Alicia Austin
6507 Franrivers Avenue
West Hills, CA 91307

(800) 524-6116



Alicia Austin followed in her family's artistic footsteps by beginning her own creative drawings at the age 
of six.  She spent her formative years as an "army brat," absorbing the different styles and philosophies of 
schools and artists in the U.S., Germany, Japan, and Canada before discovering her special penchant for 
fantasy art.

Alicia studied art, biology, and comparative anatomy at the University of Houston with the thoughts of 
becoming a medical illustrator.  She then moved to Canada, where a college club science fiction and 
fantasy magazine "coerced" her into doing their illustrations.  Shortly thereafter, Alicia displayed her 
work at the 1969 World Science Fiction Convention in St. Louis, where every piece was purchased during 
the first two days of the five-day art show.  She was contacted there by her first professional editor and 
was soon published in 1971 in NEW WORLDS OF FANTASY 3.  A career was born.

Over the years Alicia has interpreted European, Russian, Oriental, and other ethnic folklore and 
mythology.  A deep love of fantasy, fairy tales, folklore, and mythology has led her into explorations of the 
stories of Native Americans.

Alicia is one of many contemporary artists who have stepped beyond the boundaries of simple 
"illustration" into the world of fine art.  She has been expanding her techniques by working with 
printmaking, Prismacolor, and pastels, frequently combining one or more of these with her watercolor 
techniques.  A typical original might now have thirty layers before she is finished.

She was honored in 1970 with the Hugo Award for Best New Artist (the first woman artist to receive a 
Hugo, the field's highest honor).  In 1979, she received a Balrog Award for her book, AGE OF DREAMS:  
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF ALICIA AUSTIN, and a Howard Award for Best Fantasy Artist.  In 1982, 
her work was added to the permanent collection of the New Britain (CT) Museum of American Art, and 
in 1991 Alicia won the Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Illustration.

Alicia is a member of Women Artists of the West, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists 
(ASFA), the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Women's Caucus for Art, and the 
Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People.