Irene Gallo, Tor’s superstar, multi-Chesley Award-winning art director, just posted a fun little Thumbnail Interview with me over at her blog, The Art Department. Chances are real good that if you visit my blog, you probably already know about hers. If you haven’t visited The Art Department yet though, get over there, for cryin’ out loud! 🙂 Her blog’s a must-visit for all art afficionados, and it’s one of the most fun publishing-related blogs on the net.
Author Archives: John Picacio
Alan vs. Goliath
So in the post below, I let everyone know about Borderlands Books and their special deal on COVER STORY. Need more proof why Borderlands is so great? Here you go.
Nice article that also gives shoutouts to the Other Change of Hobbit and Dark Delicacies.
October Savings at Borderlands Books
The fine folks at Borderlands Books in San Francisco are offering terrific value to anyone buying COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO during the month of October. Buy COVER STORY before Halloween and they’ll ship it to you for a mere $1 extra, anywhere in the USA. I signed all of their copies at Worldcon, so get yours while they last.
Borderlands is one of the finest and most well-stocked genre bookstores in America, bar none, and it’s a must-visit anytime I’m in the Bay Area. Alan Beatts, Jude Feldman, Jeremy Lassen and their entire staff are amongst the finest folks in this business and they treat people right. Spend money there. You’ll be glad you did!
The Agony Column
Rick Kleffel has posted a brief interview with me over at The Agony Column. If you’re not already a regular visitor there, definitely check it out. I’m not sure how Rick keeps his fingers on the pulse of everything in literary sf/f, but he does. His site’s diverse, it’s informative, and it’s a must-visit on my bookmark list every day or so.
The interview was conducted shortly after the release of COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO back in May/June. With that in mind, a couple of quick addendums: I mentioned that I was doing a cover for a new edition of Robert Silverberg’s SON OF MAN from Pyr. Pyr has pushed back that release for now, so I’ll return to that work when they’re ready. Just a bit of schedule-shuffling, so the release is a matter of “when,” not “if”. I also mentioned in the interview that I was sketching the cover for Chris Roberson’s forthcoming X-MEN: THE RETURN. The finished art is pictured here if you haven’t seen it already, and the finished mass market paperback releases from Simon & Schuster/Pocket in May 2007.
“We’ve got a good show for you tonight…”
This just in — I’ll be the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s International Horror Guild Awards. The big night happens Thursday, November 2nd at the World Fantasy Convention in Austin, Texas. Should be a very fun evening and I can promise only that I’ll keep the festivities brisk and punchy. I suspect I’ll have no agonizing monologues to offer, and most likely no tedious off-Broadway efforts between categories. I suspect chest-grabbing won’t be part of my routine either. If you don’t know what the last sentence means, you’re better off. Trust me.
We’ll have a few laughs; watch some very worthy folks be recognized; dole out some hardware; and then go consume lots of celebratory beverages at the bar immediately thereafter. Sound like a plan? Cool. Be there! And check out the IHG site for a full rundown of this year’s nominees, as well as the World Fantasy Convention site for further details.
RED PLANET
Here’s my cover art for Robert Heinlein’s classic RED PLANET. The finished trade paperback was just released this week at bookstores everywhere. Ballantine/Del Rey published this spiffy new edition and you can see the cover and read an excerpt here. When you visit that link, note Dave Stevenson’s typography on this cover. It’s simple, but very effective and modern. I really like the way the type counterpoints with the illustration.
Younger sf readers, Heinlein enthusiasts, and fans of good old-fashioned Golden Age space romps should check this out. It’s still one of the classics.
Elf Fantasy Fair 2007
I’ve officially accepted an invitation to be a guest speaker at Elf Fantasy Fair 2007. The incredible thing about this event is it happens at Castle De Haar in the Netherlands! Utrecht, to be exact, April 20-22. They’re expecting approx. 22,000 attendees next year, so it’s a massive event. My fiancee Traci is all excited and it’ll be her first trip to Europe. I don’t know how much of the continent we’ll get to see this time around, but hopefully we’ll do a stop in London for a day or two.
The folks at Elf Fantasy Magazine published a cover feature on me earlier this year, and their magazine is a first-class, gorgeously-produced affair. Their operation is based in the Netherlands, naturally, and they’re the same folks that organize this massive festival which is a cross-genre, cross-media fantasy/goth fair. That’s the best way I can summarize what this is, as I’m still learning about it myself. I’m really looking forward to it. Feast your eyes on photos like these and you’ll see why.
BUD PLANT’S INCREDIBLE CATALOG
The good folks at Bud Plant Comic Art recently mailed out their September/October 2006 issue of BUD PLANT’S INCREDIBLE CATALOG. I was happy to see that COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO is not only a Highly Recommended selection (see page 13), but also featured on the inside back cover. Thanks to Bud’s marketing goddess Carolina Stewart, all copies of COVER STORY purchased from BPCA feature a free, exclusive signed bookplate. So check it out, while copies last. Many thanks to Bud, Carolina, and all at BPCA for promoting COVER STORY in their catalogs and at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
STAR TREK TURNS 40
I went to my neighborhood comic book shop the other day, and John Minton handed me a brand-new paperback copy of CRUCIBLE: McCOY/PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS by David R. George III. I didn’t even know the book was out yet. Pocket Books is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of STAR TREK in grand style and George has written an epic McCoy/Spock/Kirk trilogy. PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS is the first release and I did the triptych art for the covers. Collect ’em all. 🙂
Worldcon Highlights
(above, left to right: me, Lou Anders, Chris Roberson, Allison Baker)
I’ve been dreading doing this wrapup since I got home from the 64th World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim. Too much good happened last week, too little time to fully relate it all. It was a dynamite show and I had a blast. Here’s a word association game of a few friends from this past week…
Chris Roberson…my homie…my Worldcon roomie…everyone’s favorite World Fantasy-nominated barfly…”What time is it? 10am? Cool. Time to hit the bar.”
Lou Anders…my other homie…Pyr’s editorial director extraordinaire…if you missed the Pyr panel on Friday, then you missed what would happen if P.T. Barnum sold sf…dominant…
Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman…great meal together at the White House (in Anaheim, not 1600 Penn. Ave.)…a fabulous booth for Borderlands Books in the back end of the dealer’s room….it felt like a home back there…booksignings are always so smooth with these guys…
Karen Jones…always there to laugh at my pain, and mock me when appropriate in the bar…currently using the spare seconds of her life to learn Japanese…still the Smartest Woman on the Planet…
Allison Baker…here she is…there she goes…:) (see photo above)
Diana Gill…another Worldcon, another stylin’ Eos cocktail party production…fabulous as ever…
Irene Gallo…the point person for the Hugo Artist resolution, and one of the most dedicated people I know…in her spare time, she’s the 2006 Chesley Award winning-Art Director…she does it all, folks…a pleasure, as always…thanks for everything, Irene…
Dave Seeley…one of my favorite artists, and one of my favorite people…forgot to tell you congrats on your cover feature for ART SCENE INTERNATIONAL, and also congrats on your Worldcon Art Show Award…
Jim Minz…genius Sunday excursion to Laguna Beach…that was brilliant all around…send those rock band photos when you can, and I’ll post ’em.
Liza Groen Trombi…a con would suck without Liza…no one wears expensive food on her head with such style and panache…:)
Amelia Beamer…we trade each other’s badge identities when the mood hits us…just because…
Kirsten Gong-Wong…good to see you, hubby Aaron, and the wondrous Teddy…
Karlyn Pratt…never a dull conversation…that was fun, wasn’t it?…see you in Austin…
William Lexner…great seeing you, your wife, and the entire BWB crew….holy cow, you cats know how to party….THAT was impressive on Saturday night….
Rani Graff…too bad you live halfway around the world…we’ll be in touch in the coming months, I would imagine…great seeing you again…
Sean Williams…wish I would’ve spent more time with this guy…wish he could come to more cons over here….
Garth Nix…we’ve gotta work on our doubles pool-playing, brother. Next time though! 🙂
Jonathan Strahan…he flies across multiple time zones, with family in tow, and somehow makes time for everyone…
Deanna Hoak…how many 40-year-old women get CARDED? I mean, seriously…if you need evidence, here you go.
Jacob Weisman & Rina….get your copies of Tiptree’s HER SMOKE ROSE UP FOREVER before they’re all gone again…congrats, Jacob…:)
Andrew Wheeler…great seeing you at the Eos party…been reading your Hornswoggler blog for a while…we’ll be in touch soon…
Paul Cornell, and wife Caroline…good to see both of you, and thanks for the wisdom re: BRITISH SUMMERTIME (more soon, re: your followup emails, which were much appreciated)…
Jetse De Vries…great(!) INTERZONE party…I’m convinced he’s conquered the need to sleep…how does this man do it?
Cheryl Morgan…from FinnCon to Worldcon, and she doesn’t skip a beat….clearly, sleight-of-hand that I’ve yet to master…thanks for all the wisdom, Cheryl…
Kevin Standlee…speaking of wisdom…presiding over a successful WSFS meeting must be like simultaneously tracking the paths of 400 airplanes in your head…mad skills…also thanks to Deb Geisler, Pat McMurray, and Donald Eastlake…
Tom Kidd…I love Tom’s paintings and it was very cool that he was the one who introduced the Artistic Achievement Chesley, and handed me the plaque…
Bob Eggleton…I enjoyed that impromptu talk we had on Sunday…I really appreciated that.
Kenn Brown…glad we finally met…very good to see you and Chris Wren…
Greg Ketter…DreamHaven rocks…thanks for the COVER STORY signing…
Alan Dean Foster…I’ll Google “Ivan Aivazovsky” later today, and thanks for the kind words re: the SAGRAMANDA cover…
Bill Christ…by chance, started the show hanging out with you, and by chance, ended the trip crossing paths with you at the airport….see you in Minneapolis sometime down the road, hopefully…
Andrea Senchy, Jannie Shea, Mike Willmoth…and all with ASFA…it’s an honor to be this year’s Artistic Achievement winner, and I’m very grateful for the consideration…another great ASFA suite, and thanks for everyone’s hard work for me and all of the other artists…
All Art Show staff…Joni Dashoff, Laura Domitz, Jerome Scott, Elizabeth Klein-Lebbink, Ted and Bonnie Atwood, and all who made this beast run smoothly for the artists…thank you!!
Good to see folks like James & Jeanette Gurney (absolutely loved seeing your paintings, Jim), Mark Kelly of LOCUS ONLINE, Charles Brown, Karen Haber, Cory Doctorow, Robert Silverberg, Deborah Layne, Paula Guran, Jeremy & Jason, Jim Lively, Ian McDonald, Paolo Bacigalupi, George Mann of Solaris, Kay Kenyon, Mike Resnick, Fiona Avery, John Scalzi (glad we finally met), David Louis Edelman (ditto the previous), Liz Gorinsky, Jim Frenkel, John Joseph Adams (the Metal God himself), Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, David Hartwell (congrats and long-overdue Hugo), Jaime Levine, Jane Frank, Alan Beck, Erik Gist, Ben Yalow, Betsy Mitchell, Betty Ballantine, Marty Halpern, Edward Morris, Samantha Ling, Lisa Rogers Lowrance, Jae Brim, John Lorentz, Jill Eastlake, Craig Miller, and I-know-I’m-forgetting-people-but-it’s-time-to-draw. It was a dynamite show.
WOW.
I returned home late Monday night from Worldcon in Anaheim. It was a spectacular time. More on that very soon.
First, back to that word, “wow.”
This is one of those occasions when that tiny word is the only thing that could remotely communicate how I feel. Last Thursday night at Worldcon in Anaheim, I won a Chesley Award. This time, it wasn’t just A Chesley Award, but The Chesley Award for Artistic Achievement. I wasn’t speechless because I know I said a few words when I accepted, but outside of thanking my fiancee Traci, I don’t quite recall what those words were. I was so grateful at that moment, and I still am. The great Tom Kidd presented the award to me, and that made it all the sweeter. My fellow nominees in the category this year included John Jude Palencar, Real Musgrave, David Hardy, and the late Keith Parkinson.
In case you’re wondering, this particular category is basically ASFA‘s acknowledgement of an artist’s body of work over the previous calendar year. I grant you that the phrase “Artistic Achievement” makes some folks think “Lifetime Achievement” and I heard that comment a few times at Worldcon. I don’t think I’m finished quite yet though…:)
In fact, this award only makes me want to work even harder. Take a look at the history of past winners in this particular category, and you’ll see what I mean.
Like I said.
Wow.
1985 Carl Lundgren
1986 No winner
1987 Alex Schomburg
1988 Frank Frazetta
1989 Don Maitz
1990 Don Maitz
1991 Michael Whelan
1992 James Gurney
1993 James Gurney
1994 Frank Kelly Freas
1995 Frank Frazetta
1996 Thomas Canty
1997 Don Maitz
1998 Vincent Di Fate
1999 Bob Eggleton
2000 Stephen Hickman
2001 Frank Kelly Freas
2002 Donato Giancola
2003 Tom Kidd
2004 Todd Lockwood
2005 Omar Rayyan
2006 John Picacio
Congrats to all of the nominees and winners this year! It was a stellar list of Chesley Award winners this year, and I’m incredibly proud to be amongst these individuals. (List courtesy of The Art Department, Irene Gallo’s must-read blog.)
Hardcover: Stephan Martiniere for Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Paperback: Tom Kidd for The Enchanter Completed edited by Harry Turtledove
Magazine: Donato Giancola for Prometheus on Asimov’s
Interior: Brom for The Plucker by Brom
3D: James Christensen for Sleeper Lost in Dreams
Unpublished Color: Charles Vess for Companions to the Moon
Unpublished Monochromatic: Paul Bielaczyc for Nightmare
Product: Justin Sweet production design for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Gaming Related: Gabor Szikszai & Zoltan Boros for Blazing Archon, Magic The Gathering card for Ravnica: City of Guilds
Art Director: Irene Gallo
Contribution to ASFA: Julie Faith Rigby
Artistic Achievement: John Picacio
TIME’S CHILD
Here’s the cover illustration I recently finished for Rebecca Ore’s forthcoming novel TIME’S CHILD. Look for this one February 2007 in trade paperback from HarperCollins/Eos. Editor-extraordinaire Diana Gill has more about this book, plus the finished cover with typography, over at Eos’ spiffy new blog.
My Worldcon Schedule
(Left) The marquee over at BookPeople, Austin, TX.
Quick shoutouts and thanks to all at BookPeople, Austin Books, Adventures In Crime and Space, and Edge Books. These folks all were heavily supporting COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO, and I really appreciate it. ArmadilloCon 28 was great.
Next week I’m off to Anaheim for Worldcon and the Chesleys and Hugos. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you at any of these or at the bar. I’m looking forward to the two panels that I’m moderating. Should be a great time! Here’s the rundown:
WEDNESDAY
4PM AUTOGRAPHING (ATGR5)
THURSDAY
4PM, 60-90 minutes
Title: BOOK COVER ILLUSTRATION & DESIGN
David A. Kyle, John Picacio(M), Frank Wu, Dave Seeley, Irene Gallo
Precis: Artists and art directors talk about what makes for a good cover illustration, an eye-catching design, and increased sales
6:30PM
CHESLEY AWARDS CEREMONY
10PM
ARTISTS RECEPTION
FRIDAY
1PM, 60-90 minutes
Title: THE FUTURE OF SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY ART
Bob Eggleton, Jane Frank, Karen Haber, Dave Seeley, Margaret Organ-Kean, John Picacio(M)
Precis: Over the past 70 plus years, science fiction illustration has changed dramatically. The ’30s and ’40s had their flashy, lurid covers. The ’50s and ’60s sported high tech space-scapes and abstracts. The ’70s and ’80s have brought us photo-realism. What were the trends of the recent decades? What lies ahead?
2:30PM, 60-90 minutes
Title: PYR: A LOOK FORWARD with editorial director Lou Anders
SATURDAY
1PM, AUTOGRAPHING AT BORDERLANDS BOOKS TABLE (1 hour)
3PM, AUTOGRAPHING AT DREAMHAVEN BOOKS TABLE (1 hour)
8PM, HUGO AWARDS CEREMONY
5 OUT OF 5 STARS!
SF Signal just reviewed COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO, and gave it a 5-star review! Wow!
And by the way, if you haven’t bookmarked SF Signal yet, you really should. They’re a terrific one-stop pop for reviews, news, and buzz in genre fiction and media.
Coming to Austin, Texas
So tomorrow night (Thursday), I’m doing a signing for COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO at the mighty BookPeople, in Austin, over at 6th and Lamar, at 7pm. It’s one of my favorite bookstores anywhere, and I’m looking forward to being there. If you’re in the area, I’d love to see you.
Then this weekend is ArmadilloCon 28, and again, if you’re in the Austin area, you really should come out because the FACT folks always put on a great show. I’ll be displaying work in the Art Show and I’ll be on several panels there. Here’s my panel schedule:
Sa1200DZ Comic Books and More
Sat Noon-1:00 PM deZavala
Roberson, Fountain, Cupp*, Benjamin, Hale, Picacio
What comics should you be reading?
Sa1400PN The Fine Art of Illustration
Sat 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Phoenix North
Picacio*, Anderson, Foster
What is fine art? What is illustration? Our panelists discuss the differences.
Sa1600PN Fannish Feud
Sat 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Phoenix North
Friesner, Antell, Czerneda, Mitchell, Gill, Hogan, Kruger, Bobo, Babcock, Picacio
Join the fun at our game of trivia.
Sa2100D Illustrating Stories
Sat 9:00 PM-10:00 PM deWitt
Foster, Anderson*, Mitchell, Picacio
How one goes about doing illustrations for a story.
Su1300PC Autographing
Sun 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Phoenix Central
Kenner, Latner, Picacio, Richerson
RE: The Hugo Best Artist Proposed Amendments
If you care about the Hugo Awards’ future in the Artist categories (Professional and Fan), then I highly encourage you to check out the following two blogs re: the proposed amendment by Irene Gallo and Donato Giancola: Kevin Standlee’s Livejournal and Irene Gallo’s blog). Irene and Donato are proposing Hugo Award rule amendments that, if passed, would hopefully increase the chance for an informed vote for the Hugo Artist Awards in coming years. Irene and Donato are working on amendments to provide a framework so that blind voting based on reputation-only is no longer accepted in the Artist categories. The Hugos are very diligent about making sure that written works in other categories were published in the previous year, and the two Artist Hugos are supposed to be acknowlegements for an artist’s body of work over the course of the previous year. Personally, when I look at the spirit of Irene and Donato’s effort here, it seems to me like they’re trying to help the Hugos ENFORCE their own rules, rather than CHANGE the rules themselves. If you think about it, all of the “one-person” Hugo categories (Best Professional Editor, Best Professional Artist, Best Fan Writer, and Best Fan Artist) should ALL be subject to the same standard and should be afforded the same diligence toward the previous year’s work as the other categories. I’d like to see all of these categories receive the same rules amendments, so that all of them will have the same level of diligent qualifying as the other Hugo categories. In the end, it just helps the future of the Hugos, and increases the appreciation for its recognitions.
So I’ll be keeping a close eye on this discussion and hopefully lending a hand to help the process. I do care about the Hugos, and I’m grateful and very honored to be nominated in this year’s awards. However, I think the process can be improved and I’d like to see it happen. You can help too. You can take part in the discussions on the blogs above (or here) and let your opinion be known, even if you don’t agree. Or better yet, you can attend the Business Meetings at Worldcon in Anaheim this August, when these votes will be administered. Either way, please let your voice be heard!
If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear from you here.