9 June 2009
New Zealand has a pool of outstanding book design talent, as revealed by the shortlist released today for the 2009 Book Publishers Association of New Zealand Book Design Awards.
“The finalists we have chosen are representative of a very fertile collaboration between New Zealand publishers and designers. In all cases, a good text has been enhanced by a designer’s sensitive and creative response,” says Peter Gilderdale, Convenor of Judges for 2009.
Gilderdale, along with other judges Graham Beattie and Guy Somerset, found it difficult to shortlist three books in each category. Gilderdale admits, “Judging these awards proved really tough because of the surfeit of exceptionally well-designed books to choose from.”
Katy Yiakmis, a previous finalist in these awards, is represented in three categories, with three books designed for Random House NZ: her skills traverse the illustrated category with Mates & Lovers, the non-illustrated category with Diggers Hatters & Whores, and the new G.A. Pindar & Son Award for Best Typography with Into the Wider World.
Sarah Maxey stands out again this year with three titles shortlisted. Her covers for Doubtless: New and Selected Poems and Collected Poems, internal design by Robbie Burton and Katrina Duncan respectively, were both shortlisted in the non-illustrated book category. Maxey is also shortlisted with Yiakmis and Arch MacDonnell in the new typography category for How to Look at a Painting.
Practised hands of previous book design awards winners Marie Low, Katrina Duncan and Alan Deare are seen again in this year’s shortlist.
The competition is judged in five general categories, with a winner for the highly coveted Best Book and Best Cover chosen from the shortlist. The awards will be announced at a ceremony on 3 September, along with a new award for the Awa Press Young Designer of the Year.
The awards help promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in New Zealand. They are sponsored by BPANZ, in association with the New Zealand Listener and Publishing Press.
The full list of finalists for the 2009 BPANZ Book Design Awards is as follows (with the designer mentioned first):
Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book
- Sarah Healy (The Apple, Ben Brown & Tracy Duncan, Penguin NZ)
- Sarah Nelisiwe Anderson (The Were-Nana, Melinda Szymanik, Scholastic New Zealand)
- Sarah Elworthy /Gavin Bishop (Piano Rock: A 1950s Childhood, Gavin Bishop, Random House New Zealand)
Hachette New Zealand Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book
- Robbie Burton (Internal), Sarah Maxey (Cover) (Doubtless: New and Selected Poems, Sam Hunt, Craig Potton)
- Katrina Duncan (Internal), Sarah Maxey (Cover) (Poems 1951-2006 CK Stead, Auckland University Press)
- Katy Yiakmis (Diggers Hatters & Whores, Stevan Eldred-Grigg, Random House New Zealand)
Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book
- Alan Deare (Ladies, A Plate, Alexa Johnston, Penguin NZ)
- Katy Yiakmis (Mates & Lovers: A History of Gay New Zealand, Chris Brickell, Random House New Zealand)
- Alan Deare (White Silence, Grahame Sydney, Penguin NZ)
Pearson Award for Best Educational Book
- Book Design Ltd (Internal), Brenda Cantrell (Cover) (Excellence in Biology III, Martin Hanson, Cengage Learning)
- Marie Low & Esther Chua (Internal), Marie Low (Cover) (Saying What you See, Alison Annals, Abby Cunnane and Sam Cunnane, Pearson)
- Meredith Biberstein (Through a Gap in the Fence: Journal of Secondary Students’ Writing and Visual Arts 2008, Ministry of Education, Learning Media)
GA Pindar & Son Award for Best Typography
- Sarah Maxey (How to Look at a Painting, Justin Paton, Awa Press)
- Katy Yiakmis (Into the Wider World: A Back Country Miscellany, Brian Turner, Random House New Zealand)
- Arch MacDonnell (Certain Words Drawn, John Reynolds, Random House New Zealand)
