Alcuin Society Book Design Awards

Earlier this summer, the Alcuin Society held their annual display of award-winning book design at the Anna Leonowens Gallery in Halifax, NS. Held annually since 1984, the Alcuin Awards recognize excellence in Canadian book design.

The travelling exhibit features over 25 books entered in the competition by Canadian publishers and designers. Not surprisingly, the majority of the books are case bindings with dust jackets, as well as perfect bindings, with cover printing. The majority of the award-winning book covers are printed full colour (plus bleed). Only one book was printed black and white and one book was printed black and silver.
The exhibit included Nova Scotian Ann-Marie MacDonald’s latest novel, Fayne, as well as Canadian indigenous artist Kent Monkman’s latest title, Being Legendary, subtitled "Confronting Colonialism, Rethinking History," a lavishly-illustrated, brightly-coloured oversized picture book with a surreal take on history, that includes neon dinosaurs.
Strong representation in the graphic novel section included the monochrome colour palette Ducks by Cape Breton artist Kate Beaton; the muted multi-colour palette Acting Class by Nick Dranaso; and Birds of Maine by Michael Deforge.

Perhaps the most noteworthy entry of interest to bookbinders and book artists is in the limited-edition category. Of special note is Quebec's nous nous emmêlerons, credited by the Society as a collaboration between designers: Céline Huyghebaert, Camillle Lamy and China Marsot-Wood.

Roughly translated into English as "we will get tangled," nous nous emmêlerons consists of 72 unbound leaves (8.5" x 11") gathered with an elastic band! Its deceptively simple assemblage may remind some of a duo tang report. nous nous emmêlerons is the result of a creative collaboration between nine artists. The unbound pages is in keeping with a non-hierarchical approach to assemblage and a fluid approach to presentation, allowing the pages of art and text to be reshuffled by the reader.
Being able to physically handle display books in a gallery setting, especially limited-edition books, is a rare treat. nous nous emmêlerons is no exception.

The minimalist cover is devoted to two columns of printed words, with certain words circled for emphasis. The Verdigris typeface used is reminiscent of cursive text. The blue ink is a result of "risograph printing, that uses stencils and ink drums to produce prints." The process is similar to a Gestetner press, commonly used in the local public school system over 40 years ago. The resulting print has "a hand-made look and feel."

Despite its plain presentation, this entry, published by L’imprimerie centre d’artistes and printed by Atelier Circulaire, garnered 2nd prize. In their decision, the judges noted: The format ... suits the origins of the book's composition, and the moody simplicity of the blue ink on black stock is entrancing. The varied content is sensitively handled to create unity, and the judges loved the insertion of a loose card urging readers to take care of the fragile object(s).

With a limited edition of only 150 copies, nous nous emmêlerons proves that not every book, especially limited-edition books, need necessarily follow established, traditional book formats to showcase content. It's reassuring to see that risk-taking is both recognized and rewarded on a national level in Canadian book design.

Extensive background information and additional photos of nous nous emmêlerons is available at www.fadingpaper.ca.

The Alcuin Society Book Design Awards exhibition continues to travel the country over the next several months. According to the website, it will be available for viewing again in Halifax, NS at Mount Saint Vincent University's library this fall. The full exhibition schedule is available on the Alcuin Society's website.

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Submitted by Charles Salmon