Robert Rankin to judge Pulp Idol 2008

The Pulp Idol competition is now closed, the stories are in, the judging is underway as SFX team members and review writers sift through them all, scratch their heads, and hand-pick a shortlist of the best. But who will win first place and get top billing in a book to be published later this summer? Which ten other stories will also get public exposure as official runners-up?

Well, one man will know ahead of everybody else - we're proud to announce that Robert Rankin , celebrated fantasy author and humorist, joins the judging panel as the Ultimate Decider, and will be picking the winner.

Best known for his far fetched tales from Brentford, and for recent hit novels like The Brightonomicon and The Da-da-de-da-da Code, Rankin is a firm favourite with SFX readers; as the author of many successful novels he is the perfect choice to help us judge the 2008 writing competition.

Find out more about the competition we've been running this year (now closed) over on the details page . To find out more about Robert Rankin, visit the official site Sproutlore .

You can hear excerpts from some of Rankin's work on a free CD being given away with this month's SFX Collection 34: Your Complete Guide to SF and Fantasy Literature , on sale from Wednesday 11 June.

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