by renowned writers Anne McCaffrey, Robert J. Sawyer, Larry Elmore, Todd McCaffrey and Bob Eggleton. The new anthology is now available throughout the United States from Amazon.com, BN.com, BAM.com, and in Barnes & Noble stores.

Awards for each of the Quarterly Finalists of the Writers and Illustrators Contests were presented by actors Marisol Nichols and Jim Meskimen, along with renowned judges specializing in the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

This year's 12 Quarterly Awards Winners of the Writing Contest were each presented with cash prizes and trophies. They included: Walter Dinjos of Anambra State, Nigeria (via video); Sean Hazlett of Pleasant Hill, CA; Ziporah Hildebrandt from Shutesbury, MA; Stephen Lawson of Louisville, KY; C.L. Kagmi of Ann Arbor, MI; Jake Marley of Garden Grove, CA; Ville Meriläinen of Joensuu, Finland; Andrew Peery of Durham, NC; Andrew L. Roberts of San Lorenzo, CA; Anton Rose of Durham, United Kingdom; Doug C. Souza of Modesto, CA and Dustin Steinacker of Orem, UT.

In addition, this year's book also includes the stories of two published finalists, Molly Elizabeth Atkins of St. Louis, MO and David VonAllmen of St. Louis, MO.

This year's 12 Quarterly Awards Winners of the Illustrating Contest were each presented with cash prizes and trophies. They included: Asher Ben Alpay of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines (via video); Hanna Al-Shaer of Grand Rapids, MI; Yader Fonseca of Woodside, NY; David Furnal of Beaverton, OR; Christopher Kiklowicz of Lakewood, CA; Chan ha Kim or Los Angeles, CA; Aituar Manas of Kazakhstan, Almaty; Michael Michera of Pabianice, Poland; Anthony Moravian of Brooklyn, NY; Jason Park of Pasadena, CA; Rachel Quinlan of St. Clair Shores, MI and Ryan Richmond of Carmel, IN.

The black tie optional/medieval fantasy themed event was attended by celebrities including: Marisol Nichols, Sean Cameron Michael, Erika Christensen, Jesse Kove, Joy Villa, Sheena Chohan, Diane E. Watson, retired Member of Congress, Jim Meskimen, Victoria Summer and Lee-Anne Summers.

Event attendees also included 21 world-renowned writer and illustrator contest judges specializing in the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy. The 13 Writer judges included: Kevin J. Anderson, Dr. Doug Beason, David Farland, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kress, Todd McCaffrey, Larry Niven, Jody Lynn Nye, Dr. Nnedi Okorafor, Dr. Jerry Pournelle, Timothy Thomas "Tim" Powers, Mike Resnick and Dr. Robert J. Sawyer. The eight illustrator judges included: Echo Chernik, Lazarus Chernik, Circuelo Cabral, Dr. Laura Freas Beraha, Larry Elmore, Val Lakey Lindahn, Sergey Poyarkov and Rob Prior.

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 (http://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 companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was created in 1988.

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 http://www.writersofthefuture.com and http://www.galaxypress.com .

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