John Picacio

• Name — John Picacio • Born — 3 September 1969 • Birthplace — San Antonio, Texas • Website — johnpicacio.com

• Illustration — John Picacio with copyeditor Deanna Hoak at the 2007 World Fantasy Convention Picacio was born on September 3, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas. As of 2007, he still lives and works in San Antonio, together with his wife and daughter. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992, and illustrated his first book – Behold the Man: The Thirtieth Anniversary Edition by Michael Moorcock (Mojo Press) – in 1996. In May, 2001 he ended his career in architecture to become a full-time illustrator.

• Illustration — Cover by John Picacio He advocates his own method of gaining attention – sending physical samples to art directors of books and magazines – since: • "Even if an artist has a good website, it's a good idea to send out a physical reminder of their art so that art directors can keep it around." His early work featured in many annuals and art compendiums, including Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, as well as magazines such as Realms of Fantasy. Picacio has since produced design work and – particularly – cover art for many notable SF, fantasy and horror books printed by many different publishers, from some of the longest-established and largest American SF&F imprints (Random House/Ballantine Books/Del Rey; HarperCollins/Eos; Roc Books; Tor Books), to more recent, independent publishers (Golden Gryphon Press; MonkeyBrain Books; Night Shade Books; Tachyon Publications; Earthling Publication and iBooks). Picacio cites a "mutual respect" between himself and his art directors, who tend to give him "space to create" his artwork, which he sees as part of an interaction with the reader, "communicating with a smart and sophisticated audience". He works particularly well with fellow-Texan Roberson (author and MonkeyBrain publisher), and the editorial director of Prometheus Books' science fiction imprint Pyr Lou Anders. He has provided covers for several of Roberson's solo efforts – from one of his earliest self-published titles, the 2002 Clockwork Storybook title Any Time at All to his 2007 X-Men novel – as well as providing dozens of covers for almost the entire output of MonkeyBrain Books. For Anders, Picacio has provided covers for several anthologies from multiple companies since Wildside Press's 2001 Outside the Box.

• Dangerous Visions: 35th Anniversary Edition, by Harlan Ellison (ed.) (iBooks, 2002) • The Fantasy Writer's Assistant by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon, 2002) (Wraparound cover & preliminary sketch) • Live Without a Net by Lou Anders (ed.) (Roc, 2004) • Gateway by Frederik Pohl (Ballantine/Del Rey, 2004) • Wizardry & Wild Romance by Michael Moorcock (MonkeyBrain Books, 2004) • The Mammoth Book of New Terror by Stephen Jones (ed.) (Robinson/Carroll & Graf, 2004) • Her Smoke Rose up Forever by James Tiptree, Jr. (Tachyon, 2004) • Star of Gypsies by Robert Silverberg (Pyr, 2005) • Bumper Crop by Joe R. Lansdale (Golden Gryphon, 2005) • Ghosts of Columbia by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (Tor Books, 2005) • The Cat’s Pajamas & Other Stories by James Morrow (Tachyon, 2005) • Adventure, Vol. 1, by Chris Roberson (ed.) (MonkeyBrain Books, 2005) • Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein (Ballantine/Del Rey, 2006) • Macrolife by George Zebrowski (Pyr, 2006) • The Empire of Ice Cream by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon, 2006) • A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (HarperCollins/Eos, 2006) • H.P. Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural by Stephen Jones (ed.) (Pegasus Books, 2006) • Fast Forward 1, by Lou Anders (ed.) (Pyr, 2007) • X-Men: The Return by Chris Roberson (Pocket Books, 2007) • The Metatemporal Detective by Michael Moorcock (Pyr, 2007) • Elric: The Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock (Ballantine/Del Rey, 2008)