• 18-21 July, 2024
  • Buffalo, New York

The Return of the Frank R. Paul Awards

This award was given annually from 1976 through 1996 by the committee of the convention Kubla-Khan. It then lapsed until now, when Frank Wu and a dedicated band of trufans arranged to revive the award.

Frank R. Paul was perhaps THE dominant artist at the time of Science Fiction’s first Golden Age, when Hugo Gernsback edited Amazing Stories, Wonder Stories, and other pulp SF zines of the time. His most famous work is said to be the cover of the August 1927 Amazing Stories.

He invented other tropes that resonate with us today. Consider the flying saucer:

It’s to celebrate the genius of this man, this artist, with his almost visionary style which has, with his successors, continued to delight our eyes even as the science of SF art has helped to drive our visions of the future, that these awards are being reinstated. We at Buffalo NASFiC 2024 are honored to be part of this resurrection.

2024 Frank R. Paul Awards

Best Book Cover

Nominees

  • Lineage, Ravages of Honor, Book 3; Cover art by Kurt Miller – WINNER
  • Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance: Cover art by Pawel Dabrowski
  • Where Peace is Lost: Cover art by Serena Malyon
  • Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction, Number 7: Cover art by Maurizio Manzieri
  • Last Dragoners of Bowbazar: Cover art by Tran Nguyen
  • Through the Storm, TransDimensional Hunter Book 2: Cover art by Kurt Miller
  • The Surviving Sky, the Rages Trilogy, Book 1: Cover art by Leo Nicholis
  • The Firelighters: Cover art by Tan Ho SinThe Last Day and the First; Cover art by Tomislav Tikulin

Honorable Mentions

  • Unbreakable: Cover art by Julie Sillon
  • Starter Villain: Cover art by Tristan Elwell
  • Untethered Sky: Cover art by Jaime Jones
  • Bookshops & Bonedust: Art by Carson Lowmiller
  • The Pomegranate Gate: Art by Serena Malyon
  • Thermopylae Protocol, The Gordian Division, Book 6: Cover art by Kurt Miller
  • Brainwyrms: Cover art by David Vincent Palumbo
  • Garro: Knight of Grey, The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terror: Cover art by Neil Roberts

NOTE: The rules state that no artist can have more than 2 nominations; 3 Kurt Miller pieces scored highly enough to be nominated, so the lowest scoring was moved to the Honorable Mention listing.

Best Magazine Cover

Nominees

Honorable Mentions

NOTE: AI-generated images and art from stock image companies (or derivatives thereof) are ineligible; three covers (Asimov’s, Jan-Feb, 2023; Asimov’s, May-June 2023; and Galaxy’s Edge, May 2023) scored highly enough to be nominated but were disqualified on these grounds.

Please see the award website: https://www.frankwuwrites.net/frank-r-paul-awards for more information and instructions on how to submit work for consideration for next year’s awards (for the 2024 calendar year).