The Authors Quill author Andrew Jackson Guest Heather Anne Lee

United Public Radio

Andrew Jackson started writing and illustrating since age twelve and never gave up the former but (thankfully for his readers) has stopped the latter! One of his earliest memories is of watching Star Trek with his dad and falling in love with the speeding ships, bizarre aliens, and the diamond glitter of myriad stars in that eternal blackness. Even now, as he explores the strange new worlds of family, fatherhood, and a career in retail, he’s never lost his love for the stars. Counting authors such as Stephen King, Iain M. Banks, and Alastair Reynolds amongst his literary influences, he revels both in reading and writing rich, tangible worlds other than our own. Born too late to watch the Apollo missions but too early for interstellar travel he must content himself with dreams and the sad knowledge that he may never know what’s out there. Is there anybody out there? Why aren’t they talking? On walks down leafy lanes of his native Surrey, Andrew examines these questions. He likes to think he looked at a particular tree one time and pondered its age and almost otherworldly summer greenness and so was born his winning short story, Code L1. The story itself is an exploration of the Fermi Paradox –- the hypothesis that, if we have galactic neighbours, they should have called by now. Perhaps they’ve seen the darker sides of humanity and they’re afraid of us coming out into the stars. Or perhaps, if they could, they’d tell us why they’ve been so quiet. Perhaps, it’s best not to know… The Contest, one of the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world, is currently in its 42nd year and is judged by some of the premier names in speculative fiction HOLLYWOOD - Mullica Hill, New Jersey author Sandra Skalski is a winner in Sandra lives with her husband in suburban New Jersey. She recently retired from a career in chemical engineering, leaving her with actual time to write. When she’s not writing, you can find her in the butterfly garden or traveling with her husband. Her greatest joy is spending time with her daughter, son-in-law, and her two beautiful grandchildren. HOLLYWOOD - Savannah, Georgia artist and Savannah College of Art and Design student Ms. HeatherAnne Lee is a winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest and was honored along with ten other artists and twelve writers at the Taglyan Complex in Hollywood, California on April 10th. Her art is published along with the other writers' and illustrators' stories and art in the international bestselling anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 41 which was officially released on April 22nd 2025. HeatherAnne Lee was born in 2004 in Federal Way, Washington, and has lived across the US from Hawaii to New York and Vermont. HeatherAnne, or “Heather” to her friends, now resides in Savannah, Georgia, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Heather started drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and never stopped, graduating from crayon to graphite to paint, and now primarily works digitally. Despite working on a screen, Heather holds to her painting knowledge, layering colors and textures on her drawing tablet, emulating traditional painting techniques in a digital medium. Heather takes much of her inspiration from the world around her, translating reality into epics and stories of dragons and knights. Heather always strives to push her work to the limit, working with clients to bring their stories to life through her illustrations. The Illustrators of the Future Contest judges include, Bob Eggleton (11 Chesley Awards and 9 Hugo Awards), Larry Elmore (Dungeons & Dragons book covers), Echo Chernik (graphic designs for major corporations including Celestial Seasonings tea packaging), Rob Prior (art for Spawn, Heavy Metal comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ciruelo (Eragon Coloring Book).