Changes Coming for Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

John Fleskes, Cathy Fenner, and Arnie Fenner.

John Fleskes, the current Director of the Spectrum Fantastic Art competition and editor of the resulting book, has announced he will be stepping down from both positions following the publication of Spectrum #27 in October, 2020. Spectrum Fantastic Art founders Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner will return as Directors and editors beginning with the 28th annual competition in the Fall.

Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art was founded by Cathy and Arnie Fenner in 1994 and is the renowned international symbol of excellence for the field of fantastic art. John Fleskes became Director/Editor/Publisher of the series in 2013.

Spectrum is an extremely time-consuming, labor-intensive project” says Cathy Fenner, “and John has many books for his Flesk Publications line that he is very passionate about but has been unable to pursue because of the energy and focus Spectrum demands. He also has some deeply personal projects outside of publishing that he needs time and attention to bring to fruition—and there are only so many hours in the day. Arnie and I greatly appreciate all of the excellent work John and his staff have put into Spectrum, SFAL, and the fantastic art community for the past seven-plus years and sincerely wish him the best of luck with all of his future endeavors.”

“It has been an absolute joy to be a part of Spectrum,” shares John. “I still have the same enthusiasm and care for Spectrum and the art community that I have always had. Both Arnie and Cathy Fenner have been wonderful to work with as mentors and friends. I can’t thank them enough for their trust in me and for their support over the years. I consider myself very fortunate to have had this experience. Being able to work with so many creative and amazing people is something that I will forever be grateful for. I’ll continue to be very active in the art world as I focus on a new line of books that I am eager to publish and I’ll be setting the foundation for a new vision that is close to my heart.”

John’s last volume, Spectrum #27 (as well as all previous in-print volumes), will be available through Flesk Publications and to the book trade via distributor Publishers Group West as usual.

The addresses for the Spectrum website and social media pages will remain the same; Spectrum 28 will open for entries in October, 2020 and the book will be available in October, 2021. Further announcements regarding the new Spectrum advisory board, additions to the Spectrum staff, and jurors for #28 will be made at a future date.

For more information visit the websites — Spectrum Fantastic Art, Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, and Flesk Publications, or social media — Facebook/spectrumfantasticart/, Facebook/Spectrumfantasticartlive, Instagram/Spectrumfantasticart/.

One thought on “Changes Coming for Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

  1. I’ve been picking up the SPECTRUM books regularly since the second one. (Finally was able to fill out the full set when #1 finally had a second edition.) They’re great, high-quality productions and even, huzzah, contain contact information for all the featured artists at the back of the books.

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