Award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer was presented the L Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award at the 39th annual Writers of the Future Awards Gala.

HOLLYWOOD, CA, UNITED STATES, May 8, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Robert J. Sawyer became the 17th recipient of the L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts for his exceptional work in the field of science fiction and 18 years of dedicated service in discovering new talent as a judge in the Writers of the Future Contest. Emily Goodwin, VP Public Affairs Author Services, Inc., presented the large silver cup to Sawyer at the Writers of the Future 39th Annual Gala held at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood, California, on Friday, April 28.

Sawyer began his acceptance speech, “Although I entered this Contest when I was starting out, I’ve only ever been on the stage here at the L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future gala as a presenter, never an award recipient. I am thrilled to have finally made it!” He continued, “I was blown away: my name being added to the amazing list of past recipients? Wow!”

This award was previously presented to luminaries and masters; Jack Williamson, Frederik Pohl, Algis Budrys, Frank Frazetta, Anne McCaffrey, Frank Kelly Freas, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Charles Brown, Dr. Gregory Benford, Tom Doherty, Orson Scott Card, Mike Resnick, Larry Elmore, and Bob Eggleton.

The unmatched word master Robert J. Sawyer penned many books spanning all sub-genres of science fiction. He is one of only eight writers in history—and the only Canadian—to win all three of the world’s top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and he’s the first author in thirty years to receive a Lifetime Achievement Aurora Award and many, many more.

Sawyer quipped tongue in cheek, “Now, for those wondering when one gets a lifetime-achievement award—that is, at what age your career is considered over? Here’s the answer: sixty-two! Tomorrow, you see, is my sixty-third birthday; clearly, you’re done achieving when you hit that magic number! But, in that career, one of the things I’m proudest of is being a judge for Writers of the Future. When I was asked to become a judge eighteen years ago, I thought: Me, getting to be part of the incredible group of writers who were already judges? Yes, please!”

Sawyer has been a Writers of the Future Judge since 2005. He has tirelessly shared his hard-won experience with aspiring writers and promoted the Contest and its purpose wherever and whenever possible. The Canadian publishing trade journal “Quill & Quire” calls him “one of the thirty most influential, innovative, and just plain powerful people in Canadian publishing.”

Sawyer captivated the audience and said regarding his career as a writer, “There’s an irony in me getting this award because, looking back on my career, I did just about everything wrong—at least, that is, according to conventional wisdom.” Then, directly addressing the winners, he stated, “With artificial intelligence able to produce flawless pastiches of any writer who is a brand, is there really a future for the predictable, reliable, wordsmith? So, as you winners tonight embark on your own careers, maybe not having a brand, not being pigeonholed, not being easily imitated might be the right way to go.” He concluded, “You may not get rich, and you may not have the biggest audience—but you might just survive this AI revolution. Maybe, a few decades down the road, you’ll be back on this stage again, taking home a trophy just like this wonderful one: the L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor that means the world—heck, the galaxy—to me!”

L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future Writing contest in 1983 to provide “a means for new and budding writers to have a chance for their creative efforts to be seen and acknowledged.” Based on its success, its sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, was created five years later to provide that same opportunity for aspiring artists.

The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. The 547 winners and published finalists of the Writing Contest have published over 2,000 novels and nearly 6,300 short stories. In addition, they have produced 36 New York Times bestsellers, and their works have sold over 60 million copies.

The 394 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 700 book and magazine covers, over 6,800 illustrations, 390 comic books, and 1.4 million art prints in circulation.

For more information on the Writing Contest and Illustration Contest and to see the annual awards gala, go to www.writersofthefuture.com.

John Goodwin
Author Services, Inc.
+ +1 323-466-3310
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