{"id":1581,"date":"2015-06-29T21:18:34","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T21:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnpicacio.com\/onthefront\/?p=1581"},"modified":"2015-06-30T02:03:22","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T02:03:22","slug":"2015-locus-award-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johnpicacio.com\/onthefront\/2015\/06\/29\/2015-locus-award-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 Locus Award Winner!"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p> $\"LOCUSAWARD2015\"$ <\/a>I\u2019m back home from Seattle, and I brought back the 2015 Locus Award in the Best Artist category. Wow. \ud83d\ude42 I was nominated this year along with Michael Whelan<\/a>, Jim Burns<\/a>, Charles Vess<\/a>, and Shaun Tan<\/a>. That\u2019s a helluva lineup and I have huge respect for all four of those artists. Winning the award is doubly gratifying because it\u2019s an acknowledgement of the ongoing Loteria<\/a> artwork that constituted a large part of my 2014 output. So THANK YOU<\/strong>, Locus Magazine Readers!! This is hugely appreciated.\n

Going forward, I\u2019m excited to see where Michael is headed as a visual storyteller. I\u2019m stoked to see where Charles is headed with his\u00a0next illustrated book. Ditto Shaun.\u00a0And note to self: I need to buy Jim\u2019s 2014 art book from Titan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Congrats to all of the winners and finalists in all of the categories!<\/em><\/p>\n

* What a great moment to see Jay Lake\u2019s daughter Bronwyn, as she accepted his Locus Award for Last Plane to Heaven<\/em> winning Best Collection.<\/p>\n

$\"JAYLAKEFTW\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

* Congrats to Irene Gallo as Tor.com<\/a> scored the award for Best Magazine. Well earned, Irene.<\/p>\n

* Was great visiting with Brom as he\u00a0accepted the award for Spectrum 21<\/em> (winner, Best Art Book).<\/p>\n

* In fact, our Locus Awards banquet table racked up a fair share of\u00a0hardware as Brom, Del Rey editor Michael Braff, and me were all seated with each other (as luck would have it). Michael ended up accepting for Joe Abercrombie\u2019s TWO Locus Awards wins, as well as George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois\u2019 win for Rogues<\/em>, as Best Anthology.<\/p>\n

* Really enjoyed visiting with Patty Garcia, Tor\u2019s Director of Publicity (#Mexican@sFTW!!), Liz Gorinsky, Brooks Peck of the EMP,\u00a0Jack Skillingstead, Daryl Gregory, Francesca Myman, Arley Sorg, Eileen Gunn, Leslie Howle, Adam Christopher, Ramez Naam, Duane Wilkins, and of course, Liza Groen Trombi, who made this whole endeavor come together (with Connie Willis emceeing the awards ceremony). I\u2019m sure I\u2019m forgetting a ton of people, but I want to say a huge thanks to all of the new friends made, and all who visited my table of Loteria merchandise. Special shoutout to Wilde Rover<\/a> in Kirkland for hosting Loteria Fest on Thursday night and all who came and played (thanks to Brenda Cooper, Jan Greylorn, and of course, Teeny Ayento)!<\/p>\n

In a year when we\u2019ve seen science fiction\/fantasy awards\u00a0suffer tremendous\u00a0abuse, both from without and within, there\u2019s something extra-special about winning the Locus Award this year. It\u2019s because the ballot of nominees\u00a0felt more like\u00a0an artful\u00a0snapshot of excellent works and creators from the most recent calendar year, rather\u00a0than a\u00a0collage of\u00a0vandalisms. This ballot and the winners are\u00a0decided\u00a0by science fiction \/ fantasy readers and art lovers. It\u2019s\u00a0a people\u2019s award, open to all. I\u2019m grateful and honored to be recognized within\u00a0such a diverse, world-class gallery of talent, and it only inspires me to be better with my next works.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"