Did any of them go on to have amazing careers or did they fade back into the wallpaper of humanity?
Why?
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
Patrick Rothfuss just won the Quill for Best New Fantasy, and has his second due novel out. Dave Farland is a multi-million copy best-selling novelist. K.D. Wentworth is the coordinating judge for WotF, and is publishing. Andrea Kail was just nominated for the Nebula. Jeff Carlson just sold his third novel to Ace. Steve Savile just signed a contract for a trilogy of Stargate SG-1 novels. Eric James Stone has a story in OSC's Intergalactic Medicine Show. Tony Pi (Metamorphosis in Amber) and Steven Kotowytch (Saturn in G Minor) are both nominated for a 2008 Prix Aurora Award (Canadian) for short form in English. Diana Rowland sold two urban fantasy novels to Bantam. John Brown (Who published under Bo Griffin) signed a three-book deal from TOR. John C. Hines sold his third Goblin novel to DAW, and his novellette, Sisters of the Hedge is nominated for the Nebula. Dylan Otto Krider's novel Taking Over was asemi-finalist for the highly publicized Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Jay Lake's novel Mainspring is nominated for a Nebula. So is Tobias S. Buckell's novel Ragamuffin and David Levine's short story Titanium Mike Saves the Day. Ken Scholes sold his five book series to TOR...
[edited to add a better illustration of the winners. I thought the ellipsis in the original post was indicative of there was much more to list, but maybe now it'll appear so.]
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited April 10, 2008).]
Posted by tnwilz (Member # 4080) on :
No you understood. I actually didnt know if any had been able to use it as a stepping stone to success. I guess most never become writers after that one triumph. Thanks for the info, it is interesting that some became very successful after that.
I was just curious if anyone knew what became of them.
Tracy
Posted by Wolfe_boy (Member # 5456) on :
quote:I guess most never become writers after that one triumph.
Actually, I'm willing to hazard a guess that a substantial percentage (bordering on 100%) remain writers. Their continued success in becoming published might not be much greater than the average Hatrack denizen, but then again, they've got a nice little line at the bottom of their query letters that should grab the attention of an editor or agent.
Jayson Merryfield
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
I think Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and Dave Farland have all said that they can't believe how many household names have come from this contest.
Posted by johnbrown (Member # 1467) on :
It was useful in making pro contacts (something that later helped with my book deal), in validation, in having a grand time (heck, I got to see the space shuttle launch), and in learning. I think there are very few events that have a gigantic effect on a career. It's a cumulation of effects. But WOTF was definitely one that moved me along the path. And if I had to choose between moving four spaces forward or skipping a turn, I'll take the four spaces every time.
I will say that the OSC bootcamp had a HUGE effect for me. I was logjammed for quite some time. The bootcamp unjammed me. I don't want to post all that here. You can read more on my website. But even with that seismic event it was, I still had to go home and write, write, write. The bootcamp would have done nothing for me if I hadn't continued moving forward.
Posted by johnbrown (Member # 1467) on :
There's more on wikipedia. Here are a few more authors:
Winners and published finalists in the contest have included the writers Stephen Baxter, Karen Joy Fowler, James Alan Gardner, Jim C. Hines, Jay Lake, David D. Levine, Karawynn Long, Syne Mitchell, Michael H. Payne, Robert Reed, Bruce Holland Rogers, Patrick Rothfuss, Steven Savile, Dean Wesley Smith, Catriona Sparks, Mary Turzillo, Sean Williams, Dave Wolverton, David Zindell, and the artists Shaun Tan and Frank Wu.[4]
Posted by Doctor (Member # 7736) on :
quote:I think Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and Dave Farland have all said that they can't believe how many household names have come from this contest.
Haha well, maybe in their households. In mine the afrementioned aren't even household names, or else just barely.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
"J. K. Rowling" is a household name, far as writers go. On Inarticulate Babbler's original list, I recognize four names, and can only name books by one of them. (I have been distant from published SF of late.)
