Bryan, Texas artist Tyler Vail is the Grand Prize Winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest earning him the Golden Brush Award trophy and $5,000. His illustration of the story, “Squiddy,” by Writers of the Future Winner John Eric Schleicher is published in the international bestselling anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40. Mr. Vail was honored along with the other winners in the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests on April 25th at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood, California.Tyler Vail was born in 1996 in Dallas, Texas. At a young age, Tyler was deeply inspired by fantasy and sci-fi media and would spend many late nights striving to bring his ideas to life in the form of drawings.He would later refine his skills as an illustrator by joining every art contest he could find, actively participating in online communities, and getting feedback from anyone that would look at his art.Today, Tyler continues his passion for art and dreaming of fantastic new worlds, characters, and creatures. He enjoys working with other creatives to share in a collaborative and positive experience and strives for excellence in all aspects of the artistic process.
The Contest, one of the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world, is currently in its 41st year and is judged by some of the premier names in speculative fiction.
The Illustrators of the Future Contest judges include, Bob Eggleton (11 Chesley Awards and 7 Hugo Awards), Larry Elmore (Dungeons & Dragons book covers), Echo Chernik (graphic designs for major corporations including Celestial Seasonings tea packaging), Rob Prior (art for Spawn, Heavy Metal comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ciruelo (Eragon Coloring Book).
The Writers of the Future Contest judges include, Tim Powers (author of On Stranger Tides), Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (Dune prequel series), Robert J. Sawyer (The Oppenheimer Alternative), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), Hugh Howey (Wool), and Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series) to name a few.
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 (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 Writers of the Future Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was inaugurated five years later.
In the 40 years of the Writers of the Future Contest, there have been 559 winners and published finalists. The past winners of the Writing Contest have published 2,000 novels and nearly 6,300 short stories. They have produced 36 New York Times bestsellers, and their works have sold over 60 million copies.
In the 35 years of the Illustrators of the Future Contest, there have been 406 winners. The past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 6,800 illustrations, 390 comic books, graced 700 books and albums with their art, and visually contributed to 68 television shows and 40 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 speculative fiction. Since its inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 40 anthology volumes (with this event) and awarded upwards of $1 million in cash prizes and royalties.
For more information about the contests, go to www.WritersoftheFuture.com.
Courtesy of Galaxy Press
