Feature: U.S. remarkable sci-fi awards reboot with bang after COVID-19 lockdown

2021-10-24 22:05:30 GMT2021-10-25 06:05:30(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

by Julia Pierrepont III

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- After a year's postponement due to COVID-19, the Sci Fi Writers & Illustrators of the Future Annual Achievement Award combined the 36th and 37th competitions into one large gala ceremony on Friday at the elegant Taglyan Grand Ballroom in Hollywood, where up to 400 guests in black tie and glittering gowns filled the fantasy-filled banquet hall.

"I'm so glad we could be here this year," Kaitlyn Goldberg, one of the winning illustrators, for her work depicting L. J George's story "Catching My Death", told Xinhua. She added that she hoped she would be able to "implement all the knowledge I learned here. It's an incredible opportunity!"

The awards, sponsored by Author Services and Galaxy Press, were founded in 1983 by prolific author L. Ron Hubbard, and illustrators were added in 1988. The awards mission is to find, train and help launch talented new writers and artists in the realm of science fiction and fantasy.

With 892 total winners since the inception, former winning authors boast over 1,800 published novels and 6,000 short stories combined, while former winning illustrators have produced 6,000 illustrations, 600 book covers, 375 comic books and up to 1.4 million art prints in circulation.

This year the combined winners totaled 24, including Chinese illustrator Shiyi Yu, and Leah Ning, author of "Yellow and Pink."

Echo Chernik, the coordinating judge for the illustration category, told Xinhua that they selected their winners based on their grasp of illustration techniques, their unique style, as well as their "ability to work in different mediums and continue to grow their craft."

The 36th Grand Prize Golden Brush winner, Anh Le, formerly from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, now lives in the U.S. state of Missouri.

He told Xinhua that he got his unique understanding of the aliens he drew in his award-winning illustration because he felt the same sense of isolation when he first immigrated to the United States in third grade and missed his family.

"It felt familiar," he said. "And I wanted to fill the page with color."

Th 36th Grand Prize Golden Pen award winner was ebullient Australian C. Winspear for his story "The Trade" who looks forward to "defining the future of sci-fi" with his fellow winners. The 37th Grand Prize Golden Brush winner was Dan Watson, illustrator of "How to Steal the Plot Armor"; while the 37th Grand Prize Pen award winner was Barbara Lund, author of "Sixers."

Multiple award-winning and bestselling author and judge, Larry Niven, told Xinhua that sci-fi was important because "if you can't look ahead you're going to crash... Clearly there aren't enough sci-fi fans in Washington."

When asked if he had ever visited China, Niven lamented, "I was invited and had my chance, but I blew it. Maybe next time," he said hopefully.

Dean Wesley Smith, another bestselling author who also served as a judge, describes himself as a "prolific writer" who pumps out an astonishing 1.5 million words per year. He has written over 200 novels, including Star Trek, X-Men and Men in Black.

Smith told Xinhua, "Writing is something I kind of fell into later in life. I wasn't good in the beginning, but I found myself really pushing at it and I learned."

Brittany Jackson, a judge and The New York Times bestselling illustrator, said she got in to drawing because "I really loved telling stories and a picture really is worth 1,000 words."

Nebula and Bram Stoker Award winning writer, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, told Xinhua she became a writer because a book she was reading "didn't turn out the right way."

The winners also attended weeklong workshops that provided them with valuable professional and career training from some of the leading creators in the industry.

Five-time Hugo Award nominee for Best Artist and a judge, Dan dos Santos told Xinhua, "It's great to work with students whose talent is higher than typical. I get to lecture on a more technical level, because it wasn't over their heads."

One of the illustration winners, Heather A. Laurence, told Xinhua that her win will help her land some freelance jobs and "the connections to help me do what I know I can do."

Keynote speaker, Toni Weisskopf, publisher of Baen books, which specializes in sci-fi and fantasy, loves helping foster writers and illustrators of the future.

"It's great to work with these guys in the early stages of their career," she told Xinhua. "Before they get old and jaded," she quipped with a smile. Weisskopf said Baen's distributor, Simon & Shuster, distributes their books worldwide, including China. Enditem

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