Frank Kelly Freas was an American artist known for his work in science fiction and fantasy, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. was an American painter, designer, and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been influential in science fiction art and illustration. A pioneering creator of astronomical art, along with the French astronomer-artist Lucien Rudaux, Bonestell has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Space art".
David Cherry is an American artist, author, and illustrator of science fiction and fantasy and has also done substantial work as a marketing artist, concept artist, and 3D modeler in the game production industry. Cherry served as Lecturer and Head of the Art Department as well as Head of the master's degree Program for artists at The Guildhall at SMU, a graduate college dedicated to studies for people who want to work in the game production industry. Cherry was also an attorney, as well as a past president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (1988–1990). He has been nominated eleven times for Hugo Awards, and 18 times for Chesley Awards.
Boris Vallejo is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction and fantasy fiction novels. They are also sold through a series of annual calendars.
Michael Whelan is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career, selling non-commissioned paintings through galleries in the United States and through his website.
Janet Inglis "Janny" Wurts is an American fantasy novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and series, including the Wars of Light and Shadow, The Cycle of Fire trilogy and the internationally best-selling Empire trilogy that she co-authored with Raymond E. Feist. Her short story collection That Way Lies Camelot was nominated for the British Fantasy Award in 1995. She often illustrates her own books, and has won Chesley Awards for her artwork.
Donato Giancola is an American artist specializing in narrative realism with science fiction and fantasy content, including images for Tolkien's Middle-earth.
The Chesley Awards are the "pinnacle award" for art in the science fiction and fantasy genre. Established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, the awards recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later renamed to honor famed astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell following his death in 1986. The awards are presented annually, typically at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).
The Empire Trilogy is a collaborative trilogy of political fantasy novels by American writers Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts, set in the fictional world of Kelewan. It is the second trilogy in Feist's The Riftwar Cycle.
Terese Nielsen is an American freelance fantasy artist and illustrator.
Thomas Kidd is an American science fiction and fantasy illustrator who lives in New Milford, Connecticut.
Leading Edge, formerly The Leading Edge Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, is a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine first published in April 1981 and published at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The magazine is known for its high quality fiction and has published stories by authors such as Dave Wolverton, M. Shayne Bell, Dan Wells, and Orson Scott Card, articles by Algis Budrys, as well as poetry and articles by poet and literary critic Michael R. Collings. Several former Leading Edge staff members have become speculative fiction authors in their own right. Other notable former staff members include Anne Sowards, senior editor at Roc Books and Ace Books, and literary agent Michael Carr.
Todd Wills Lockwood is an American artist specializing in fantasy and science fiction illustration. He is best known for his work on the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and for his covers for the books of R. A. Salvatore. His art has also appeared in books from Tor Books, DAW Books, and on magazine covers, including Satellite Orbit magazine in 1984–1985, Asimov's Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact, Realms of Fantasy, Dragon Magazine, and Dungeon Magazine.
Stephan Martinière is a French science fiction and fantasy artist as well as cartoonist, concept illustrator and art director.
LepreCon is an annual science fiction convention with an emphasis on art held in and around Phoenix, Arizona usually in May around Mother's Day weekend. It is the second oldest science fiction convention in Arizona. It is sponsored by LepreCon, Inc., an Arizona non-profit corporation. LepreCon 43 was held July 1–4, 2017; in November, 2017, LepreCon, Inc. chose to cancel LepreCon 44 in the previously announced format as the Phoenix Sci-Fi & Fantasy Art Expo, which had been scheduled for March 2018 at the Unexpected Art Gallery.
Barclay Shaw is an American professional artist best known for his fantasy and science fiction artwork. He has been nominated five times for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist and has earned a top ten ranking six times in the annual Locus Award for Best Artist. In 1995, his work "Wonderland (wood)" won the Chesley Award for Best Three-Dimensional Art.
Debbie Hughes is an American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy illustration. Her work has appeared in over 150 publications.
John Harris is a British artist and illustrator, known for working in the science fiction genre. His paintings have been used on book covers for many authors, including Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Ben Bova, Wilbur Smith, Jack Vance, Ann Leckie, and John Scalzi. His work has covered many genres and although he made his name in the science-fiction genres, he is now exploring a new realm, the imaginative realism of aerial landscapes.
Julie Dillon is an American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy art. A freelance illustrator, Dillon has created images for games, book and magazine covers, and covers for musical albums. Dillon's work has been nominated for the Chesley Award five times; she won the 2010 Chesley Award for Best Unpublished Color for "Planetary Alignment", as well as the 2011 Chesley Award for "The Dala Horse" in Best Interior Illustration. She was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist in 2012 and received the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist in 2014, 2015, and 2017. She also received two Chesley Awards in 2015 for the Best Cover Illustrations for a magazine and a hardback book. Dillon lives and works in California.
