The Authors Quill authors Zach Poulter author Brenda Posey

Zach Poulter was raised amidst the sagebrush and potato fields of rural Idaho. His childhood was spent exploring the nearby Snake River, volcanic buttes, sagebrush desert, and the many abandoned homes and vehicles lodged in unexpected places by a catastrophic flood.

He now lives the glamorous lifestyle of a middle school band teacher, and also freelances as a saxophonist and composer. When not teaching and making music, he writes all varieties of speculative fiction, with a special affinity for dark, suspenseful fantasy and hopeful horror. Zach lives in Utah with his marvelous wife, four clever children, and not-quite-enough saxophones.
Brenda Posey was only three years old when she witnessed aliens invading from the sky over her own front yard. Even though the spaceships turned out to be spotlights on clouds, nothing could dampen her excitement over the question: “What if?”

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, listening to the earth-rumbling sounds of rocket engines being tested, she dreamed up additional “what ifs.” A few of those questions inspired her to write science fiction short stories in high school and college.

“What if” then led her to pursue degrees in both biology and computer science. After working as a researcher and programmer, she left the corporate world to raise two awesome kids with her also-awesome husband. Reading her husband’s extensive, slightly dusty library of classic science fiction novels opened a whole new world of “what ifs” for her. She returned to writing, drawing on her background in the sciences to craft her own versions of reality.

When not plotting novels and short stories, Brenda can be found rehabbing a mid-century house, forging hot steel into almost-recognizable objects, advocating for Oxford commas, and singing in choir. She continues to watch the skies at night because… well… What if aliens actually show up?

The Contest, one of the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world, is currently in its 42nd year and is judged by some of the premier names in speculative fiction.

The Writers of the Future Contest judges include, Tim Powers (author of On Stranger Tides), Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (Dune prequel series), Robert J. Sawyer (The Oppenheimer Alternative), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), Hugh Howey (Wool), and Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series) to name a few.

The Contest, one of the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world, is currently in its 42nd year and is judged by some of the premier names in speculative fiction.

The Writers of the Future Contest judges include, Tim Powers (author of On Stranger Tides), Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (Dune prequel series), Robert J. Sawyer (The Oppenheimer Alternative), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), Hugh Howey (Wool), and Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series) to name a few.

The Illustrators of the Future Contest judges include, Bob Eggleton (11 Chesley Awards and 9 Hugo Awards), Larry Elmore (Dungeons & Dragons book covers), Echo Chernik (graphic designs for major corporations including Celestial Seasonings tea packaging), Rob Prior (art for Spawn, Heavy Metal comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ciruelo (Eragon Coloring Book).

Following the 1982 release of his internationally acclaimed bestselling science fiction novel, Battlefield Earth, written in celebration of 50 years as a professional writer, L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future (writersofthefuture.com) in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers of speculative fiction to get that much-needed break. Due to the success of the Writers of the Future Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was inaugurated five years later.

In the 41 years of the Writers of the Future Contest, there have been 571 winners and published finalists. The past winners of the Writing Contest have published 2,000 novels and nearly 6,300 short stories. They have produced 36 New York Times bestsellers, and their works have sold over 60 million copies.

In the 36 years of the Illustrators of the Future Contest, there have been 418 winners. The past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 6,800 illustrations, 390 comic books, graced 700 books and albums with their art, and visually contributed to 68 television shows and 40 major movies.

The Writers of the Future Award is the genre’s most prestigious award of its kind and has now become the largest, most successful, and demonstrably most influential vehicle for budding creative talent in the world of speculative fiction. Since its inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 41 anthology volumes and awarded upwards of $1 million in cash prizes and royalties.