At a time when Kindles are on many Christmas wish lists, the Leigh Square Community Arts Village is celebrating the beauty of the book in its latest exhibit, the Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design.
A glimpse at some of the winning books quickly makes it clear what sets them apart as pieces of art.
There's the first-prize winner in the children's category: The Little Hummingbird, by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, which the judges deemed "as close to a perfectly designed children's book as you can get" with its exemplary sequencing, fine paper stock and superbly integrated text and images.
The limited editions category winner, The Play of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is "stunning," the judges decided.
"By far one of the best books this year.... Everything is right: the slipcase, the binding, the brilliant use of colour for the different voices and places, the original wood engravings, the calligraphy and the paper."
And in the poetry category, Paul Tyler's A Short History of Forgetting won for its balanced perfection, "reminiscent of Renaissance lettering books."
Leah Gordon, chair of the Alcuin Society book design competition committee, said there are several factors the judges consider when whittling down the entries.
There's the typeface, its relationship to the pictures, the white space is and where it's placed, the book's readability and usability and, unique to the Alcuin competition, how well it works for its intended audience.
"For a children's book, is it appropriate for little kids or is the design too complex, or not complex enough?" Gordon explained. "On the other end, some people do things that are so simple it looks like it was designed by a child, and it's not something that's intriguing for little children. It's quite a sophisticated approach."
A cookbook that received an honourable mention in the Alcuin awards about five years ago didn't fare better because its creamy typeface on gray paper - an exquisite combination, Gordon said - was impractical for the kitchen. (Oddly enough, it's been the only Canadian book in the last eight or nine years to win a medal at the annual Leipzig, Germany book fair, Gordon added, noting judges there don't consider a book's content.)
Alcuin, a Vancouver-based non-profit society that promotes the appreciation of fine books, hosts the only national competition for book design in Canada. Winners of this annual competition - all are by Canadian authors and publishers - feature a visual feast for the eyes and a typography aficionado's dream.
Celebrating the best in book design is critically important right now, Gordon said.
"Things move so fast with all the technological changes, but this is a pivotal time," she said. "I think what's happening is that both will exist. Things will settle down... and the question will be what's appropriate where."
Complementing this year's Alcuin display is a tribute to the book by visual artist and graphic designer Markus Fahrner.
In Uncovering the Book, Fahrner details the process and materials used in creating an artist/limited-edition book, lessons he learned after spending much of his life at book fairs around the world.
Creating an artist book in limited edition gives Fahrner the unique chance of being involved in the entire process.
He often writes the text, creates the illustrations, photographs and designs, and prints and binds his own books.
Directing the production of a book from beginning to end means Fahrner can explore new avenues for his art at every step of the way.
One such project, a collaboration with his partner and his mother, started as a fictitious encyclopedia titled Die Zweite Enzyklöpadie von Tlön and became a five-year endeavour that produced individual sheets and books.
The project has since been acquired by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Fahrner, who has designed the past two catalogues for the Alcuin Society's book design awards, is also working on a book chronicling his motorcycle adventure across West Africa.
The Alcuin Society created the book design competition in 1981. Each year the award-winning books are showcased in an awards catalogue and exhibited across Canada and internationally; this is the first time the exhibit will be shown at Leigh Square.
This year's judges, Alan Brownoff, Dr. Shelley Gruendler and CS Richardsaon, selected 37 winning titles from 217 entries coming from nine provinces and 96 publishers.
After the exhibitions books have been contributed to prestigious permanent collections in Canada, England, Germany and Japan.
The Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design is at Leigh Square until Jan. 16, 2012. An opening reception is on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m., with winners and artists in attendance. There will also be children's storytelling and a book-binding demonstration. Admission is free. Visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/leighsquare for more info.
