WRITERS OF FUTURE Volume 29 Marks its Official WOTF-A-THON National Release

The national release of Writers of the Future volume 29 is taking place this week with the kick-off of the American book signing tour dubbed "WOTF-A-THON" (Writers Of The Future-A-THON), announced Joni Labaqui, the Contests' Director. "This week marks our official launch in bookstores and online," stated Labaqui. "We have been working to build both print and online momentum for this release and look forward to a successful launch of yet another stellar crew of writers and illustrators-this year's winners."

Recently given a starred review by Publishers Weekly which stated about the book, "Adventurous, lighthearted, thought-provoking, and grim, these stories cover a wide range of science and magic, each unique, refreshing, and innovative in a variety of different ways," and concluding, "This book is not to be missed, full of exciting new writers to watch."

Fans of science fiction and fantasy can find locations, dates and times for tour events at the Writers of the Future Facebook page. Books are also available at amazon.com, bn.com, and wherever books are sold.

Twenty-five writers and artists, including the two grand prize winners Tina Gower (writer) of Chico, CA and Aldo Katayanagi (illustrator) of Chicago, IL will be executing these signings in bookstores and libraries across the United States.

The 12 Writer winners included:

• Alisa Alering (of Bloomington, IN)
• Eric Cline (of Bowie, MD)
• Tina Gower (writer's pen name; Tina Smith, real name) (of Chico, CA)
• Marilyn Guttridge (of Estacada, OR) (She is the youngest writer winner in the history of the writer's contest, winning at 17.)
• Kodiak Julian (writer's pen name; Leah Hieber, real name) (of Yakima, WA)
• Marina J. Lostetter (of Fayetteville, AZ)
• Shannon Peavey (of Kirkland, WA)
• Christopher Reynaga (of Moss Beach, CA)
• Stephen Sottong (of Eureka, CA)
• Andrea Stewart (of West Sacramento, CA)
• Brian Trent (of Prospect, CT)
• Alex Wilson (of Carrboro, N.C.)

In addition, writer Chrome Oxide, (writer's pen name; Steven Libis, real name) (of Mission Hills, CA) was honored as a published finalist.

The 12 Illustrator winners included:

• Jackie Albano (of Miramar, FL)
• Sida Chen (of Syosset, NY; born in rural China)
• Lucas Durham (of Darien, IL)
• James J. Eads (of Garden Grove, CA)
• Tiffany England (of Los Angeles, CA)
• Jon Eno (of Bluff Dale, TX)
• Aldo Katayanagi (of Chicago, IL)
• Joshua Meehan (of Tucson, AZ)
• Luis Menacho (of Jackson Heights, NY)
• Daniel Reneau (of Denver, CO)
• Karsen Slater (of Glendora, CA)
• Olivia Xu (of Brooklyn, NY and Nanjing, China)

These twelve writer and twelve illustrator winners, and one writer finalist, made it further than some several thousand others who entered the international competition, and are now seeing their story and artwork published in the bestselling Science Fiction anthology series - L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume XXIX.

The Writers of the Future writing contest (http://www.writersofthefuture.com) was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers 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 intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. The 348 past winners of the Writing Contest have published 838 novels and nearly 4,000 short stories. They have produced 27 New York Times bestsellers and their works have sold over 50 million copies.

The 276 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 TV shows and 46 major movies.

For more information on Writers and Illustrators of the Future, go to http://www.writersofthefuture.com.

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