International L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest Gala Awards Ceremony Announces Event Music Addition
Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) March 25, 2014 -- The 30th anniversary of the L. Ron Hubbard Awards for winners of the internationally-acclaimed Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests will be held in Los Angeles at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Sunday, April 13th and contest organizers announced today that Cassie Simone will join Drew Seeley in the opening number for the event.
Cassie Simone most recently performed and recorded the album of West Side Story in concert with the San Francisco Symphony set to release later this year. Other favorite credits include the original cast of Surf The Musical in Las Vegas, The Magic Horn at The Geffen Playhouse, and numerous Disney theatrical productions. Cassie is also a published songwriter with her work appearing in film and international television.
In a recent interview Cassie stated, "As an avid reader and a fan of big imaginations, I am thrilled to be a part of this celebration of storytelling and illustration. Congratulations to all the contestants for their drive and creativity to make it this far."
“$10,000.00 for the grand prize winners and inclusion in the 30th annual “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future” anthology (Galaxy Press, 2014) are only a small part of winning,” Joni Labaqui, director of the contest said. "The contestants receive a week-long workshop where they learn more of their craft from essays written by L. Ron Hubbard on writing and art and the contest judges also give advice on how to navigate a career at this critical juncture. This contest is like the American Idol for writers and illustrators. We are thrilled to have Cassie join us in the celebration. She is very talented and will help create a great opening."
The Writers of the Future Contest and the companion anthology were created by L. Ron Hubbard 30 years ago to help discover new, aspiring writers of speculative fiction and give their best work a high-profile publishing showcase.
To date, the contest has launched the careers of twelve New York Times bestsellers including: Dave Wolverton (On My Way to Paradise) , Sean Williams (Star Wars - The Force Unleashed), Karen Joy Fowler (Jane Austin Book Club), Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind,The Wise Man's Fear), Nancy Farmer (The Ear, the Eye and the Arm), Jo Beverley (A Lady’s Secret), Lisa Smedman (Extinction), Tim Myers (Basho and the Fox), Tobias Buckell (Halo: The Cole Protocol), Eric Flint (1632), Dean Wesley Smith (Men In Black), and Elizabeth Wein (Code Name Verity).
The winners are chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, famous authors in speculative fiction including: Tim Powers, Kevin J. Anderson, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Orson Scott Card, Robert J. Sawyer, Sean Williams, Dave Wolverton, Brian Herbert, Rebecca Moesta, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Gregory Benford, Doug Beason, Mike Resnick, Eric Flint, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Todd McCaffrey and Nnedi Okorafor.
The just as impressive illustrator judge roster has included in its history: Frank Frazetta, Frank Kelly Freas, Jack Kirby, Dave Dorman, Cliff Nielsen, Vincent Di Fate, Bob Eggleton, Stephen Hickman, Stephan Martiniere, Diane and Leo Dillon, Ron Lindahn, Val Lakey Lindahn, Judith Miller, Stephen Youll, H.R.Van Dongen, Laura Brodian Freas, Sergey Poyarkov, Robert Castillo, Gary Meyer and Larry Elmore.
For information and seat reservations, please call Joni Labaqui at 323-466-3310. For more information on the contest please visit http://www.writersofthefuture.com.
Joni Labaqui, Author Services, Inc., http://www.writersofthefuture.com, +1 323-402-5724, [email protected]
Share this article