
L. Ron Hubbard established the 'Writers of the Future" Contest in late 1983, offering new and aspiring writers a chance to have their works seen and read. Since that beginning, the imaginative works from these exceptionally talented new writers in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror have been published in one of the "L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future" anthologies and have provided readers an escape to new worlds ever since.P As was L. Ron Hubbard's intention, many of these talents have gone on to become established writers. Now for the first time, sixteen creative stories from the first eight volumes that helped launch successful careers have been assembled, providing hours of reading entertainment—your ticket to spellbinding adventures across the galaxy. P The writers in this book include many you now know, who were-in most cases-first published in one of the earlier anthologies. These names include: James Alan Gardner, Karen Joy Fowler, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Robert Reed, Dean Wesley Smith, Ray Aldridge, Jamil Nasir, M. Shayne Bell, Jo Beverley, Leonard Carpenter, J.R. Dunn, Nancy Farmer, Astrid Julian, Michael H. Payne, Bruce Holland Rogers and Dave Wolverton.P This first-rate collection includes works from judges Anne McCaffrey, Frederick Pohl and Tim Powers, who if given the opportunity to enter this contest at the inception of their careers, would have done so with these well-told tales. Also included are invaluable tips on writing from Frank Herbert and Algis Budrys. P
Author

Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome, John A. Sentry, William Scarff, Paul Janvier, and Sam & Janet Argo. Called "AJ" by friends, Budrys was born Algirdas Jonas Budrys in Königsberg in East Prussia. He was the son of the consul general of the Lithuanian government, (the pre-World War II government still recognized after the war by the United States, even though the Soviet-sponsored government was in power throughout most of Budrys' life). His family was sent to the United States by the Lithuanian government in 1936 when Budrys was 5 years old. During most of his adult life, he held a captain's commission in the Free Lithuanian Army. Budrys was educated at the University of Miami, and later at Columbia University in New York. His first published science fiction story was The High Purpose, which appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. Beginning in 1952 Budrys worked as editor and manager for such science fiction publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. Some of his science fiction in the 1950s was published under the pen name "John A. Sentry", a reconfigured Anglification of his Lithuanian name. Among his other pseudonyms in the SF magazines of the 1950s and elsewhere, several revived as bylines for vignettes in his magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, is "William Scarff". He also wrote several stories under the names "Ivan Janvier" or "Paul Janvier." He also used the pen name "Alger Rome" in his collaborations with Jerome Bixby. Budrys' 1960 novella Rogue Moon was nominated for a Hugo Award, and was later anthologized in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (1973). His Cold War science fiction novel Who? was adapted for the screen in 1973. In addition to numerous Hugo Award and Nebula Award nominations, Budrys won the Science Fiction Research Association's 2007 Pilgrim Award for lifetime contributions to speculative fiction scholarship. In 2009, he was the recipient of one of the first three Solstice Awards presented by the SFWA in recognition of his contributions to the field of science fiction. Budrys was married to Edna Duna; they had four sons. He last resided in Evanston, Illinois. He died at home, from metastatic malignant melanoma on June 9, 2008.