"L Ron Hubbard & Dave Wolverton- A Very Special Trip" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hubbard L. Ron)

SCANNED BY PUDGE
FEB 28,2000




A VERY STRANGE TRIP




L. RON HUBBARD
DAVE WOLVERTON




Preface
 A little over fifteen years ago, L. Ron Hubbard published a science-fiction novel, Battlefield
Earth, which became one of the best-selling and best-loved novels in its field. (That work has
since sold over five million copies and a recent Random House Modern Library readers' poll
ranked it among the top three best novels of the twentieth century.)
At the same time, as Ron reentered the field of science fiction after a hiatus of nearly thirty
years, he recognized how closed the genre had become to new authors. I happened to be a new
author fifteen years ago, and I well recall studying the markets for short fiction only to find that
among the top four science-fiction magazines, perhaps no more than ten new writers might be
published in any given year.
As on other occasions throughout his 55-year literary career, Ron came up with a great idea
to help aspiring writers enter the professional ranks. He initiated a contest to encourage new
writers and call attention to their work. He even arranged for top writers of speculative fiction
(science fiction, fantasy and horror) to judge the competition.
Thus L. Ron Hubbard's WRITERS OF THE FUTURE Contest was born. It has since
discovered and helped launch the careers of hundreds of talented writers who have gone on to
publish over 250 novels and over 2,000 short stories. It is widely recognized as the premier venue
in the field for discovering new writing talent. The L. Ron Hubbard Gold Award, which goes to
the annual grand-prize winner, has taken its place beside the Hugo and Nebula Awards as one of
the most coveted prizes in the field of speculative fiction. There is even a companion contest for
new illustrators.
My own involvement in the Contest began with a recommendation from M. Shayne Bell,
who had previously received a first-place quarterly prize. Shortly thereafter, I, too, managed a
first-place award, then a grand prize in 1987. I will never forget the annual awards ceremony)
being sandwiched between the likes of Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl and Luke Skywalker himself,
Mark Hamil. But more to the point, and just as Ron intended, that award most definitely helped
launch my writing career. Indeed, I received a three-novel contract from Bantam Books barely
two weeks later.
 Needless to say, that award brought something else; for as Ron also suggested to his literary
agency, Author Services, Inc., some of those newly discovered writers were to be afforded what
amounted to a collaboration with Ron. In other words, some of us were to be given a golden
opportunity to place our names on a story by L. Ron Hubbard. Of course, I myself was among
those so honored, and found it to be a fulfilling collaboration.