Tony Pi, Stephen Kotowych among winners in this year's Writers of the Future contest

Tony Pi and Stephen Kotowych are amongst 12 winning writers and 12 illustrators from around the world who will be honored during the 23rd Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards at the Athenaeum Club on the grounds of California Institute of Technology on Friday, August 24.

At the ceremony, two Grand Prize winners will be announced, each of whom will receive $5,000. Quarterly winners also receive cash prizes from $1,000 to $500. The winning stories and illustrations will appear in the annual anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future, volume 23 (Galaxy Press).

Participating in the ceremony will be authors Kevin J. Anderson, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Tim Powers and Sean Williams, who will serve as presenters along with celebrities Marisol Nichols (from Fox TV's 24), two-time Emmy award nominated actress Lee Purcell, and Latin vocalist Carina Rico.

The Writers of the Future Contest was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983. Its winners have gone on to publish over 550 novels and 1,400 short stories. The format was expanded to include a companion Illustrators of the Future Contest in 1988

Good online review for M.D. Benoit's Synergy

An excellent review of M.D. Benoit's novel Synergy (Zumaya) is now online at MyShelf. A highlight:

Benoit builds characters that are multidimensional and with whom readers can establish a bond, even when those characters aren't behaving as nobly as we would like. Her science is sound, which is critical for this genre, and the ethical questions she raises are already being debated in medical research circles. But, it is Benoit's ability to put all of this into plot twisting, fast paced thriller that has her right up there with the big boys like Gregg Hurwitz and Michael Crichton.

Good review for Matthew Hughes in Publisher's Weekly

Matthew Hughes has received a good review in Publisher's Weekly for his latest novel, The Spiral Labyrinth (Night Shade Books). The review begins:

The superior melding of fantasy, humor and detection seen in Majestrum(2006) is displayed to even better advantage in Hughes's second chronicle of Henghis Hapthorn, a "discriminator" (or consulting detective) on an alternate Earth.

Nathalie Mallet book gets new cover and first review

Nathalie Mallet's book The Princes of the Golden Age has a new cover, and has received its first review (in Locus Magazine). Nathalie has posted the review at her brand-new blog.

Edward Willett science columns now available as podcast

Edward Willett has begun recording his weekly newspaper science columns in audio format as a podcast. You can access it here, where you'll also find a link to subscribe via iTunes.

Edward Willett sings the original Star Trek theme

Yes, the original Star Trek theme has lyrics. Yes, the song is too high for him. But you can subject yourself to Edward Willett's rendition of it (intended for use at this year's ConVersion SF convention in Calgary) here.

Hayden Trenholm stories in Talebones and Challenging Destiny

Hayden Trenholm has a story, "Iron Ties," coming out this month in Talebones #35 and another, "Like Water in the Desert," in the next issue of Challenging Destiny.