Mark A. Baker
Sponsor
Received a communique from an anonymous friend (not an Anonymous Friend ) who has been practicing the old "OT" drill: Being a Point on a Wall.
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On Friday night, the The Writers of the Future (http://www.writersofthefuture.com/ http://www.writersofthefuture.com/ ) and The Illustrators of the Future awards ceremony was held. This is where they get all the people who won $500, $750, and $1000 (writers) or $500 (illustrators), and then they all get to find out who the grand prize winners are ($5000 for the winning writer, and $4000 for the winning illustrator).
Unlike many other Scn-affiliated groups, there's a hands-off policy for Writers of the Future and Illustrators of the Future -- Scn isn't discussed unless the person specifically inquires. In that sense, it's not as much of a front group as some of the "feeder" organizations, and it's likely that the cost of the contest is a net loss to Author Services.
Previous events have not been held on the Author Services premises, though.
For a number of years, the awards were a formal banquet affair ( http://www.billkatz.com/node/34 ), and rotated between cities. Last year, they were held at CalTech's Athenaeum. While there was no banquet, there was a lovely outdoor area set up with food , and there was a convenient area for people to get their books signed in the middle. Just for going, you get a free copy of the book, and of course get to meet a number of authors and illustrators you probably haven't heard of yet, as well as some you probably have.
In prior years, there's usually been a signing at a bookstore the day after the awards. This year, there wasn't, and that was a little sad, but there probably wasn't much point to staying that much later for an extra day.
The winners were gracious and radiant, and the presenters were as professional as one would expect. Unsurprisingly, the winning writers were more articulate than the winning illustrators. The grand prize winning illustrator was a woman from Detroit, who wondered if she even belonged
The staff for the event were gracious and all of them seemed happy, whether they were filming, serving drinks, handing out books, answering questions, or finding one more pen for a writer to sign with.
After the ceremony this year, everyone headed upstairs to the Galaxy Press reception rooms, which was quite the trip. The walls were lined with LRH's fiction translated into a number of languages, each book with different artwork. Every single surface of the building was covered in wood, with a beautifully coffered ceiling and beautiful casework. Had one read Jeff Hawkins's report about being in the RPF and making furniture for various orgs, one might think differently about how pretty it was. ( http://counterfeitdreams.blogspot.com/2008/04/chapter-one-going-home.html )
Aside from that one thing that stuck out as a difference with prior years, the event was a lot of fun, and offered a chance to spend some time with some really awesome writers and illustrators.
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Mark A. Baker
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On Friday night, the The Writers of the Future (http://www.writersofthefuture.com/ http://www.writersofthefuture.com/ ) and The Illustrators of the Future awards ceremony was held. This is where they get all the people who won $500, $750, and $1000 (writers) or $500 (illustrators), and then they all get to find out who the grand prize winners are ($5000 for the winning writer, and $4000 for the winning illustrator).
Unlike many other Scn-affiliated groups, there's a hands-off policy for Writers of the Future and Illustrators of the Future -- Scn isn't discussed unless the person specifically inquires. In that sense, it's not as much of a front group as some of the "feeder" organizations, and it's likely that the cost of the contest is a net loss to Author Services.
Previous events have not been held on the Author Services premises, though.
For a number of years, the awards were a formal banquet affair ( http://www.billkatz.com/node/34 ), and rotated between cities. Last year, they were held at CalTech's Athenaeum. While there was no banquet, there was a lovely outdoor area set up with food , and there was a convenient area for people to get their books signed in the middle. Just for going, you get a free copy of the book, and of course get to meet a number of authors and illustrators you probably haven't heard of yet, as well as some you probably have.
In prior years, there's usually been a signing at a bookstore the day after the awards. This year, there wasn't, and that was a little sad, but there probably wasn't much point to staying that much later for an extra day.
The winners were gracious and radiant, and the presenters were as professional as one would expect. Unsurprisingly, the winning writers were more articulate than the winning illustrators. The grand prize winning illustrator was a woman from Detroit, who wondered if she even belonged
The staff for the event were gracious and all of them seemed happy, whether they were filming, serving drinks, handing out books, answering questions, or finding one more pen for a writer to sign with.
After the ceremony this year, everyone headed upstairs to the Galaxy Press reception rooms, which was quite the trip. The walls were lined with LRH's fiction translated into a number of languages, each book with different artwork. Every single surface of the building was covered in wood, with a beautifully coffered ceiling and beautiful casework. Had one read Jeff Hawkins's report about being in the RPF and making furniture for various orgs, one might think differently about how pretty it was. ( http://counterfeitdreams.blogspot.com/2008/04/chapter-one-going-home.html )
Aside from that one thing that stuck out as a difference with prior years, the event was a lot of fun, and offered a chance to spend some time with some really awesome writers and illustrators.
--------------------------------------
Mark A. Baker