Locus Award Winners for Best Art Book

The Locus Award for Best Art Book has been inconsistently awarded since 1979. It was handed out for two years, sat dormant for a decade and a half, was then awarded for fourteen years, retired for three years, and brought back again. Oddly, this pattern has allowed the Spectrum series edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner to dominate the award. Had the award been continued through the 1980s, there probably would have been more variety, as the Spectrum series was no started until 1994. As it stands now, the Spectrum series has won this award twelve of the nineteen times it has been handed out, which makes one question whether this award is a viable competition, or just a means of putting more trophies on the Fenners' shelf.

1979: Tomorrow and Beyond edited by Ian Summers

1980: Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials by Wayne Douglas Barlowe, Ian Summers, and Beth Meacham

1994: The Art of Michael Whelan: Scenes/Visions by Michael Whelan

1995: Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

1996: Spectrum 2: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

1997: Spectrum 3: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner with Jim Loehr

1998: Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art by Vincent Di Fate

1999: Spectrum 5: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2000: Science Fiction of the 20^th Century by Frank M. Robinson

2001: Spectrum 7: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2002: Spectrum 8: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2003: Spectrum 9: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2005: Spectrum 11: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2006: Spectrum 12: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2007: Spectrum 13: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2008: The Arrival by Shaun Tan

2011: Spectrum 17: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner

2012: Spectrum 18: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner

2013: Spectrum 19: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner

2014: Spectrum 20: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner

2015: Spectrum 21: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by John Fleskes

2016: Julie Dillon’s Imagined Realms, Book 2: Earth and Sky by Julie Dillon
2017: Walking Through the Landscape of Faerie by Charles Vess

2018: The Art of the Pulps: An Illustrated History edited by Douglas Ellis, Ed Hulse, and Robert Weinberg

2019: The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition by Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrated by Charles Vess

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