Most of the time when I post here, I’m blogging about covers that I’ve done, or the books they represent. Not the case with the cover you see on your left. Next Saturday, I’ll have the honor of commemorating Ed Emshwiller’s induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in Seattle. I’ll be presenting his posthumous award, as he’s inducted that evening along with Gene Wolfe, Gene Roddenberry and Ridley Scott. Serious artillery there!

I suspect most sf/fantasy fans have at least a glancing knowledge of Wolfe, Roddenberry, and Scott. However, some may know very little about Ed Emshwiller’s work. A shame, but if so, here’s some great news. Luis Ortiz has put together a stunning book called EMSHWILLER INFINITY X TWO: THE ART AND LIFE OF ED AND CAROL EMSHWILLER (Nonstop Press). Introductions are by Carol Emshwiller and Alex Eisenstein. Packed with a lifetime of Emsh’s art and personal photos of the Emshwillers, it’s a riveting bio of their lives and times. I highly, highly recommend it. On the surface, it would seem that Emsh’s career as a Hugo Award-winning illustrator (five-time Hugo Award winner, in fact) was very different from his career as a pioneering experimental filmmaker. However, the two were very much born of the same brew of technical fascination, intuitive genius, and sheer vision. Emsh was an artist, if there ever was one. My hat’s off to Ortiz for his diligent research and thoroughness. Carol offers balance and perspective, and the whole package presents a very inspiring account of two artists’ shared lives. Bud Plant Comic Art has copies right now. So does DreamHaven Books. If you’re at all interested in the creation of art, this book’s a real treasure.

This past weekend, I found out that I’m in consideration for this year’s British Fantasy Award in the Artist category. The British Fantasy Society‘s “Long List”, or Recommendation List, is floating around on various sites, so I guess it’s officially public now. I saw it today over at Shocklines. Apparently, the BF Award in this category is given to an individual, but it has to be for a specific picture or work by that individual. I found out that the specific work responsible for my inclusion on the list, is my art book, COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO. So that’s great news. My understanding is that British Fantasy Society members now go vote, and that narrows the list down to a short list of finalists, which would constitute the official nominations, and then a winner comes from that list. So to any and all folks who put me on this list — thank you. Much appreciated. Nice to be in the company of the following in the Artist category this year:

Ben Baldwin / Vincent Chong / Les Edwards / Velic Fahrija / Dean Harkness / Dominic Harman / Matthew Laznika / Zach McCain / Edward Miller / Jackie Morris / Harry O. Morris / Ted Naifeh / Larry Rostant

(By the way, if you’re not quite sure what a British Fantasy Award looks like, wonder no more. Apparently, this is what one looks like circa 2003, courtesy of the Agony Column.)

Here’s the wraparound cover art for the forthcoming Bruce McAllister hardcover collection THE GIRL WHO LOVED ANIMALS AND OTHER STORIES (Golden Gryphon Press). Bruce’s story “Kin” is a Hugo Award nominee in this year’s Short Story category. “The Boy in Zaquitos” was selected to appear in THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2007, guest edited by Stephen King. Both stories will be included in this seventeen-story collection. The introduction is by Harry Harrison; the afterword is by Barry N. Malzberg; and I think the book is slated for an October release date. It’s a heckuva collection and I’m proud to be a part of this book.

“Bruce McAllister was widely regarded as one of the best science fiction writers of the ’80s (although he really started all the way back in 1963), and the recent work in this collection shows that he’s lost none of his skills here in the Oughts. THE GIRL WHO LOVED ANIMALS AND OTHER STORIES, which spans five decades of his brilliant career, shows McAllister at his best: complex, compassionate, angry, thoughtful, subtle, and always concerned with exploring the hidden places of the human heart.” — Gardner Dozois, editor of the annual YEAR’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION anthology series.

Between getting married, two honeymoons on two continents, and several simultaneous job deadlines, I’ve been meaning to pimp the following recent books upon their initial release. So without further ado, a few titles that have released within the last couple of months…
STAR TREK — CRUCIBLE: KIRK / THE STAR TO EVERY WANDERING (David R. George III / Pocket Books)
The third book in Pocket Books’ epic CRUCIBLE trilogy, which commemorated the 40th Anniversary of the original STAR TREK series….put all three paperback covers together, and it forms a triptych.

X-MEN: THE RETURN — (Chris Roberson / Pocket Books)
THE UNCANNY X-MEN was my favorite comic book when I was a kid, so doing this cover was something of a dream come true…a pleasure to see this book out in stores as it was a collaboration with an editor (Jennifer Heddle) and an author that I root mightily for…

ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE / SFBC Omnibus — (Charles Stross)
With the recent very unfortunate personnel moves over at the SFBC, I’m not sure what the availability will be on this book. Again, very best wishes out to Andrew Wheeler and Ellen Asher.

NEBULA AWARDS SHOWCASE 2007 (edited by Mike Resnick / Roc Books)
I didn’t illustrate or design this cover, but I wrote an essay called “To Boldly Go: A Strange, Beautiful Future for Genre Cover Art,” which is included along with some of the finest short stories of the past year.

Here’s the cover illustration for the forthcoming Sheri S. Tepper hardcover, THE MARGARETS (HarperCollins/Eos). I’ve seen an advance copy of the book and while I’m really happy with the way the illustration printed on the jacket, unfortunately if you look at the jacket end flap, you won’t know the art is by me. The company made a mistake and printed the wrong illustration credit. Really disappointing, since I’m proud to be a part of this book. In the art department’s defense, these things happen. When you consider the vast number of jobs that go through a hard-working art department at a big company like HarperCollins, it’s actually amazing that these things happen so seldom. So oh well….the good thing is that they’re all great folks over there, and apologies were swift and sincere. We’ll do plenty more covers together down the road. Now that you know who really did the cover art, check out THE MARGARETS when it hits stores everywhere next week!

Here’s the cover for the forthcoming American release of Paul Cornell’s BRITISH SUMMERTIME (MonkeyBrain). I did the illustration and cover design on this one. Paul’s a favorite writer amongst DOCTOR WHO fans, and it’s terrific to see his work getting more and more buzz stateside.

Here’s my wraparound cover illustration for the forthcoming George Alec Effinger collection, A THOUSAND DEATHS. Golden Gryphon Press is the publisher, and it’s their third Effinger collection. This one has a foreword by Mike Resnick and an afterword by Andrew Fox. I believe the book will be available everywhere by June 1st.

Pyr editorial director Lou Anders was kind enough to mention that there’s a terrific review for the book in the May 7th issue of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. It reads as follows, “A heartfelt homage to the late (and largely underappreciated) SF author Effinger (1947-2002), this intimate collection of stories revolving around his literary alter ego, hapless genre writer and editor Sandor Courane, offers a poignant glimpse into the author’s psyche. Central to the collection is The Wolves of Memory, a deeply allegorical novel in which Courane, banished from Earth by the computerized overlord TECT after numerous career failures, finds himself exiled on a bleak world where he and other outcasts slowly succumb to an alien neurological disorder. Struggling with increasing memory loss and the deterioration of his body, Courane finally finds what he has been seeking all along: fulfillment. Also included are seven sardonic short stories that pit the ill-fated Courane against, among other things, a bibliophilic time traveler and a witch who lives off the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A touching afterword by Andrew Fox as well as visually stunning cover art by John Picacio make this bittersweet collection one to be cherished.”

According to Lou (who knows PUBLISHERS WEEKLY a lot better than I do), apparently the magazine rarely mentions cover art in their reviews, so that makes it even nicer that they singled out the illustration. Thanks, PW.

I found out while I was in Europe last week that I’m a finalist for two Locus Awards. Wow! So I’m a finalist for Best Artist and for Best Art Book (COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO). Couldn’t be more pleased, and I’m very grateful for the kind consideration. Thanks so much! It’s been quite an amazing six weeks over here….getting married; doing honeymoons on two continents; being nominated for two Hugo Awards, and now discovering that I’m a finalist for two Locus Awards. Again, I’m very grateful.

If you’re curious about the art book, COVER STORY is still available from the big stores (Amazon.com; Barnes & Noble; Borders; Books-A-Million), but please consider some of these terrific independent booksellers as well. Many of them have a few autographed copies remaining, at no extra charge…Borderlands Books, DreamHaven Books, Bud Plant, The Other Change of Hobbit, and many more. While I was in the Netherlands last week, I signed lots of copies for The American Book Center which is located in Amsterdam. (Thanks, Karin!) So if you live in or near the Netherlands, or saw the book at the Elf Fantasy Fair, they’ve got signed copies now.

One more note — three cheers for MonkeyBrain Books, as they’re the publisher of my art book, and it’s terrific to share the book’s Hugo and Locus Award noms with them.
In addition, MonkeyBrain’s MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE by Win Eckert, and BLOOD & THUNDER: THE LIFE & ART OF ROBERT E. HOWARD by Mark Finn both finished as finalists in the Locus Awards’ Best Non-Fiction category.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to illustrate the covers for both of those, as well as Jeffrey Ford’s THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM (Golden Gryphon), which is a finalist for Best Collection. Congrats to all!

Utrecht in the springtime…hard to find a nicer place to be. Traci and I are back home from a nine-day stint in Europe. We spent the first half of the trip with over 22,000 costumed faithful at the 2007 Elf Fantasy Fair in the Netherlands, just outside of Utrecht. I was invited out as a special guest for the show, and as you can see from the photos here, it’s a spectacular venue. The fair happened on the grounds of Castle de Haar, the biggest castle in the country.
Essentially, it was a massive costumed festival, with lots of eats; lots of battles and jousts; and tons of imagination, revelry, and camaraderie everywhere. My fellow special guests at the show were a really special bunch. I can’t think of a more diverse and strange group who on the surface should have had nothing in common, but as it turned out, the best times were when we were all together. A quick rundown of the whole crew…

David Anthony Durham — aka “Big D” — author of PRIDE OF CARTHAGE and the forthcoming ACACIA, and if the massive Saturday battle is any indication, a man with a killer instinct when 50 rows of his barbarian brothers are in front of him with weapons and shields swinging away…(‘kidding, D!)…true enough, history will remember that battle as the one where D was holding down the rear guard in heroic fashion. 😉

Brian Froud — aka “Little B” — what can you say about Froud at a festival called Elf Fantasy Fair? I mean, seriously. It figured the guy would be a rock star out there, and it was no surprise when he was. Gotta respect a guy who says out of the blue, “Real men don’t wear armor. Real men wear tutus.” And then backs up his talk when his fans show up in droves to his Sunday signing. He’s the man. Froud forever.

Chris Geere (pictured right, along with Jetse de Vries) — Have you seen the film BLOOD & CHOCOLATE yet? I haven’t, but now I have to, because Chris is in it. He was a riot and a revelation all weekend long. Traci and I very much look forward to future shows where this guy graces the screen…favorite Chris Geere moment from the EFF weekend: too many to count really….although the immortal line “Where’s Little B?” will probably ring in my memory forever…

Prof. Dr. Roland Rotherham — A gentleman, a scholar, and the ambassador of the entire Elf Fantasy Fair. You’re all heart and soul, Prof, and Traci and I appreciate all that you did out there at EFF.

In addition, we crossed paths with these folks…

Julian Glover — His performance in INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE was unforgettable, and he’s widely regarded as one of the best character actors anywhere. We spent some time with him on Saturday night when the group of us convened at the hotel bar, and he was a true gentleman.

Scott Lynch — saw him very briefly in the VIP room and then never again….very sad to say that we never hung out over there, as his schedule was apparently very different from the rest of us.

James Clemens — Ditto. Sorry that you and Scott missed out on some really fun times with our motley crew. 🙂

Lou Ferrigno — I religiously watched the HULK TV show when I was an elementary school kid, and I had a big Lou Ferrigno HULK poster in my room at that time. So it was quite a trip for Traci and me to spend an hour-long taxi ride with him, and discuss everything from superhero movies to knee surgery to tasers. A very kind guy and I wish we got a chance to hang out with him more at EFF. Take care out there, Lou.

Jetse de Vries — a good friend, and one of the editors of the Hugo-nominated INTERZONE Magazine…Jetse lives in the Netherlands and was kind enough to join our crazy EFF bunch for a memorable Sunday evening.

(standing, L to R: Brian Froud; Martin, our terrific PA; seated L to R: Jetse de Vries; Chris Geere; the Prof.; me; Traci; Ronald; David Anthony Durham)

Big thanks to the EFF organizers, and especially Stefan, Coca, Martin, Ronald (thanks for getting us around), PJ, Pim, Tamara, Arno, and all the rest who really looked out for us. It was a real pleasure. After EFF, Traci and I spent several days in London, and that was the second of our two honeymoons (the first was last month in Toronto). All in all, we had a phenomenal time in Europe, but it’s good to be home now.

So much to say…..here goes….spent the first part of last week in Toronto with my wife Traci on our first honeymoon (we’ll do the second honeymoon this month in London). Toronto was one of the best cities we’ve ever visited. Phenomenally diverse! Loved it. Queen St. West is now one of my favorite streets in the world. Bloor St was terrific. So many jaw-droppingly beautiful churches all over. A new Frank Gehry addition punching through the Ontario Art Museum.A day trip to Niagara Falls. Silver Snail and the Beguiling are two of the finest comic book shops I’ve ever visited. Bakka-Phoenix Books rules. And Toronto has some of the nicest people anywhere (example: Holly, the waitress at the Marriott who served with a smile for days on end and became like family to WHC barflies, who shall remain nameless). Traci and I often said, “We could live in this town.” Our short honeymoon was fabulous, and we get to dream it all over again in London later this month.(And by the way, for those of you who’ve emailed asking about wedding photos, I haven’t forgotten. Photos forthcoming. Traci and I have been so busy, we haven’t even had time to see them.) Meantime, here’s an ultimate honeymoon cliche — Traci and me at Niagara Falls…..so touristy, it’s nauseating, but hey — we couldn’t pass the opportunity, and we’re glad we went.

On to World Horror Con…impossible to do an all-inclusive report, but a couple of things that must be said. The con committee — what an achievement this past week was. Stephen Jones is The Man. Steve, you shattered your own high standards, and crafted a convention experience for the ages. I look forward to WHC in Salt Lake City next year, but I don’t envy them for following the performance of this year’s committee. I suspect SLC will be terrific, but this year’s result will be so tough to top. So professionally run, so well-organized. So many congoers raved about the programming slate and how much goodness there was, hour to hour. One of the best WHCs ever. My biggest thanks to Head Chair Amanda Foubister and Associate Chair Mandy Slater. Rodger, Lisa, Kelly, Alex, Marah, Evelyn, and everyone — again, you outdid yourselves. Lastly, what a GOH crew — Michael Marshall Smith, Nancy Kilpatrick, Pete Crowther, Don Hutchison, Pete Atkins, Gahan Wilson, and Sephera Giron…it was a true honour to be side by side with you.

Highlights:

Best WHC party: the PS Publishing Party at the Merril Collection….Pete and Nikki Crowther hosted a memorable reception where they debuted several PS releases, including POSTSCRIPTS 10, a special Michael Marshall Smith issue with stories by Mike as well as Stephen King, Joe Hill, Lucius Shepard, Connie Willis, Tim Lebbon, Graham Joyce, and more. Cover by me. The book turned out beautifully and it was a very fast seller. There may still be a few copies left. The Merril Collection was a revelation. It’s an expertly-maintained, climate-controlled archive of the best genre books and art, available for scholarly use. Partygoers took tours of the collection. Awesome. A great time. (Stephen Jones, Ellen Datlow pictured.)

Best Convention Program in the history of Conventions: TRAVELLERS IN DARKNESS, the souvenir book for WHC 2007, edited by Stephen Jones. Almost every con has a program, which is usually a magazine of varying production quality, sometimes slick, often not so. Not good enough for WHC 2007 though. This con had a gorgeous hardcover book with dustjacket! Artwork by Bob Eggleton, Randy Broecker, Les Edwards, myself and more and contributions by Michael Marshall Smith, Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Kim Newman, Robert Sawyer, F. Paul Wilson, Norm Partridge, Michael Rowe, and many, many more. Plus an interior color gallery of some of my cover illustrations. Make no mistake though — this book was Steve Jones’ baby. My reaction when I first saw it: “You’ve gotta be kidding me…..” Utter awe and admiration. Rumor has it Michael Marshall Smith did the beautiful interior layouts. If so, further proof that MMS is one of the deadliest talents anywhere. What CAN’T this guy do well?

Favorite Stoker Awards moment: Joe R. Lansdale getting a standing ovation when he won the Grandmaster Award. Congrats to all of the Stoker winners. It was great to see Pete Crowther recognized for his stellar work with PS Publishing and great to see Joe have a night where he was honored like that, along with his family. (Pictured below at the Stokers, left to right: Brendan Vaughan, Brad Hutchings, Claire Booker, Ann Hutchings, Traci, me.)

(Bottom photo….the new Rat Pack?? Left to right: Pete Atkins, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Jonathan Reitan)

General good times shoutout: to all congoers who were so gracious….so many good people who were so generous and kind…..it was a pleasure to spend time with all of you. As always, a blast to hang with comrades-in-arms Chris Roberson and Allison Baker, as well as Liza Trombi, George Mann, Jeremy Lassen, Liz Gorinsky, Michael Marshall Smith and his wife Paula (and little Nate!), Tim Lebbon, Rodger Turner, Scott Edelman, Gahan Wilson, Brendan and Claire Vaughan, and Brad and Ann Hutchings. So many more. Again — Steve, it was an amazing con that you, Mandy, Amanda, Kelly, Evelyn, Rodger and everyone put together…a phenomenal weekend that Traci and I will never forget.

So I just got back home after an amazing week in Toronto. Sorry I’ve been away for so long. More on that coming.

Apparently, while I’ve been out of town, the Hugo nominations list released. I’m absolutely thrilled to be one of the five nominees in the Best Professional Artist category. Wow! What an honor. And as thrilled as I am about that, I couldn’t be happier that COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO has been nominated for the Best Related Book Hugo as well. Wow, wow! Better yet, COVER STORY’s nomination is the first Hugo nod for MonkeyBrain Books and the husband-wife braintrust of Chris Roberson and Allison Baker. The book was a team effort, and it’s all the sweeter to share this nom with them.

The thing that makes this even more dreamlike is I was first officially notified of the two(!) Hugo nominations the same day I got married (March 17). Out of respect to the Hugo process, I kept this bit of news a secret until the news broke, which it did days ago. So there you have it — as if March 17, 2007 wasn’t already my Best Day Ever, the double-Hugo nod made it absolutely surreal. Wow. It still feels like a dream…..thanks to all for their consideration, and I really couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this amazing list of Hugo finalists.

I married the best girl in the world on a perfect blue sky day surrounded by the greatest friends and family any man could ask for. More photos soon.

Top: Traci and John Picacio, married March 17, 2007, San Antonio, TX

Middle: Friends at the wedding reception — (l to r) Michael Moorcock; Rick Klaw; Chris Roberson; Georgia Roberson

Bottom: The Best of Times — post-wedding celebration at me and Traci’s favorite restaurant, Acenar, Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX, Saturday night, March 17, 2007 — (l to r, clockwise) Allison Baker; Georgia Roberson; Chris Roberson; Lou Anders; Traci Picacio; John Picacio; Dena Lackey; Sean Lackey; Jess Nevins; Jude Feldman; Alan Beatts

While I’m sure blinding sex appeal comes to mind first (cough, ahem), the answer in this case is that we’re featured interviews, along with Robert Picardo, in ROBOT 50, the brilliant Italian magazine from Delos Books. I just received my copy yesterday and the issue looks fabulous. Thanks to Silvio Sosio and Maurizio Manzieri for inviting me. Maurizio is a terrific Chesley Award-winning illustrator and did a great job with my interview. The image they chose for the cover is is the art I did for the most recent North American edition of Frederik Pohl’s GATEWAY (Ballantine/Del Rey). Grazie, fellas!

Been working away over here on several assignments, so I’m a bit late on the following. Just wanted to say thanks to a couple of folks. First, to SFRevu. They recently posted their Hugo Recommendations and were kind enough to list me amongst their suggested suspects in the Professional Artist category. Very appreciated. All terrific names in their list, and I’m pleased to see Brian W. Dow listed there as well. His most notable recent cover work was done for Pyr, and besides his really thoughtful covers, the guy is an absolutely amazing modelmaker. For a couple of his Pyr covers, he lovingly crafted spaceships out of household scraps and then used these models as references for his illustrations. I did the same thing on Mike Resnick’s STARSHIP: MUTINY and STARSHIP: PIRATE, but I have to hand it to Brian — his handiwork would make Industrial Light & Magic drool with envy. He’s good. So I’m happy to see him getting acknowledgement for his work. Lots of other terrific recommendations overall in the SF Revu Recommendation List, including Lou Anders for Best Professional Editor (Long Form), and Chris Roberson’s PARAGAEA (Novel).

Also thanks to John Klima, the mastermind at Electric Velocipede. He offered his Hugo thoughts and he listed COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO as a nominee in the Best Related Book category. COVER STORY is definitely eligible, as well as SPECTRUM 13: THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASTIC ART and Jon Foster’s re/volution, amongst other 2006 releases. Good luck to Klima in the Hugo Best Editor (Short Form) category for his work on Electric Velocipede. SFRevu and Electric Velocipede are both excellent considerations in the Best Fanzine category.

Congrats to Rebecca Ore, Diana Gill, Jennifer Brehl, and the folks over at HarperCollins/Eos. Rebecca’s latest novel TIME’S CHILD scored a rock-solid “A-” review from SciFi.com. “Highly entertaining and creative, a story readers won’t forget.” Looks like Eos is running some thoughtful essays by Rebecca over at their blog. You should check these out, and definitely keep your eyes out for TIME’S CHILD which just released in bookstores everywhere yesterday. (In case you’re curious, here’s the full front cover art.) 🙂