FRANK R. PAUL AWARDS
FOR MAGAZINE AND BOOK COVER ART
Frank Wu is honored to serve as the administrator of the Frank R. Paul Awards for outstanding work in science fiction cover art.
The 2025 Frank R. Paul Awards will be awarded for the best cover art in two categories: Magazine Covers and Book Covers. Prizes will be an award trophy and an honorarium of $500 per award.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Submission period closes April 15, 2025.
Artists, publishers and authors are encouraged to submit up to 5 of their own works for the award period (publication date of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024). Those who are not artists, publishers or authors may also submit anyone else’s work for consideration without limit. Professional publications are eligible, as well as semi-pro, fan, independent and self-published magazines and books. Reprinted texts (e.g., reprinted stories or books) are eligible if the cover art is new for 2024. Artwork created before 2024 is eligible if it was not published (even online) before 2024. Submissions should be emailed to Frank Wu, Awards Administrator, at FWu@FrankWu.com with "Submission: Frank R. Paul Awards" in the email title.
Submission emails should include:
For books: Title / Cover artist / Author / Publisher
For magazines: Title / Cover artist / Publisher / If the cover illustrates a particular story, the title and author of the story, if known
Please include either a link or an image file for each cover image.
NOTE: AI-generated artwork is NOT eligible for this award.
ALL SUBMISSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE A STATEMENT THAT THE ARTWORK WAS NOT GENERATED USING AN AI PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO Midjourney, DALL-E, DreamStudio, etc.). ANY SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT A DISCLAIMER MAY BE DISREGARDED BY THE JUDGES. ANY SUBMISSIONS OF AI-GENERATED ART MAY RESULT IN PERMANENT BANNING FROM THIS CONTEST.
ABOUT FRANK R. PAUL
Frank R. Paul (1884-1963) was one of the first great science fiction illustrators, and the ONLY Guest of Honor at the first World Science Fiction Convention. His work was an inspiration to and first sf cover images seen by Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury and Forrest J. Ackerman. At a time when most Americans didn't even have a telephone or a refrigerator, he was painting space stations, robots and aliens from other planets. In an era when Lindbergh made headlines by flying across the Atlantic, Paul envisioned starships plowing across the galaxy. For a gallery of Frank R. Paul's work, click here. Click here for the entry on Frank R. Paul in The Science Fiction Encyclopedia.
ABOUT THE FRANK R. PAUL AWARD
The first iteration of this award was administered by Ken "Khen" Moore (?1943-2009) and other committee members of the Nashville, Tennessee, Convention Kubla-Khan on behalf of the Nashville Science Fiction Association from 1976 to 1996; each winner also served as the convention's Artist Guest of Honor. For more information click here.
Past Frank R. Paul Award Winners
1976: John Schoenherr
1977: Frank Kelly Freas
1978: Vincent Di Fate
1979: Michael Whelan
1980: Boris Vallejo
1981: Jack Gaughan
1982: Paul Lehr
1983: Richard M Powers
1984: Alex Schomburg
1985: Ed Emshwiller
1986: Victoria Poyser
1987: Ron Walotsky
1988: Ron Miller
1989: Ron Lindahn and Val Lakey Lindahn
1990: Darrell Sweet
1991: David A Cherry
1992: Doug Chaffee
1993: Alan M Clark and Kevin Ward
1994: Tim Wilson
1995: Larry Elmore
1996: Darryl Elliott
2024: Best Book Cover: Lineage, Ravages of Honor, Book 3; Cover Art by Kurt Miller
Best Magazine Cover: Clarkesworld 202, July 2023; Cover Art by Sergio Rebolledo
JUDGING FOR THE 2025 FRANK R. PAUL AWARDS
After the close of the submission period (April 15, 2025), candidates will be judged by a panel of distinguished judges. A slate of official nominees will be released, and then later the winners announced in 2025. Bill Engle, Frank R. Paul's grandson, is a member of the awards Committee.
For additional information, please contact the Awards Administrator, Frank Wu, at FWu@FrankWu.com
http://www.frankwu.com/frankrpaulawards.html