Are Your Favorite Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers Male or Female?

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In the male dominated science fiction and fantasy genre writing, the number of women winners in the global L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest shows that male winners outnumber women by 2 to 1 overall. However, that trend is changing. Volume 24 had 8 women winners out of the 12 published that year.  

The contest recognizes new and upcoming writers of speculative fiction.

K.D. Wentworth, Writers of the Future Contest coordinating judge said, "I don't know who I'm reading when making the judgment of which stories are finalists."

The judges of the contest, famous genre writers themselves, are primarily male, but they are only looking for the best story. "Gender is no part of this competition," Tim Powers (On Stranger Tides – Pirates of the Caribbean) said when interviewed recently.  "I choose my favorites based on story originality and quality of the writing. In fact, I don't know anything at all about the author when I'm judging."

Wentworth (Black-on-Black) herself won the contest in year 5, and has gone on to write award winning science fiction. "Back in the early days of Science Fiction and Fantasy, many of the women writers used bylines that inferred they were male. C.L. Moore and Andre Norton were prominent writers in the 50's and many fans thought they were male. Times have changed," Wentworth said. "I've seen more women finalists, and consequently, winners, in the past few years, which shows we are getting more and more entries from women."

The Writers of the Future Contest began in 1984 and attracts entries worldwide in science fiction and fantasy. Twelve quarterly winners receive prize monies and are published in the annual anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future (Galaxy Press).

Founded by multiple New York Times' best-selling author L. Ron Hubbard, the merit-based Writers of the Future Contest was begun to discover and encourage talented beginning writers of science fiction and fantasy.

Wentworth recommends that prospective writers visit www.writersofthefuture.com for more information on how to enter the contest.

SOURCE Writers of the Future Contest