Canada's 30 best-designed books: 2010 winners

Vancouver, BC - On behalf of The Alcuin Society, this year's judges (Marian Bantjes, Linda Gustafson, and Peter Koch) have selected 30 winning titles for the 28th annual Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. The books were chosen from 252 Canadian entries published in 2009, from 9 provinces and 108 publishers.

The Alcuin Award winning books will be exhibited internationally: in Germany, at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs; in England, at the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library and the Norwich University College of the Arts; and in Japan, at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, in conjunction with the Tokyo International Book Fair. The books will also be exhibited in 19 venues across Canada. They will compete in the international book design competition in Leipzig, Germany in February 2011.

This year's winners are:

CHILDREN
First prize: ROBERT CHAPLIN and SIAN PAIRAUDEAU, designers of Brussels Sprouts & Unicorns: a Book of Rhymes by Robert Chaplin (Robert Chaplin)
Second prize: ELISA GUTIÉRREZ, designer of The Kalevala: Tales of Magic and Adventure by Kirsti Mäkinen, translated by Kaarina Brooks (Simply Read Books)
Third prize: GRACE PARTRIDGE, designer of Ella's Umbrellas by Jennifer Lloyd (Simply Read Books)
Honourable mentions: MICHAEL SOLOMON, designer both of Alego by Ningeokuluk Teevee (Groundwood Books) and of City Alphabet by Joanne Schwartz (Groundwood Books).

LIMITED EDITIONS
First prize: CHARLES MAYRS and DAVID CLIFFORD, designers of British Columbia: In Light and Dark by Charles Mayrs (Charles Mayrs)
Second prize: JARRETT MORRISON, designer of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (The Bowler Press)
Third prize: GABRIELLA SOLTI, designer of The Sensory Delights of Text by Gabriella Solti (Gabriella Solti)
Honourable mentions: JUDITH POIRIER, designer of Dialogue by Judith Poirier (Judith Poirier), and JASON DEWINETZ, designer of This (And That Was That) by JonArno Lawson (Greenboathouse Press).

PICTORIAL
First prize: STUDIO FEED, designers of Far East, Far West by Benoit Aquin (les éditions du passage)
Second prize: ALAN BROWNOFF, designer of Emblems of Empire: Selections from the Mactaggart Art Collection by John E. Vollmer & Jaqueline Simcox (The University of Alberta Press)
Third prize: SUSAN COLBERG, designer of Synergies 2009: Prints from the University of Alberta (Dept. of Art & Design, University of Alberta).

POETRY
First prize: ANDREW STEEVES & ROBERT BRINGHURST, designers of Selected Poems by Robert Bringhurst (Gaspereau Press)
Second prize: ANDREW STEEVES, designer of Lean-to by Tonja Gunvaldsen Klaassen (Gaspereau Press)
Third prize: NICOLE LAFOND, designer of J'partirai by François Hébert (les éditions du passage).

PROSE FICTION
First prize: ANDREW STEEVES, designer of The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud (Gaspereau Press)
Second prize: PETER COCKING, designer of Daniel O'Thunder by Ian Weir (Douglas & McIntyre).

PROSE NON-FICTION
First prize: ANDREW STEEVES, designer of The Marram Grass by Anne Simpson (Gaspereau Press)
Second prize: ROBERT BRINGHURST, designer of At the River's Mouth by Daphne Marlatt (Institute for Coastal Research, Vancouver Island University)
Third prize: ANDREW STEEVES, designer of A Sound Like Water Dripping: In Search of the Boreal Owl by Soren Bondrup-Nielsen (Gaspereau Press)
Honourable mentions: ROBERTO DOSIL (cover) and M. PAGE (interior), designers both of The Story Behind the Book by Laura Millar (Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing (CCSP) Press) and Translators on Translating by Andrew Wilson (CCSP Press).

PROSE NON-FICTION ILLUSTRATED
First prize: CS RICHARDSON, designer of The Bedside Book of Beasts by Graeme Gibson (Doubleday Canada)
Second prize: PETER COCKING, designer of The Men who Killed Me edited by Anne-Marie de Brouwer & Sandra Ka Hon Chu (Douglas & McIntyre)
Third prize (tie): NAOMI MACDOUGALL, designer of Six String Nation by Jowi Taylor (Douglas & McIntyre)
Third prize (tie): BOB BECK, designer of Comestible/Edible: l'aliment comme matériau/Food as Material by Diane Leclair Bisson (les éditions du passage).

REFERENCE
First prize: SKIPP DESIGN, INC., designers of Living Proof: the Essential Data-Collection Guide for Indigenous Use-and-Occupancy Map Surveys by Terry N. Tobias (Ecotrust Canada/UBCIC)
Second prize: UNIFORM, designers of Connaître les droits de l'enfant by Bureau international des droits des enfants (IBCR) (Les éditions de la courte échelle)
Third prize: NAOMI MACDOUGALL, designer of Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant by James Walt (Douglas & McIntyre).

Congratulations to all the winners!

(I've added links to nearly all the winner's publisher webpages ~ if anyone has an updated link, feel free to post a comment and I'll aim to update the links!)

"AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers of 2009" Worldwide Call for Entries

Alcuin members will know the important role awards can play in fostering design excellence. Each year we put the call for entries out to Canadian publishers, authors, illustrators, and designers to submit their best work for our own "Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada."

Now for the first time ever, the AIGA - well known professional association for design in America - has not only opened up their book design competition to Canadians, but to the entire world.

From their website:

Following AIGA’s membership in Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) and in keeping with a deepening commitment to demonstrating the importance of diversity, entries from all countries will be eligible for AIGA competitions for the first time in AIGA’s history. In order for the jury to understand the content and context, entries that are in languages other than English must include a brief English translation.

Fees are modest at $35 USD per title entry for AIGA members, $55 USD per entry for non-members. Fees drop $5 with 5 titles or more.

More from their website:

Enter “AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers of 2009” to take your place in design history! This time-honored competition aims to identify the 50 best-designed books and book covers of the past year, as chosen by a distinguished jury.

Categories:

    * Literature and nonfiction
    * Image-driven books
    * Limited-edition and fine-press books
    * Instructional books and textbooks
    * Reference book
    * Children’s books

Books may be read, consulted and treasured for years, but this competition is the best way to ensure that your creative legacy will endure. All selections become part of the online AIGA Design Archives, a traveling exhibition that debuts at the AIGA National Design Center in New York and the physical collections of the Denver Art Museum and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University. If your work is selected, countless future designers and potential clients will have access to your work. This is your golden opportunity—enter by March 5, 2010.

Eligibility

    * A book must consist of at least 48 pages (except for children’s books).
    * A book must be either case-bound or paperbound between covers. Portfolios of loose pages do not qualify.
    * Books and book covers designed and/or produced between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year are eligible.
    * Except in the case of limited-edition books, print runs should be in excess of 250 copies.
    * Entries should be for sale to the general public, or, if offered gratis, should not be publications whose primary purpose is to advertise or serve as an annual report or other corporate literature.
    * Following AIGA’s membership in Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) and in keeping with a deepening commitment to demonstrating the importance of diversity, entries from all countries will be eligible for AIGA competitions for the first time in AIGA’s history. In order for the jury to understand the content and context, entries that are in languages other than English must include a brief English translation.
    * Submit only actual work; no photographs accepted. We regret that entries cannot be returned.

Even if you are not an AIGA member, you can signup for a free online account to enter the competition.  Register at here where you can read the complete details on categories, fees, submission requirements, notification, and more. Once again, take note the due date is March 5, 2010.

2009 Call for Entries is online

The call for entries is now posted online for the 2009 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. Head on over to the Awards section of our website for more info. Three excellent judges for the upcoming competition will be: Marian Bantjes (Bowen Island, BC); Linda Gustafson (Toronto, ON); and Peter Koch (Berkeley, CA). There will, again, be 8 categories of books, and the awards will be presented in both Vancouver and Toronto.

To be eligible, a book must have been published in calendar year 2009 by a Canadian publisher and designed by a Canadian designer. There is no limit to the number of titles you may enter. The entry fee is $30 per title ($25 for Alcuin Society members). We strongly encourage you to become members; the annual fee is still only $40.

Until this year, The Society has mailed its Call for Entries early in the year, to as many Canadian publishers (both large and small) as possible. In January 2009, this included close to 800 publishers. Beginning with the 2009 competition, you can access the Call for entries as a PDF online (471kb PDF). We will also email a copy to everyone for whom we have an email address.

To enter, print a copy of the entry form (page 7 of the PDF) for each title, and send it in a package with the book(s), together with one cheque for the total amount. The deadline is March 10, 2010. More details appear in the Call, or you may contact me.

We hope that you will support us by entering our competition, and the best of luck to all who enter!

Alcuin Awards Ceremony 2009

The Alcuin Society and Emily Carr University would like to invite you to an Awards Ceremony, honouring the designers and publishers of the winners of The 27th Competition for Excellence in Book Design in Canada – 2008.

This year's keynote speaker will be Gabriele Wilson, a New York-based graphic designer and member of the faculty at Parsons School of Design. After seven years as Senior Designer at Knopf Books, Gabriele now runs a small design studio and continues to work for numerous publishers worldwide designing jackets and illustrated books, as well as creating restaurant branding and music packaging. Her work has been featured in Communication Arts, The New York Times, Metropolis, Print, USA TODAY, By Its Cover: Modern American Book Design, New Vintage Type, Chip Kidd: Book One, and the AIGA 365 and 50 Books/50 Covers competitions. She is originally from Concord, Massachusetts.

Gabriele's talk -- Gabriele Wilson: Greatest Hits – will be introduced by the evening's moderator, Peter Cocking, Creative Director of Vancouver-based Douglas & McIntyre, himself a winner of numerous Alcuin awards.

The event will be held at Emily Carr University, Room 301, on Thursday, October 1st at 7:00 pm. It is a free event, open to the public; everyone is encouraged to attend. The award-winning books will be on display.

During the day, there will be two related workshops. The first (from 10:30-12:30), an interactive seminar/discussion on book design, will be given by Gabriele Wilson and Peter Cocking. The second (from 1:30 to 3:30), by Celia King, will be a hands-on workshop in which participants will create a simply-bound book in hard covers, complete with dust jacket to pressed finish – discussion will explore type design, visual formats and concept presentation for publishing. Registration will be required for both workshops.

For further information, contact Leah Gordon at (604) 732-5403.

Alcuin Society's 26th Annual Book Design Awards

The Awards Ceremony for the winners of the Alcuin Society 2007 Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada will be held this year at Emily Carr University. The awards will be presented by Bonne Zabolotney, Emily Carr University's Associate Dean, Design. The keynote speaker will be CS Richardson.

Designer and author CS Richardson is Creative Director for Random House of Canada. Over a twenty-five year career, he has designed books for numerous notable authors, including Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Wayson Choy, Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes, and John Irving. He is a multiple winner of the Alcuin Award and has received CBA Libris, Applied Arts, and Advertising & Design Club of Canada awards. Richardson is also an acclaimed novelist. His first book, The End of the Alphabet, is an international bestseller, and winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book.

Robert Bringhurst will also give a short, informal talk about his new book, The Surface of Meaning : 25 Years of Book Design in Canada (CCSP Press).

Robert Bringhurst, both a former Alcuin competition judge and design award-winner, is a poet, linguist and typographer. His book, The Elements of Typographic Style (now in its third edition) has been translated into ten languages. His most recent books are The Tree of Meaning (2006) and its companion volume, Everywhere Being is Dancing (2007); and New World Suite No. 3 (2007).

FREE EVENT -- EVERYONE WELCOME
THURSDAY OCT. 2 at 7 PM
EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY – SB301 (South Building)

CO-HOSTED BY EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY & THE ALCUIN SOCIETY

The award-winning books will be on display. For a complete list of the books, and more information about The Alcuin Society and its book design competition, see:

www.alcuinsociety.com/awards

During the day, two free book design-related workshops will be held at the University, with a limited number of admissions; pre-registration will be required. Details will be announced shortly on the Alcuin Society's website.

The Alcuin Society is a Vancouver based non-profit society for the support and appreciation of books. In addition to the annual Book Design Competition, the Society publishes a quarterly journal, Amphora, and organizes workshops, lectures, and exhibitions on various aspects of the book.

217 Miles from MoTown: Tim Inkster @ The Porcupine's Quill, 1974-2008

Tim Inkster, one of the faces behind The Porcupine's Quill, will give an amusing and enlightening illustrated "memoir" of his life at the noted and notable Erin, Ontario, press. Inkster is making a rare appearance in Vancouver as one of three judges at the 26th annual Alcuin Society Book Design Competition.Sometimes described as a "hot house" for the development of Canadian literary talent, The Porcupine's Quill has also been compared (inaccurately, by one misinformed Heritage Canada consultant) to MoTown Records (whose Head Office on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan is 217 miles from Erin in distance, and considerably further in just about every other conceivable way).

Tim Inkster is a member of the Graphic Designers of Canada, and has been active within the Literary Press Group and the Association of Canadian Publishers. He was also heavily involved in a variety of roles with the Eden Mills Writers' Festival for more than ten years, including one term as president. He managed the Upper Canada Brewing Company Writers' Craft Award the year the prize was awarded to Alice Munro.

As well as winning numerous national and international awards himself (including many, over several years, from The Alcuin Society), in September of 2003 he received the Sixth Annual Janice Handford award which honours "an individual who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of small press publishing in this country." In October, 2005 he was a featured guest speaker at the Sixth Annual Gaspereau Press Wayzgoose in Kentville, NS.

COST: FREE to the public
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 2008
TIME: 7:00 - 9:00PM
PLACE: The Vancouver Museum -- Joyce Walley Learning Centre
1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver. BC
604-734-7368

Reservations: contact Leah Gordon (604)732-5403 or awards@alcuinsociety.com.

Co-sponsored by The Vancouver Museum and The Alcuin Society.

Alcuin Society Exhibit at the 2008

The Alcuin Society is very pleased to announce its participation at the upcoming Book Fair in Munich, Germany. The primary focus of this Fair will be Canadian books and publishers. The Society will supply the curator of the Fair's exhibition, Dr. Thomas Kraft, with copies of the winning books from both its 2005 and 2006 competitions, The Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada; these books will be displayed in a special exhibit at the Fair.

For a complete list of these books, and more information about The Alcuin Society and its competition, please check here.

The Alcuin Society is a Vancouver based non-profit society for the support and appreciation of books. In addition to the annual Book Design Competition, the Society publishes a quarterly journal, Amphora, and organizes workshops, lectures, exhibitions and field visits on various aspects of the book. For more information, please contact Leah Gordon, Alcuin Society Design Competition Committee Chair, awards@alcuinsociety.com, 604.732.5403.

Canadian books recognized at Leipzig competition

For Immediate Release
April 17, 2007

Frankfurt, Germany – The Stiftung Buchkunst, based in Frankfurt, Germany, and curators of the international exhibition “BEST BOOK DESIGN FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD” at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs, selected the 2006 award-winners in an international competition in Leipzig in February, 2007. Those awards were presented at the Leipzig Book Fair on March 23, 2007.

The Stiftung has just released their short list of competitors for the awards. Of 545 books submitted by 34 countries, 63 titles were shortlisted, and 14 prizes selected. In addition to the Canadian winner of a bronze medal (ANOUK PENNEL and RAPHAËL DEAUDELIN (Feed), designers of L’Appareil (Les Éditions de la Pastèque)), three additional Canadian designers were honoured to be among the remaining 49 shortlisted books:

JESSICA SULLIVAN, designer of Crows : Encounters with the Wise Guys of the Avian World by Candace Savage (Greystone Books, Vancouver, BC)

APOLLONIA ELSTED, designer of Emily : Opposites Attract : Poems of Emily Dickinson, by Emily Dickinson (Horse Whisper Press, Mission, BC)

CRISPIN ELSTED, designer of Il Bosco dei tamarindi = The Tamarind Wood = Le Bois des tamariniers by Carlo Toselli (Barbarian Press, Mission, BC).

The 36 Canadian books on exhibit, which were participants in the international competition, were submitted by The Alcuin Society to the Stiftung. These books were the winners of the 2005 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada, held in April, 2006. This entire collection has now been donated to the German Book and Type Museum in Leipzig, where it will be available for consultation and exhibitions. The 34 winners of this year’s Alcuin Society competition will be forwarded to the Stiftung later this summer.

For more information, please contact Leah Gordon, Alcuin Society Design Competition Committee Chair, awards@alcuinsociety.com, 604.732-5403.

Alcuin Society picks best-looking books of 2006

For Immediate Release
April 3, 2007

Vancouver, BC - The Alcuin Society has announced the winners of its 25th annual Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. The judges (Alan Brownoff (University of Alberta Press, Edmonton), book designer, artist, and teacher; Jan Elsted (Barbarian Press, Mission, BC), letterpress printer and teacher; and Glenn Goluska (Imprimerie Dromadaire, Montreal), book designer, typographer, and letterpress printer) selected 34 winning titles from 252 entries; 96 publishers from 9 provinces participated.

The winning books will be exhibited internationally at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs, and, in Canada: in Halifax; Wolfville (NS); Montréal; Ottawa; Toronto; Edmonton; Vancouver; and Victoria (BC).

CHILDREN
First prize: ROBIN MITCHELL [Hundreds and Thousands], designer of When You Were Small by Sara O’Leary (Simply Read Books)
Second prize: ANDRÉE LAUZON, designer of L’Envers de la chanson by André Leblanc (Les 400 Coups)
Honourable mentions: KAREN POWERS, designer of Casey at the Bat by Ernest L. Thayer (Kids Can Press); ROBIN MITCHELL [Hundreds and Thousands], designer of One Winter Night by Jennifer Lloyd (Simply Read Books); and ANDRÉE LAUZON, designer of Philou, architecte et associés by Sophie Gironnay (Les 400 Coups).

LIMITED EDITIONS
First prize: JIM ROBERTS & ROBERT MAJZELS, designer of Apikoros Sleuth by Robert Majzels (Moveable Inc.)
Second prize: DAWNA ROSE, designer of Smoking With My Mother by Dawna Rose (JackPine Press)
Third prize: JASON DEWINETZ, designer of Residual by Souvankham Thammavongsa (Greenboathouse Books)
Honourable mention: LAURENT PINABEL, designer of La Nature humaine en 36 états by Laurent Pinabel (Les Éditions de la nature humaine).

PICTORIAL
First prize: GEORGE VAITKUNAS, designer of B.C. Binning by Abraham J. Rogatnick, Ian M. Thom & Adele Weder (Douglas & McIntyre)
Second prize (tie): TOMASZ WALENTA, designer of L’Ombre du doute by Lino (Les 400 Coups); and JESSICA SULLIVAN, designer of Manawa : Pacific Heartbeat by Nigel Reading & Gary Wyatt (Douglas & McIntyre)
Third prize: PETER COCKING, designer of Arthur Erickson : Critical Works by Nicholas Olsberg & Ricardo L. Castro (Douglas & McIntyre)
Honourable mentions: GEORGE VAITKUNAS, designer of Arctic Spirit by Ingo Hessel (Douglas & McIntyre); and ROBIN MITCHELL [Hundreds and Thousands], designer of SweaterLodge by Christopher MacDonald & Greg Bellerby (Simply Read Books/BlueImprint).


POETRY *
Second prize (tie): TIM INKSTER, designer of The Book of Were by Wayne Clifford (The Porcupine’s Quill); and BILL KENNEDY, designer of Wide Slumber for Lepidopterists by A. Rawlings (Coach House Books)
Third prize (tie): ANDREW STEEVES, designer of Fathom by Tim Bowling (Gaspereau Press Limited); and ANNE-MAUDE THÉBERGE, designer of L’Oiseau, le vieux-port et le charpentier by Michel van Schendel (L’Hexagone)
Honourable mention: ZAB DESIGN & TYPOGRAPHY, designer of Good Meat by Dani Couture (Pedlar Press).


PROSE FICTION *
First prize JESSICA SULLIVAN, designer of A Good Death by Gil Courtemanche, translated by Wayne Grady (Douglas & McIntyre)
Third prize: KAREN KLASSEN [cover] & HEIMAT HOUSE [interior], designers of Sugar Bush by Jenn Farrell (Anvil Press)
Honourable mention: CS RICHARDSON, designer of Fabrizio’s Return by Mark Frutkin (Knopf Canada).

PROSE NON-FICTION *
First prize: ANDREW STEEVES & ROBERT BRINGHURST, designers of The Tree of Meaning by Robert Bringhurst (Gaspereau Press Limited).

PROSE NON-FICTION ILLUSTRATED
First prize: PETER COCKING & NAOMI MACDOUGALL, designers of Saltwater City by Paul Yee (Douglas & McIntyre)
Second prize: ROXANA ZEGAN, designer of Mars et Avril, t.II by Martin Villeneuve (Les Éditions de la Pastèque & Diesel)
Third prize: NAOMI MACDOUGALL & PETER COCKING, designers of A Canadian Saturday Night by Andrew Podnieks (Greystone Books)
Honourable mentions: ROBERTO DOSIL, designer of A Road for Canada by Daniel Francis (Stanton Atkins & Dosil); GEORGE VAITKUNAS, designer of Unsettling Encounters, by Gerta Moray (UBC Press); and ELISA GUTIÉRREZ, designer of Towards an Ethical Architecture by Alberto Pérez-Gomez, Christopher Grabowski, Helena Grdadolnik, Jim Green & May So (Simply Read Books/BlueImprint).

REFERENCE
First prize: NAOMI MACDOUGALL & PETER COCKING, designers of Vij’s : Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij & Meeru Dhalwala (Douglas & McIntyre)
Second prize: SHARON KISH, designer of Piano, Piano, Pieno by Susan McKenna Grant (HarperCollins)
Third prize: INGRID PAULSON, designer of Faces on Places by Terry Murray (House of Anansi Press)
Honourable mention: JESSICA SULLIVAN & PETER COCKING, designers of Hiking the West Coast of Trail by Tim Leadem (Greystone Books).


* Some prizes not awarded in these categories.




The Alcuin Society is a Vancouver based non-profit society for the support and appreciation of fine books. In addition to the annual Book Design Competition, the Society publishes a quarterly journal, Amphora, and organizes lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and field visits on various aspects of the book.

For more information, please contact Leah Gordon, Alcuin Society Design Competition Committee Chair, awards@alcuinsociety.com, 604.732-5403.

Canadian book wins award at Leipzig competition

Frankfurt, Germany – The Stiftung Buchkunst, based in Frankfurt, Germany, and curators of the international exhibition "BEST BOOK DESIGN FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD" at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs, selected the 2006 award-winners in an international competition in Leipzig in February, 2007. These awards will be presented at the Leipzig Book Fair on March 23, 2007.

The Stiftung has just released the names of the winners. Of 545 books submitted by 33 countries, 14 titles received prizes (the "Goldene Letter", one gold medal, two silver medals, five bronze medals and five Honorary Appreciations). Two Canadian designers were honoured for their book with a bronze medal:

ANOUK PENNEL and RAPHAËL DEAUDELIN, designers of L’Appareil (Les Éditions de la Pastèque)

The 35 Canadian books on exhibit, which were participants in the international competition, were submitted by The Alcuin Society to the Stiftung. These books were the winners of the 2005 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada, held in March, 2006. This entire collection has now been donated to the German Book and Type Museum in Leipzig, where it will be available for consultation and exhibitions.

For more information, please contact Leah Gordon, Alcuin Society Design Competition Committee Chair, awards@alcuinsociety.com, 604.732-5403.

Shinsuke Minegishi Exhibition

SHINSUKE MINEGISHI – AN EXHIBITION OF WOOD ENGRAVINGS, PRINTS & LIMITED EDITION BOOKS – WESSEL & LIEBERMAN BOOKSELLERS, SEATTLE, NOVEMBER 2 TO DECEMBER 30, 2006

Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers is pleased to present the first one-person exhibition in the United States of the work of printmaker & wood engraver Shinsuke Minegishi.

The show will be on display at Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers from November 2-December 30, 2006. It will feature a variety of Minegishi’s work including wood engravings for limited edition books; prints in which he employs both lithographs and wood engraving techniques; and simple wood engravings.

Shinsuke Minegishi is a Japanese printmaker and wood engraver living in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1970 and moved to North America in 1993. He graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 1998, and has been a lecturer and instructor there since that time. He has also been a member of the Malaspina Printmaker’s Society in Vancouver since 1998.

Minigishi has received two grants through the Canada Council for the Arts; has been the subject of solo and two-person shows in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Vancouver; and has been included in group exhibitions throughout Canada and Japan. He has received many awards for his work, including the ‘Grand Prize’ at the 4th Kyoto International Woodprint Association Exhibition in 2003.

To accompany the exhibit, Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers is publishing an original essay by the artist in a limited edition; a small number of which will contain an editioned print by the artist.

Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers is at 208 First Avenue South in Seattle, Washington. Phone 206-682-3545 or 888-383-3631 (toll free). E-mail: claudia@wlbooks.com.

Designers at the Design Exchange

From the Quill and Quire website:

The Alcuin Awards for book design were officially handed out earlier this year in Vancouver, but the organizers decided to hold a smaller reception in Toronto on July 13 that also coincided with the start of an [sic] book design exhibit at the Design Exchange.

To see a pictures from this event, click here.

Book Launch and Exhibition

On Thursday August 3rd, Robert Chaplin, winner of 2nd place in the Children's division of the latest Alcuin Society Book Design Awards, will be launching his newest project, The Elephant Book. The book launch will be held at the Elissa Cristall gallery, 2245 Granville St., Vancouver.

Opening reception of the exhibition of the 2005 national Alcuin Award-winning books

The Alcuin Society invites you to
the opening reception of the exhibition
of the 2005 national Alcuin Award-winning books

Thursday July 13, 6–8 pm
Design Exchange
234 Bay Street

Awards for this year’s Ontario Alcuins will be presented by
Martin Levin, books editor, The Globe & Mail

There will also be a panel discussion to consider:
the Small Miracle of Fabulous Books that Manage
to Get Written, Designed, Nursed and Battered through
the Publishing and Production Process, and
Make it Through to the Reader with Some Measure of
Dignity and Beauty Intact

Canada’s books that placed in the prestigious
“Best Book Design from all over the World”
competition in Leipzig will be on display as well

Refreshments will be served
for information: linda@counterpunch.ca

24th Annual Awards on Display

Display Locations
24th Annual Awards
Excellence in Book Design in Canada
2005

May 26 to June 9 2006
Emily Carr Library
Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design
Vancouver, British Columbia

June 12 2006
The University Golf Club
University of British Columbia
Alcuin Society Annual General Meeting
Vancouver, British Columbia

June 15 to July 4 2006
Vaughan Memorial Library
Acadia University
Wolfville, Nova Scotia

June 15 to July 31 2006
Du 15 juin au 31 juillet 2006 Redpath Library
McGill University
Montréal, Québec

July 1 to August 31 2006
Special Collections Division
W.A.C.Bennett Library
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia

July 13 to August 2 2006
2006 Design Exchange (DX)
Toronto, Ontario

August 10 to September 22 2006
(Date to be Confirmed)
Isaac Barber Learning Centre
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia

September 24 2006
Word on the Street
Vancouver Public Library, Central Library
Vancouver, British Columbia

September 25 to October 14 2006
(Date to be Confirmed)
Vancouver Public Library
Central Library
Vancouver,British Columbia

October 4 to 8 2006
Schönste Bücher aus aller Welt
(Most Beautiful Books in all the World)
International Exhibit Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt am Main, Germany

October 15 to 28 2006
(Date to be Confirmed)
Vancouver Public Library
Central Library Level 2
Vancouver, British Columbia

October 23 to November 17 2006
Royal Roads University Library
Royal Roads University
Victoria, British Columbia

November 25 2006 to January 7 2007
Nelson & District Museum, Archives, and Art Gallery
Nelson, British Columbia

March 22 to 25 2007
2007 Schönste Bücher aus aller Welt
(Most Beautiful Books in all the World)
International Exhibit Leipzig Book Fair
Leipzig, Germany

Spring 2007 (exact date TBA)
Fine Arts Building Gallery
Department of Art and Design
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta

Other venues may be added at a later date.

Illustrated books: endangered?

Although you wouldn't know it from last year's strong showing by designers and publishers of illustrated books at the Alcuin Society's Book Design Awards, according to this article from The Book Standard, it seems that illustrated children's books might be on their way to becoming an endangered species.

It is no secret that today's picture book market presents one of the most challenging areas in children's sales. While the international co-editions market is enjoying something of a revival, the home market tells a different story. Away from the bestseller lists, the climate for picture books on the high street is best described as "challenging".

Whatever the case, expect to see several interesting entries in the Children's category at the upcoming Book Design Awards.

Alcuin Society AGM & Book Design Awards Presentations...

Monday, June 12, 2006
Alcuin Society Annual General Meeting
24th Annual Awards on Display

Presentation of Annual Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada to publishers of winning books followed by a short business meeting.

Place: The University Golf Club
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia

Time: 6:30 pm (for 7pm dinner)

For tickets and more information contact info@alcuinsociety.com

Canadian books recognized at Leipzig competition...

Frankfurt, Germany - The Stiftung Buchkunst, based in Frankfurt, Germany, and curators of the international exhibition "Best Book Design From All Over the World" at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs, selected the 2005 award-winners in an international competition in Leipzig in February, 2006. Those awards were presented at the Leipzig Book Fair on March 17, 2006.

The Stiftung has just released their short list of competitors for the awards. Of 634 books submitted by 34 countries, 66 titles were shortlisted, and 14 prizes selected. Four Canadian designers were honoured to be among those shortlisted:

Michael Torosian, designer of Dave Heath : Korea by Michael Torosian (Lumiere Press)

Anne Tremblay, designer of Le Visuel Dictionnaire Thématique: Définitions, by Jean-Claude Corbeil and Ariane Archambault (Québéc Amérique, Montréal)

Tim Inkster and Paul Hodgson, designers of Looking for Snails on a Sunday Afternoon by Rudolf Kurz (The Porcupine's Quill).

The 26 Canadian books on exhibit, which were participants in the international competition, were submitted by The Alcuin Society to the Stiftung. These books were the winners of the 2004 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada, held in April, 2005. This entire collection has now been donated to the German Book and Type Museum in Leipzig, where it will be available for consultation and exhibitions. The 36 winners of this year's Alcuin Society competition have been forwarded to the Stiftung and are now entered in next year's international competition.

For more information, please contact Leah Gordon, Alcuin Society Design Competition Committee Chair, awards@alcuinsociety.com.