SF has a new mag and it’s called DEATH RAY. The cover to the second issue is pictured left, and it’s got a terrific interview with Michael Moorcock. Lots of great insights from Mike as usual. Nice quote from him here: “We have to keep struggling in order to maintain justice — the Balance. The price of freedom is to quote again, eternal vigilance. My next book, THE METATEMPORAL DETECTIVE (due in October from Pyr), might otherwise be different from anything I’ve done before, but ultimately that’s the same message it offers.”

I’ve got some quick thoughts re: DEATH RAY as a whole. Think BLENDER MAGAZINE for science fiction…young, street-wise, and free-ranging. What’s most exciting is it has solid feature content related to literary sf, even though the vast majority is weighted toward current TV and cinema. Maybe too much TV and cinema for my tastes. I suspect that media heft is what will keep this magazine alive on the newsstands though, and judging by the past magazines Blackfish Publishing‘s Matt Bielby has started (SFX; TOTAL FILM; PLAYSTATION 2 MAGAZINE), he probably knows that full well. The magazine claims itself as the place “where science fiction lives” and if so, it would be fun to see more of the subversive neighborhoods and maybe slightly less of the flashy, cinematic boulevards that are so well-visited. Maybe as the magazine finds its stability, it can open more of its pages to more content about sf literature, publishing, and art, and maybe even some original storytelling material. That’s still where INTERZONE is best — and clearly DEATH RAY is staking out different territory. The field has room for both, and I think DEATH RAY is off to a dynamite start. More highlights: I love the diversity of sf coverage across all media. It took me a while to get used to the visual busyness of the layouts, but I’ll happily trade that for the sheer abundance of thoughtful, informed content these guys pack into an issue. Guy Haley’s a great interviewer and I’ll look for more from him. What I love most about DEATH RAY is its personality and raw energy across all of the features. It’s a labor of love, not unlike the best fanzines, and if it remains that way, DEATH RAY will be a juggernaut for years to come.

I just turned in the final cover work for Michael Moorcock’s THE METATEMPORAL DETECTIVE. This will be a hardcover release from Pyr, and it’ll be in bookstores this October. Pyr mastermind Lou Anders just posted a nice detailed writeup about the book over at Pyr’s blog. Check it out. The book chronicles the adventures of Seaton Begg and his arch-nemesis Count Zodiac the Albino (perhaps better known as the legendary Elric of Melnibone).

Funny thing happened at my wedding in March, about ten minutes before I got married: I was discussing the front cover with Mike, and he offered a comment that inspired me to create a separate piece of spine art for the book. So for your persual, above is the finished cover with art and design by me, as well as the final illustration sans type, and below, the spine art featuring Rose Von Bek. The spine art is designed to wrap partially around to the back cover.

This was a lot of fun, and it’s always a pleasure to work on a Moorcock book. Now back to work over here…off to do more interiors for another Moorcock masterwork, the forthcoming Del Rey release ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS…

The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists (ASFA)’s 2007 Chesley Awards Suggestions List is here. The awards will be handed out in Yokohama, Japan at this year’s Worldcon.

Thrilled to see Lou Anders of Pyr listed amongst the possible contenders for Best Art Director, along with Irene Gallo of Tor Books and Matt Adelsperger of Wizards of the Coast. Lou’s job title at Pyr is “Editorial Director,” but he sheperds the cover art process as well and from the get-go, he’s developed a diverse and provocative lineup of cover art for Pyr. Very glad to see him getting some acknowledgement in this department.

Two of my cover illustrations are included on this year’s list. In the Best Cover Illustration — Paperback Book category, there’s my cover for Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s classic A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ (Eos).

And in the Best Cover Illustration — Magazine category, there’s my cover for INTERZONE #204 (May/June 2006).

Overall, some outstanding work in all of the Chesley categories this year! Check it out.

Wow, where does the time go? Conestoga 11, Oklahoma’s largest literary sf/fantasy con, fast approaches (July 20-22, in Tulsa). Laurell K. Hamilton is the Author Guest of Honor; Elizabeth Moon is Toastmaster; Richard and Michelle Zellich are the Fan Guests of Honor, and Eric Flint is the Special Guest of Honor. I’m the Artist Guest of Honor. The Conestoga con committee has been really on the ball, so it’s gonna be good times.

Here’s my panel schedule as it currently stands, and of course, I’ll be in the Art Show…hope to see you there!

Book Covers in the 21st Century
Fri: 04:30 PM / Salon F (1 hr)
What works and what doesn’t on the bookstore shelves? Panelists may bring copies of their own works or others and discuss what they think works or doesn’t and what the future holds for cover illustration in sf/fantasy/crossover lit.
Moderator: Picacio, John
Participants: Bradley, Peter; Weisskopf, Toni; Hamilton, Laurell K.

Art in the Digital Age
Sat: 10:00 AM / Salon H (1 hr)
There’s not really a question anymore about whether digital art can be fine art, all you have to do is look at Artist GOH John Picacio’s work. So we’ll ask how people have adapted their techniques in the digital age, and how much digital options have impacted their work.
Moderator: Anderson, David Lee
Participants: Picacio, John; Bradley, Peter

Artist GoH Presentation
Winner of the 2007 Locus Award for Best Artist and finalist for the International Horror Guild Award in the Artist category, John Picacio creates stunning covers and illustrations, and we’re pleased to have him join us. Come see why the convention committee was gobsmacked.
Sat: 03:00 PM / Salon E (1 hr)
Moderator: Picacio, John

Story Illustration Workshop
Sun 10:00 AM / Salon H (2 hrs)
Writers of the Future winner Matt Champine will be our guinea pig. He’ll bring a short story and our artists will talk about the process they go through in illustrating a work of fiction. Then, we’ll see if it works.
Moderator: Picacio, John
Participants: Bradley, Peter; Anderson, David Lee; Stein, Allison; Gannon, Amanda; Champine, Matt

Saturday was already a great day with the Locus Award win, but it was made even more so (if that’s possible) when I heard I’m a finalist for the International Horror Guild Award in the Artist category! In my case, my IHG nomination is because of COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO. This is great because in my mind it’s a shared recognition for myself and MonkeyBrain Books (Allison Baker and Chris Roberson). Thanks to all, and I’m very grateful for the recognition. All the better to share it with friends like MonkeyBrain.

Shoutout to my all of my fellow IHG nominees (complete list here), but especially to those who are in this year’s Artist category.

Aeron Alfrey.
Exhibits from the Imaginary Museum

Camille Rose Garcia.
Camille Rose Garcia: Subterranean Death Clash, Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York

Chris Mars.
Chris Mars: Subderma, Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York

J.K. Potter.
Cover and illustrations: A Soul in a Bottle by Tim Powers (Subterranean)

Quite a diverse mix of approaches and visions, and an honor to be listed amongst them.

me. Wow! My return trip home from the Locus Awards/Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame Induction Weekend was loaded with airport delays and snafus, but that still couldn’t dampen the joy I still feel over this honor. I’m home now, and sincerely grateful to all of the Locus readers who made this possible, especially considering that more folks vote in this poll than the Hugos or the Nebulas. That’s incredibly humbling, and I’m really blown away by this whole thing. Thank you so much. I’ll just keep working over here, and keep trying to get better.

It’s really late right now and I’m dead-tired….a few photos from the last couple of days….
The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame located near the Space Needle in Seattle….site of the SFM Induction Ceremony where Ed Emshwiller, Gene Wolfe, Gene Roddenberry, and Ridley Scott were inducted into the Hall of Fame this weekend

Super-cool signage near the entry to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame

Me saying a few words about the greatness of Ed Emshwiller as he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame (photo courtesy of Christopher Carey)

Eileen Gunn and me, post-ceremony, in front of the SFM’s Hall of Fame wall….Eileen represented the Emshwillers in accepting Ed’s HOF induction (photo courtesy of Leslie Howle)

And there it is….the 2007 Locus Award for Best Artist. Wow. Try this list on for size…this is the list of past Artist winners in the Locus Awards’ 37-year history….Leo & Diane Dillon, Frank Kelly Freas, Rick Sternbach, Boris Vallejo, Bob Eggleton, Michael Whelan….and now me. I think the best thing I can do at this point is go get some sleep and get back to work. Again — sincere thanks to everyone out there, and I’m so incredibly proud to be part of this year’s list of Locus Award Winners. 🙂

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!