John Picacio – Artist Guest of Honour

John Picacio is one of the most acclaimed American artists in fantasy, horror, and science fiction over the last decade, creating best-selling art for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, as well as major cover illustrations for authors such as Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Brenda Cooper, James Dashner, Frederik Pohl, Dan Simmons, Mark Chadbourn, Sheri S. Tepper, James Tiptree, Jr., Lauren Beukes, Jeffrey Ford, Joe R. Lansdale, and many, many more. Major clients include Penguin Random House, Tor Books, HarperCollins, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Saga Press, Subterranean Press, Baen Books, Dark Horse, and many more. His accolades include the World Fantasy Award, two Hugo Awards, eight Chesley Awards, two Locus Awards, two International Horror Guild Awards, and the Inkpot Award. He is the founder of the creative imprint, Lone Boy, which has become the launchpad for his Loteria Grande cards, a bold contemporary re-imagineering of the classic Mexican game of chance. For more, please visit www.johnpicacio.com and his Twitter feed at @JohnPicacio.