L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest
Offered by Author Services, Inc.
About this scholarship
The L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest is a free, international quarterly competition for new and amateur science-fiction, fantasy, and dark-fantasy writers. Each quarter awards $1,000 for first place, $750 for second, and $500 for third. The four first-place winners from the contest year then compete for the Golden Pen Award and an additional $5,000. Quarterly winners are also offered paid travel and hotel accommodations for the annual ceremony and a free writing workshop. Applicants retain their publication rights and submit one original, unpublished English-language prose manuscript per quarter. Short stories must be under 10,000 words and novelettes under 17,000 words. Poetry, screenplays, children's works, memoir, fan fiction, and stories without a speculative element are not accepted. The contest excludes writers who have professionally published a novel or short novel, more than one novelette, or more than three short stories under its stated payment and audience thresholds. Manuscripts must be anonymous, double-spaced, and free of the author's name or contact information. Work created in whole or part with generative AI is disqualified. The fourth-quarter 2026 application is open through 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on September 30, 2026.
Eligibility
- Submit an original, unpublished work written entirely by the entrant in English
- Enter science fiction, fantasy, or dark fantasy prose with a speculative element
- Keep a short story under 10,000 words or a novelette under 17,000 words
- Meet the contest's amateur-publication limits and not have professionally published a novel or short novel, more than one novelette, or more than three short stories
- Do not use generative artificial intelligence for any part of the submitted work
- Remove the author's name and contact information from the manuscript for anonymous judging
- Submit no more than one manuscript in the quarter
- Submit the final, unrevised entry by September 30, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time