Local author Sandra Skalski was among thousands of contestants world-wide in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future story contest.
Mullica Hill resident and author Sandra Skalski has been named one of four winners in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future story contest, a national competition named for the founder of Scientology.
The contest has been held since 1983 according to Galaxy Press, publisher of “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41.” Skalski’s story will be in that volume, whose titles are not revealed or described until a grand-prize winner is announced.
“I was both shocked and absolutely thrilled when I heard,” Skalski enthused. “When the people who run the contest called – they’re based on the West Coast – I thought it was spam at first. I almost missed the news completely.”
Skalski specializes in science fiction and fantasy writing, two topics that have fascinated her since she was in kindergarten. After attending a workshop, she was encouraged to begin publishing her writing in magazines and publications such as “Factor Four” and “Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel Anthology: Vol. 2.”
Skalski first tried to gain some notice by entering the 2019 Writers of the Future contest.
“It’s hard to get your foot in the door,” she recalled. “So I joined a few writing groups for advice, and then I started to send in my works to several sci-fi magazines.”
The contest is split into four quarters throughout the year; Skalski topped the list of winners in the first. She and the other quarter winners will attend an awards ceremony in Hollywood on April 10, then attend a week-long workshop led by authors who will include Tim Powers, author of “On Stranger Tides”; Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, writers of the “Dune” prequel series; Robert J. Sawyer, who wrote “The Oppenheimer Alternative”; and Brandon Sanderson, author of the “Mistborn” series and “The Stormlight Archive.”
At the conclusion of the sessions, one of the four quarter winners will receive a grand prize.
“For me it’s going to be great to meet them,” Skalski noted. “There’s not just the winners of the writing contest, but also the winners of the illustrating contest as well. Some of them will do illustrations for your story and there’s all kinds of beautiful arts on display.
“I’m really looking forward to everything.”
