Oranjezicht, Capetown resident, Stephen Spinas, will travel to Hollywood as a winner in the Illustrators of the Future Contest and will be published in the international bestselling anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 37.
Anticipating that the pandemic will be over and large events able to occur once again with visitors from around the world, Mr. Spinas will travel to Hollywood this fall for a weeklong workshop and be honored at a black-tie awards gala.
Stephen’s art has earned him a cash prize and a trip to Hollywood as well as having his art published in the annual bestseller, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 37.
South African-born illustrator, Stephen Spinas, has dedicated much of his thirty-two years to the pursuit of art. From humble beginnings as a 2-D background artist, he has since run the gamut of professional titles in the art world: apprentice, designer, director, CEO, and all while still trying to make it as an illustrator.
With a passion for the visceral, and an uncanny talent for bringing complicated concepts to life, Stephen has been involved in numerous projects with clients from across the globe. Inspired by the likes of Jim Lee, Bernie Wrightson, and Riccardo Federici, Stephen possesses a distinct and instantly recognisable style: bold, gritty, and richly detailed. His personal flair isn’t a constraint either, and never hampers his ability to fulfil his clients’ unique creative visions, no matter the style or medium. In fact, Stephen delights in a challenge.
Though he is currently engaged as director of an indie publishing house, he manages to squeeze in what hours he can afford to work on his original comic book title, the forthcoming Em Is for Monsters. After all, it’s long been a dream of his to find a place in the professional comic book industry.
The Contest, one of the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world, is currently in its 38th year and is judged by some of the premier names in speculative fiction.
The Illustrators of the Future Contest judges include, Bob Eggleton (11 Chesley Awards and 7 Hugo Awards), Larry Elmore (Dungeons & Dragons book covers),
Echo Chernik (graphic designs for major corporations including Celestial Seasonings tea packaging), Rob Prior (art for Spawn, Heavy Metal comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ciruelo (Eragon Coloring Book).
The Writers of the Future Contest judges include, Tim Powers (author of On Stranger Tides), Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (Dune prequel series), Robert J. Sawyer (Quantum Night), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), David Farland (Runelords), and Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series) to name a few.
Following the 1982 release of his internationally acclaimed bestselling science fiction novel, Battlefield Earth, written in celebration of 50 years as a professional writer, L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future (writersofthefuture.com) in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers of speculative fiction to get that much-needed break. Due to the success of the Writers of the Future Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was inaugurated five years later.
The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. The 370 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 6,000 illustrations, 360 comic books, graced 624 books and albums with their art and visually contributed to 68 TV shows, and 40 major movies.
The 440 past winners of the Writing Contest have published 1,150 novels and nearly 4,500 short stories. They have produced 32 New York Times bestsellers and their works have sold over 60 million copies.
The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award is the genre’s most prestigious award of its kind and has now become the largest, most successful and demonstrably most influential vehicle for budding creative talent in the world of contemporary fiction.
Since inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 36 anthology volumes and awarded over $1,000,000 cumulatively in prize moneys and royalties.
For more information about the Contests, go to www.WritersoftheFuture.com.