Where would science fiction and fantasy be without their awesome visuals? Orbit Books Creative Director Lauren Panepinto gives us a crash course in appreciating speculative artwork, and reveals the two unshakable rules of science fiction and fantasy art.

Not everybody is sad that Guillermo Del Toro isn't going to be directing The Hobbit after all. Lauren Panepinto, creative director at Orbit Books and Yen Press, explains why she had misgivings about a Pan's Labyrinth-style Hobbit.

What's more amazing — the arresting loveliness of many recent SF book covers, or how different from each other they are? SFSignal asked artists and designers for their favorite recent covers. Here are a few of the ones they picked.