Golden Pen Award Winner Michael T. Kuester from Cincinnati, Ohio, with his story “In Living Color,” and Golden Brush Award Winner Bohuslav “Bafu” Argalas from Ruzomberok, Slovakia, with his illustration of the story “Saffron and Marigolds.” Michael is an engineer by day, a science fiction writer by night. An avid hiker and cooking enthusiast, he is a passionately curious individual and lives his life by the motto “In the twenty-first century, there’s no excuse for an unanswered question.” His story, “In Living Color,” evolved into a surprisingly personal allegory for social isolation, generational misunderstanding, and neurodivergence. Bafu began drawing before he learned to read or write. That passion led him to study art at the private school of Applied Arts in Zilina and later at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno, Czech Republic. Bafu creates illustrations and comics filled with humor, emotion, and a touch of the strange, hoping to make people smile, think, and drift away from reality—even just for a moment. Michael can be found at https://michaeltkuester.com/ Bafu can be found at https://www.bafu.art/

Join Stefan Rudnicki, Gabrielle de Cuir, Susan Hanfield, Orson Scott Card, Jim Meskimen, Scott Peterson, most of the cast who voiced “L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 42,” in this podcast interview talking about what made this project special, why science fiction and fantasy are so important as a genre, and the value of celebrating creativity which is what Writers and Illustrators of the Future are all about. The other cast members were unable to participate due to prior commitments, but their creativity in their role in the audiobook is equally appreciated. The full cast along with stories they narrated are: Stefan Rudnicki narrated “Artistic Presentation,” “Shell Game,” “Skinny-Shins,” “The Creator’s Journey,” “In Living Color,” and “A Girl and Her Dragon: A Life in Four Parts.” Orson Scott Card read his bio and introduction. Gabrielle De Cuir narrated Jody Lynn Nye and Echo Chernick’s introductions as well as “Bloom Decay.” Janina Edwards narrated “Thickly.” Susan Hanfield narrated “Canary” and “A Girl and Her Dragon: A Life in Four Parts.” Kirby Heyborne narrated “Saffron and Marigolds,” “Dragon Visits,” and “As Long as You Both Shall Live.” John Lee narrated “The Triceratops Effect.” Jim Meskimen narrated “Form 14B—Application for Certification of Consciousness Transfer (Post-Mortem),” “Space Can,” “Collaboration,” and “Ghost Dog.” Scott Peterson narrated “A Ready-Made Bubble of Light.” This audiobook was produced by Skyboat Media. Edited, Mixed, and Mastered by Phaseshift. And the music was composed by Mark Isham.

Ron Clements was the keynote speaker in 2025 for our Writers and Illustrators of the Future Gala. We connected up again at LTUE - Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium - in Provo, Utah, where we recorded this interview. Ron has been an animation director, screenwriter, and producer for Disney for four decades. Along with co-producer John Muster, he is the creator of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Moana, Princess and the Frog, and one of my favorites, Pete’s Dragon. In this interview, we discuss his journey to become one of the most successful animated movie producers of today and the process of creating animated movies. The story of how Robin Williams was brought on board for Aladdin was amazing!

Brandon Mull was a guest on this podcast a few years ago in episode #251. We met when he was the Toastmaster at The Life, the Universe, and Everything Conference, after which he sent me a copy of “Fablehaven,” which became the topic of our first interview. This interview is about his newest release, “Guardians: Forbidden Mountain,” an epic adventure fantasy that can be enjoyed by YA as well as adult readers. He normally takes 6 months to write a novel, but this one took 2 ½ years due to the story’s depth—and the fact that it is the first of a three-novel series. There are two hero journeys that gradually weave into each other. Mako Boughbreaker is along one path, and Arden is on the other side of the empire, walking her path. The book deftly addresses people's spirituality while weaving in the idea that one does have the choice to do the right thing—and that one’s actions have consequences, good or bad —which is important. Possibly even more so these days. Learn more at https://brandonmull.com/

Charlie Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon best-selling author of over 20 novels. She sent me her book “The Shattered King,” book one of a duology, a dark fantasy with a lot of adventure, and the romance contributes to the fantasy/magic. So, while it is a slow-burn romance—placing it squarely in the romantasy genre—I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adventure with a lot of political intrigue. I was fascinated by her magic, a system in which the main character, Nym, works with a physically broken Prince Renn to heal his "aura" or "soul," thereby healing his body. As I enjoy discovering new magic systems, this was an especially nice treat. And I must say that I really enjoyed meeting Charlie at the Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium, where this interview was recorded and discussing her journey as an author. Learn more at https://www.charlienholmberg.com/

#1 NYT and USA Today bestselling author Tricia Levenseller was interviewed at the Superstars Writing Conference in Colorado Springs and discusses the various types of romance and specifically romantasy novels and what makes them so popular. NOTE: This was the first romance novel I ever read, which made the interview all the more interesting for me! We discuss her “villain love story,” “The Shadows Between Us,” and how she writes fantasy romance novels. She explained why the villainess-girl lead female character in a romance is so popular with the female audience. Find out more about Tricia at https://tricialevenseller.com

This interview was recorded in Provo, Utah, at the Life the Universe and Everything Symposium, with Elaine Cohen, pen name Elaine Midcoh, Writers of the Future Volume 39 winner, with her story “A Trickle in History.” Elaine’s earlier careers included being a lawyer and a college professor, but she now focuses on her writing. Her short story “On Behalf of Lake Owakeela” was recently published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the Fiction Issue, having won the “Write Before Midnight” short fiction contest. It is a story that editor Kim Stanley Robinson commented had “A very knowing and expert feel.” In this interview, Elaine discusses how to research and write a fictional story on politically sensitive topics. Learn more: elainemidcoh.wordpress.com/

Joshua Essoe is a freelance editor with over a decade of full-time work under his belt. He has edited for bestsellers, Piers Anthony and David Farland, including the multi-award-winning novel, Nightingale. He’s also edited for Dean Lorey, lead writer of Arrested Development, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, former director at Kobo, USA Today bestsellers, Writers of the Future winners, and many other top-notch independents. He was the lead editor at Urban Fantasy Magazine from 2014-2015. From 2012-2015, he recorded the weekly writing podcast Hide and Create with co-hosts Michael J. Sullivan, Diana Rowland, Jay Wells, and Debbie Viguie. You can find Joshua teaching about editing, pitches, and writing back-cover copy every year at the Superstars Writing Seminars in Colorado. His approach to editing is to help you make your story the best version of itself it can be. Joshua is also a writer. He was a 2014 finalist in the Writers of the Future Contest and just released the third volume in a 5-book series, each covering two subjects of the most-common issues he sees in fiction writing as a full-time editor. Find his latest project at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joshuaessoe/shazzwick-of-land-vol-1.

Rachell Howzell Hall is the NYT, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of 16 novels. The novel discussed in this interview was Fog and Fury. Her bio says she also writes romantasy, something "Fog and Fury"—an intense thriller—is not. And with the fact that she does write romantasy, it allowed discussing questions not previously asked including the difference between writing thrillers and romantasy.

Tim Waggoner is a multi-award-winning dark fantasy and horror author with a spattering of media tie-ins, now totaling over 60 novels. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio. We discuss what attracts people to horror and why he enjoys writing it, and his horror novel, “The World Turns Red.” Visit Tim at TimWaggoner.com

In this episode, Lisa Mangum, a veteran editor and author, shares her extensive experience in publishing. She has worked as an editor at Deseret Book since 1997, and became the editorial manager at Shadow Mountain in 2014. She has authored four bestselling YA novels—including the Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello—plus short stories, novellas, and a craft book inspired by Supernatural. She also edits anthologies for WordFire Press and teaches at writing conferences, including her unique UVU writing weekends in Capitol Reef National Park. The discussion centers on her book “Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published.” emphasizing why even self-published or indie authors benefit from professional editing. Lisa explores key storytelling elements: the distinction between plot and story, various plot types, and narrative perspectives. She compares first-person, second-person, third-person limited, and third-person omniscient viewpoints, highlighting their relative strengths, challenges, and the genres where each thrives most effectively.