Kathy Milanowski What: Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada 2016
Where: FAB Gallery
When: January 23 – February 10, 2018
Admission: Free, see gallery hours
An exhibition of award-winning book designs at FAB Gallery looks beyond the cover, as the Alcuin Society takes a holistic approach to book design and production in Canada.
Founded in 1965, the Alcuin Society is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to promoting wider appreciation of book design. Named after Alcuin of York (c. 735–804 CE), an English scholar and clergyman who helped establish schools and libraries in the Carolingian empire, the society aims to support excellence in book design and production in Canada through its publications, sponsorship of educational programs, and annual book design awards.
In honour of the 35th anniversary of the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada, FAB Gallery is hosting an exhibition showcasing the 2017 edition winners. The works on display include 35 zines, chapbooks, and more traditional tomes selected from a total of 211 submissions, all of which were published in 2016. Given the national scale of the awards, the exhibition materials – including a catalog and didactic panels – are available in both French and English.
When evaluating submissions, the Alcuin Society’s jury looks beyond the cover, following the principle that “all aspects of the book design must work to form an integrated piece.” Contending designs are evaluated on the basis of their dust jacket, binding, endpapers, half-title page, copyright page, title page, page layout, typography, navigation for reference, integration of illustrations, clarity of printing, and choice of paper.
The Alcuin awards recognize nine book categories, namely: prose fiction, prose non-fiction, illustrated prose, poetry, pictorial, children’s, reference, limited editions, and – for the first year ever – comics. The winning designs are displayed by category, which serves to draw an image of the contemporary formal conventions of each type of book. The reference category, for example, was dominated by cocktail and recipe books featuring stunning colour photographs on glossy paper. Books in the limited edition category challenged the traditional bound codex structure, inviting alternative reading experiences and bringing attention to the book as an art object.
One minor critique of this exhibition is its denial of a tactile experience; “please do not touch” signs are ubiquitous and the more fragile objects have been encased in display cabinets. Those bibliophiles among us know that reading is a deeply sensory experience, where sight is complemented by touch and smell. While protecting and preserving these books is important, something is lost when visitors are unable to leaf through the books and appreciate the qualities of the binding and the weight and texture of paper that were central to their selection as award-winning designs.
Should you find yourself, as I did, captivated by a particular work on display – fret not. Many of the works featured in the exhibition are available via U of A Libraries or for purchase through regular book retailers, so you can satisfy your craving for a closer look. After all, these books have been expertly designed to be read.
