Author Sandra Skalski’s love of fantasy was stirred when her kindergarten teacher read “Ozma of Oz” to the class.
Mullica Hill author Sandra Skalski has joined winners of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest and was honored along with 11 other writers and 11 artists in Hollywood on April 10.
Her story, “Slip Stone,” appears in the anthology, “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41,” officially released on April 22.
Skalski’s love of fantasy was stirred when her kindergarten teacher read “Ozma of Oz” to the class. Growing up, she spent most of her allowance at a bookmobile and walked nearly two miles to the library in summer to devour every book on the subject she could find.
Skalski wrote her first science fiction story at 13. She claimed it wasn’t very good, but she was determined to keep writing. A Viable Paradise workshop helped her improve her craft, and the first time she got the courage to hit submit, it was to the Writers of the Future Contest. Skalski’s stories have appeared in Factor Four magazine: “Wyld Flash,” “Ruth and Ann’s Guide to Time Travel Anthology Vol. 2” and “100-Foot Crow.”
She lives in town with her husband and recently retired from a career in chemical engineering to spend more time on writing.
The Writers of the Future Contest – among 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, including Tim Powers, author of “On Stranger Tides”; Robert J. Sawyer, who wrote “The Oppenheimer Alternative”; and Larry Niven, author of “Ringworld.”
Among the illustrator judges are Larry Elmore, who designed the “Dungeons and Dragons” book covers; and Echo Chernik, a graphic designs for major corporations, including Celestial Seasonings tea.
Hubbard created the Writers of the Future (writersofthefuture.com) contest in 1983, a year after the release of his acclaimed science-fiction novel, Battlefield Earth. In the writing contest’s 42 years, 571 winners and published finalists have produced 2,000 novels and nearly 6,300 short stories that have sold more than 60 million copies. The 36-year-old illustrators contest has produced 418 winners.
For more information about the contests, go to www.WritersoftheFuture.com.
