Book recommendation for June 2025: Writers of the Future Volume 41
For over forty years, the Writers of the Future contest has found the newest and most exciting voices and visionaries in science fiction and fantasy. It has an incredible track record of finding the next generation of speculative fiction writers and I am so proud to be a part of it.
What’s it about: It’s an anthology containing 15 science fiction and fantasy short stories and illustrations. 12 of the stories are from winners of this year’s Writers of the Future contest, myself included, with accompanying illustrations by the illustrator winners, with the other 3 stories by World Fantasy Award winner Tim Powers, New York Times bestselling author Sean Williams, and the founder of the contest, L. Ron Hubbard.
Why I love it: Yes, this is a shameless book promotion post to coincide with its UK release. However, the stories in this anthology are awesome, the illustrations will blow your mind, and you should definitely read it. The stories are so varied that there’s something for all fans of speculative fiction, whether you like to read about the threat of AI, time travel paradoxes, killer robots, magic and demons, moral dilemmas and horrific comeuppance, or the over reliance on technology. You probably won’t find a broader selection of stories outside a Writers of the Future anthology. Also, being a winner of the Writers of the Future contest has launched this next stage of my writing career – the stage where I have the confidence to actually tell people I write and that I want to be a full time writer!
Beyond the book: I am so lucky and so proud to be part of the Writers of the Future family, but I have gained so much more from the experience than just having a story published in an Amazon bestselling book. Aside from the free trip to Hollywood for a fancy award gala and a week of masterclass workshops from legends of speculative fiction that covered the breadth of being a writer (writing tips, of course, as well as marketing and career strategy), I met the other writer and illustrator winners, which was the best prize. As I said in a previous blog post, finding a community has been so important and uplifting, I have gained confidence and belief in my writing, and I’d like to think I have given my children a reason to be proud of their old man and to show them that if you have a dream you should follow it. It is hard to put into words how profound an impact winning the contest has had on me.
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