2026 Writers and Illustrators of the Future
On April 16th, Kris and I attended the annual Writers and Illustrators of the Future awards dinner.
This was a special one as it was the 42nd annual awards dinner. Many jokes and references were made to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” One of the judges, Larry Niven, even said he couldn’t wait to sit down with a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and read all the winners.
We saw a number of friends there…
And the food, as always, was excellent. We dug into the Filet Mignon before we remembered to take a picture.
And the dessert was awesome, as always, and we now know it’s called a tuxedo bomb. Look it up, you can probably get it at a local grocery store.
This year, they had a special keynote speaker, astronaut Jannicke Mikkelsen.
Or more precisely, “Jannicke Mikkelsen is an awarding winning film director and cinematographer specializing in high-tech production in hazardous and extreme environments….”
In 2019, she served as Mission Payload Specialist on the record-setting polar circumnavigation flight One More Orbit, becoming the first woman to circle the globe via both the North and South Poles.
And, “In 2025, Mikkelsen served as spacecraft commander on the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission Fram2, the first private spacecraft to a polar orbit, further expanding her work at the intersection of storytelling, technology and exploration.”
The awards dinner can be seen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RYJ5_0JCRU Mikkelsen’s keynote speech starts at 1:09:20. Take a look, it is inspiring.
Dennis
319th blog completed.
Second Steampunk novel: 18,234 words. Chapter Five done.
Second Steampunk screenplay: 157 pages.
First Steampunk screenplay: Updated with notes from the novelization.
First Steampunk novel: 77,546 words. Completed until an editor reviews it.
Third Steampunk screenplay: 38 pages.
When a neighbor gives you lemons (and one of them is Lemonzilla)…
Make lemonade.
One of these things is not like the others…
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