David Farland was an award-winning, international best-selling author with over 50 novels in print, and a tireless mentor and instructor of new writers. He built an audience with his "Daily Kick in the Pants" for writers, launched an editing service with MyStoryDoctor.com, created the Apex writing group, and he was one of the Founders of Superstars Writing Seminars (with Kevin J. Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, Eric Flint, James Artimus Owen, and Rebecca Moesta).

As a writing instructor, Farland mentored dozens who have gone on to staggering literary success, including such #1 New York Times Bestsellers as Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), James Dashner (The Maze Runner), and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight).

For many years he was the coordinating judge for L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest, perhaps the largest worldwide writing competition for new fantasy and science fiction authors, and he worked in Hollywood greenlighting movies and doctoring scripts.

In his own fiction, he won the Philip K. Dick Award for his first novel On My Way to Paradise, the Whitney Award for his historical novel In the Company of Angels, and the International Book Award for his fantasy thriller Nightingale. He is best known, however, for his New York Times best-selling fantasy series The Runelords, and his Star Wars novel, The Courtship of Princess Leia.

David Farland passed away in January 2022. WordFire Press is pleased to bring back into print this profoundly important and seminal book on writing.

Writers of the Future Volume 37 edited by David Farland

The Sci-Fi and Fantasy of Tomorrow Selected by Masters of Today

Turn the page … from dark fantasy to dystopian nightmare, from magical realism to military science, from paranormal urban fantasy to post-apocalyptic power trips … and beyond.

Take flight on a starship powered by a godlike being, willing to go to any length to know what it is to be human. Delve into the psyche of a scientist who must choose between ambition and compassion while compelled to participate in a secret and sadistic government project. Get lost in the chilling Museum of Modern Warfare, where one woman is about to discover life-changing secrets. Experience the stories that challenge our sense of self—and our sense of the world. And that's just the beginning of your journey.…

You will love this anthology of past and future science fiction masters because of the mesmerizing power of these new stories, thought-provoking new ideas, and brilliant new horizons selected by today's bestselling sci-fi and fantasy authors.

 

REVIEWS

  • "Highly inventive and novel. Well-crafted."

    – Tangent Online

  • "Trend-setting series with new wonderful stories and art. Writers of the Future has contributed more talent than any other source to the genre."

    – Midwest Book Review
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

3 Bonus Short Stories by

Kristine Kathryn Rusch • L. Ron Hubbard • Jody Lynn Nye

"Museum of Modern Warfare" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: When an ambassador is asked to inspect the controversial Museum of Modern Warfare, she discovers life-changing secrets. .

"The Dangerous Dimension" by L. Ron Hubbard: Meek Dr. Henry Mudge has a dramatic personality change after discovering a mathematical equation that transports him to any place in the universe he can think of.

"The Phoenixes' War" by Jody Lynn Nye: When a lover's gift to her king turns out to be a perilous trap, the Phoenixes and their priestess face a test that will decide the fate of two realms.

Art and Writing Tips by

L. Ron Hubbard • Orson Scott Card • Craig Elliott

"Magic Out of a Hat" by L. Ron Hubbard: From a challenge to write a story inspired by a completely uninspiring wastebasket, Ron provides timeless insight on generating a solid story idea and also reveals a bit of the effusive spirit that he brought to the magic of writing.

"On Magic Out of a Hat" by Orson Scott Card: Card discusses and expands upon Hubbard's article breaking down the techniques Ron used to create a story from a simple object. Card also explores the history of memorable speculative fiction and what makes it great.

"The Rewards of Imagination" by Craig Elliott: In addition to his fine-art work, Craig has had a hand in designing many of today's most popular animated films. Here Craig expounds on the value and need for creative artists and their impact on our society.

14 Award-winning stories from the winners of the 2021 contest selected by the blue-ribbon panel of judges including Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jody Lynn Nye, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and several other masters of the genre.

"The Tiger and the Waif" by John M. Campbell: After a devastating earthquake, a toy kitten crawls out of the rubble, free at last. Deep in its programming, an urge demands to be fulfilled.…

"Sixers" by Barbara Lund: When war comes home, a mysterious sixth-senser must use her talents and the help of three orphans on a journey across a devastated city to find her son.…

"The Enfield Report" by Christopher Bowthorpe: A scientist must choose between ambition and compassion while forced to participate in a secret and sadistic government project.…

"The Widow's Might" by Elizabeth Chatsworth: A Victorian tea shop owner hopes to serve justice to wicked gangsters—with the help of a mysterious new friend.…

"How to Steal the Plot Armor" by Luke Wildman: In a magical kingdom overrun by "chosen ones," a wizard grows weary of always being the mentor and decides to do something about it.…

"The Redemption of Brother Adalum" by K. D. Julicher: There can be no redemption for a man who has lost control of his warrior-bear spirit—only penance. Or so Adalum believes.…

"The Argentum" by Anj Dockrey: The starship that brought mankind to its first colony among the stars was powered by a godlike being, who now wants to know what it is to be human.…

"Soul Paper" by Trent Walters: Her grandfather taught her how to create music from the soul, but does it come at too high a price…?

"The Skin of My Mother" by Erik Lynd: A woman who once escaped her destiny returns home to find it won't be so easy the second time.…

"Death of a Time Traveler" by Sara Fox: Time runs in a circle, beginning where it ends—but father has always been out of sync.…

"The Battle of Donasi" by Elaine Midcoh: A guilt-ridden war hero finds herself in an unexpected extraterrestrial battle, confronting the prospect of having to kill again.…

"A Demon Hunter's Guide to Passover Seder" by Ryan Cole: Noam only hopes to have a normal Seder, but he'll have to battle his brother's new girlfriend and the demons that follow her.…

"Hemingway" by Emma Washburn: A young girl in a plastic boat finds herself at the doorstep of a mysterious old man living in a house built in the middle of the ocean.…

"Half-Breed" by Brittany Rainsdon: When tensions between humans and dryads boil over, a teen must bridge the gap between the old world and new, before everything she loves turns to ash.…