Norwescon 35 Artist Guest of Honor: John Picacio

Posted by Norwescon Executive Team on June 3, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Norwescon is proud to announce John Picacio as our Artist Guest of Honor for Norwescon 35!

Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio

John Picacio is a 2011 Hugo Award finalist for Best Professional Artist and one of the most prolific American cover artists for science fiction, fantasy, and horror of the last ten years. His artwork is noted for its diversity and range, often combining traditional drawing and painting with digital finishes, as well as exploring methods such as hand-made assemblages. His body of work includes covers for books by Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Dan Simmons, Joe R. Lansdale, Jeffrey Ford, Frederik Pohl, James Tiptree, Jr., and many more. He has produced cover artwork for franchises such as STAR TREK and the X-MEN.

Some of his most notable covers over the years include A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (HarperCollins/Eos); Gateway by Frederik Pohl (Ballantine/Del Rey); Elric: The Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock (Ballantine/Del Rey); the 2005 Chesley Award-winning artwork for Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree, Jr. (Tachyon); the 2009 Chesley Award-winning artwork for Fast Forward 2, edited by Lou Anders (Pyr); the Age of Misrule trilogy by Mark Chadbourn (Pyr); Muse of Fire by Dan Simmons (Subterranean Press); the Well-Built City trilogy by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon); and Ghosts of Columbia by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Tor).

His accolades include the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, four Chesley Awards, and two International Horror Guild Awards, all in the Artist category, as well as two Asimovs Poll Awards for Best Cover Art. He has seven Hugo Award nominations for Best Professional Artist and his work is often featured in the pages of Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art.

Amongst his forthcoming published works will be the much-anticipated 2012 calendar for George R. R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire (Random House/Bantam) as well as covers for Ian McDonalds YA novel debut Planesrunner (Pyr) and new limited editions of Dan Simmons classic The Hyperion Cantos (Subterranean Press). He and his wife Traci live in San Antonio, TX with daughter Samantha.