11 April 2007

Gaspereau Press is delighted to announce the recognition of its books in the Alcuin Society’s 25th annual juried book-design competition. Robert Bringhurst’s The Tree of Meaning won first prize in the category of non-fiction. It was also the only entry selected for a prize in that category. This book was designed by the author Robert Bringhurst and Gaspereau Press co-owner Andrew Steeves. Tim Bowling’s Fathom tied with Michel van Schendel’s L’Oiseau, le vieux-port et la charpentier (published by L’Hexagone and designed by Anne-Maude Théberge) for third place in the poetry category. This book was designed by Andrew Steeves. Both books will be exhibited internationally at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs, and in locations across Canada.

The Tree of Meaning was typeset in Giovanni Di Faccio and Lui Karner’s Rialto Piccolo and Fred Smeijers’ Quadraat Sans, for the main text, with additional fonts used for the Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic and Chinese excerpts. The book was printed offset on wove paper, with a letterpress-printed cover. Fathom was typeset in Garamont, a type named for the 16th-century punchcutter Claude Garamond but based on letters cut by Jean Jannon a generation later. The digital version used in this book was made by Jim Rimmer of New Westminster, BC, based on Frederic Goudy’s 1921 revival made for Lanston Monotype. Fathom was printed offset on laid paper, with a letterpress-printed cover.

The Alcuin Society was founded in 1965 and promotes the appreciation of fine book creation. This year’s judges – Alan Brownoff, Jan Elsted and Glenn Goluska – examined 252 books published in 2006. A total of 34 awards were granted in eight categories: Children’s, Limited editions, Pictorial, Poetry, Prose fiction, Prose non-fiction, Prose non-fiction illustrated and Reference. For more information about the awards and about the Alcuin Society, please visit www.alcuinsociety.com

Gaspereau Press is a literary publisher and printer based in Kentville, Nova Scotia. The press is committed to literature and the book arts, incorporating a range of modern and antique forms of printing and binding to create books that are distinctive in manufacture and design. In addition to its trade editions, Gaspereau also produces limited edition hardcovers, letterpress books and an occasional chapbook series.

For more information, contact:
Beth Crosby, Gaspereau Press
47 Church Avenue, Kentville, NS, B4N 2M7
(902) 678-6002 | This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
www.gaspereau.com

Gaspereau Press gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture & Heritage, and the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program.