I am a lucky guy in a lot of ways… one of them being that I get to work with some of the greatest SF and fantasy artists in the world.
ASFA has just announced this year’s finalists for the Chesley Awards, and I’m thrilled to note that Wild Cards and A Song of Ice and Fire both have artists among this year’s finalists.
Michael Komarck has been doing spectacular Wild Cards covers for Tor for years now, with way too little recognition, so it’s great to see that his cover for LOW CHICAGO is a finalist for Best Cover Illustration, Hardcover. Marko Kloos’s Khan is the featured character.
The redoubtable John Picacio has no fewer than three nominations on this year’s Chesley ballot… all great, but of course my favorite is the illustration he did for “EverNight,” a Wild Cards story by Victor Milan on Tor.com. It’s been nominated for Best Interior Illustration.
John tells me he was especially pleased by this nomination. “I want to celebrate Vic, and I want people to remember him and his story.”
I speak for the whole Wild Cards Consortium when I say how lucky we are to have amazing talents like John Picacio and Michael Komarck bringing our characters to life.
Meanwhile, that other series of mine is also well represented on the Chesley ballot, with a nomination for John Jude Palencar’s 2019 Ice & Fire calendar as Best Product Illustration. You can see the cover here, but there’s a lot more stunning Ice & Fire art inside. JJP is one of the premiere artists in the field, and a joy to work with.
The entire list of this year’s Chesley nominees can he found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17afhGHSQ1c22ogC_LNr2wdx0qxD3SefO_90Sl94keqs/edit#
Congratulations to all the nominees. I love fantasy art, and it’s nice to see some great work being recognized.
(Signed copies of LOW CHICAGO and the 2019 Palencar calendar are both available from the bookstore at the Jean Cocteau Cinema. Vic Milan’s “EverNight” can be found and read on Tor.com, along with lots of other great Wild Cards stories).
Current Mood: 
happy
