Worldcon 76 is this weekend in San Jose, CA.

It is an excellent convention wherever it travels, celebrating the SF&F genre and all the talented people who work in it. It is home of the Hugo Awards, a kind of Academy Award for our industry. It is also the home of the Chesley Awards, an honor handed out by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year.

This year, Marc Simonetti was nominated for two different Chesley Awards: Best Cover Illustration on the Grim Oak Press edition of The Sword of Shannara as well as Best Interior illustration on the same book.

Terry and I are pleased to announce the news that Marc Simonetti has won the Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration on The Sword of Shannara! Simonetti posted this on his social media this morning:

“I’ve just learned I’ve won the Chesley Award 2018 for best cover art hardcover. This is a huge honor. I would like to thank everyone and congratulate all the nominees and winners! Special thanks to Shawn Speakman and Terry Brooks for their trust!”

I gave Simonetti several ideas for the wrap around cover art and he chose to paint the Hall of Kings, a scene that hadn’t been illustrated before in any of the editions of The Sword of Shannara. Below is the initial sketch from Simonetti that led to the award-winning art, a brief look at the process that leads to magic! And for those of you who missed out on the limited edition of the book, Grim Oak Press has a few double-signed proof copies left of The Sword of Shannara in case you are interested in having this beautiful book on you shelves!

Well done, Mr. Simonetti! And congratulations!