Frank R Paul Award
Entry updated 8 December 2025. Tagged: Award.
An sf art award named in memory of Frank R Paul and 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 Honour. The award is noteworthy for the general distinction of its recipients. The physical trophies, made by Moore, took the form of a model of the planet Saturn on a pedestal. Official records are elusive, but online fan histories suggest that the list of winners below is complete to 1996.
The awards were revived in 2024 by a team including Eliza Engle (Frank R Paul's great-granddaughter), Linda Pierce, Brianna Wu, Frank Wu, and various additional judges. The revived awards are split into two categories, best book cover art and best magazine cover art. Winners receive an honorarium and a trophy topped with a 3D-printed model of the tiger-robot painted by Frank R Paul for the cover of the September 1935 Wonder Stories. [JGr/FW/DRL/GW]
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
Book cover art
- 2024: Kurt Miller for Ravages of Honor (2023) by Monalisa Foster
- 2025: Maurizio Manzieri for The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 8 (anth 2024) edited by Allan Kaster
Magazine cover art
- 2024: Sergio Rebolledo for Clarkesworld #202 (July 2023)
- 2025: Zara Alfonso for Uncanny Magazine #58 (May/June 2024)
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