An excerpt from the AUPresses ‘Book, Jacket, and Journal Show’s’ award-winning work of Carl-HK Zakrisson and Tod Alan Spoerl for Arhus University Press’ ‘Apples in Denmark: The History and Origin of Varieties,’ written by Bjarne Larsen. Image: AUPresses
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
A Total 165 Winners from 575 Submissions
The Association of University Presses today has today (May 6) announced several international member-publishers’ wins of the program’s 60th “Book, Jacket, and Journal Show“. The program frequently shortens its name to AUPresses.
Those international presses comprise:
- Aarhus University Press, which had four books selected, one in each of the following categories: Trade Illustrated, Trade Typographic, Scholarly Illustrated, and Scholarly Typographic;
- Chinese University of Hong Kong had two titles selected in cover design;
- The University of New South Wales Press had one selected in cover design;
- The University of Manchester Press had one selection in cover design;
- The University of Guam Press had one selection in cover design;
- Montreal’s McGill-Queens University Press drew five awards, one each Scholarly Illustrated and Scholarly Typographic, and four in jackets and covers; and
- The University of Alberta Press drew one award in the Poetry and Literature book category.
‘Thoughtful, Creative, and Resourceful Publishing Design’
This cover, with its unusual perspective, is from ‘A Lifetime of Serendipity’ by Ambrose Yeo-chi King from Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, the honored design work created by Hei Shing Chan. Image: AUPresses
The cover of the Arhus winning Bjarne Larsen book with design work of Carl-HK Zakrisson and Tod Alan Spoerl
This, as our readers may recall, is a contest that honors the work of design and production professionals in the output of various university presses. Clearly popular, the program this year attracted 575 submissions, comprised 165 books and journals and 410 jackets in various categories:
- Scholarly books: typographic (six selections) and illustrated work (11 selections)
- Trade books: typographic (eight selections) and illustrated work (16 selections)
- Poetry and literature books (four selections)
- Reference books (four selections)
- Journals (three selections)
- Jackets and covers of books and journals (58 selections)
The association—which has at least 160 international nonprofit scholarly publishers in its membership, most of them in North America—reports that “by recognizing achievement in design, production, and manufacture of print publications, it also sparks thoughtful, creative, and resourceful publishing design in the future.”
The jury’s work resulted in 57 winners, “outstanding book and journal entries.”
Michelle van der Merwe of Canada’s University of British Columbia Press is chair of this year’s program and is quoted today, saying that the competition “has always been my favorite part of the AUPresses annual meeting, so it has been a privilege to be part of the behind-the-scenes experience along with our fabulous team of committee members. “This year’s entries offered such a rich profusion of creativity, thoughtfulness, and talent—our amazing jurors did not have an easy task.”
Steven King’s ‘Fraudulent Lives: Imagining Welfare Cheats From the Poor Law to the Present,’ a cover-design winner from McGill-Queens University Press. Designer David Drummond. Image: AUPresses
The jurors this year are:
- Alban Fischer, who has designed hundreds of book covers and interiors since 2009, including works selected for several AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers features, and has been recognized by The Book Cover Archive, Literary Hub, Print, and Spine; and included in the 2017 AUPresses show;
- Lara Minja, principal and designer of Lime Design Inc. in Victoria, British Columbia, has been noted by the Alcuin Society, AUPresses, PubWest, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and Design Professionals of Canada, among others;
- Debbie Berne, author and designer of The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers (2024, University of Chicago Press); Berne has designed hundreds of books since 2002, including her favorites: children’s picture books and cookbooks; and
- Angela Moody, working in the field for some 30 years, primarily as a branding designer but also with a focus in book cover design, collaborating with diverse clients, including university presses; her own work was recognized in the 2023 AUPresses show.
In the June 11 Association of University Presses annual meeting, jury members will discuss their observations and process in making this year’s selections of winners in the competition.
A traveling exhibition of winners in the competition has some stops left in its presentation of the 2024 contest, although the stops left are only in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, a small part of our readership’s international footprint.
By far the best access to the winning work is through the online presentation, which can be found on this page, which also offers a digital look at past shows’ winners.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the world industry’s myriad book and publishing awards is here. More on the Association of University Presses is here, and on academic and scholarly publishing is here.