Like Father Like Daughter? Young Artist Becomes Finalist in Science Fiction Contest Her Father Won 20 Years Ago

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 29 - What are the odds? Two decades after her father won what has since become one of the longest running amateur writing contests worldwide, April Aldridge of Fort Walton Beach, Florida has been named a finalist for its companion, the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future contest.

"She wasn't even born yet when I won," said Ray Aldridge, a winner of the 1986 Writers of the Future Contest for his winning short story.

"The odds are probably 10,000 to 1 that April was even chosen," said Joni Labaqui, Contest Director. "Since entries are anonymous, we have no idea who the artist is when selecting finalists."

What follows will be a month of suspense in the Aldridge household while the final judges cast their votes and the results come in to see if April, like her father, will be named a winner.

"If April wins, she will be our first 'second generation' winner," Labaqui said.

Winning artists will be published in the upcoming L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, an annual anthology that sells in all major book stores.

Judges of the years' finalists include multiple award-winning artists Frank Frazetta, Bob Eggleton, Vincent DiFate, Ron Lindahn, Val Lakey Lindahn, Stephen Hickman, Cliff Nielsen, Stephan Martiniere and Laura Brodian Freas.

www.writersofthefuture.com