The MCBA Prize, presented by Minnesota Center for Book Arts, promotes excellence in new work from across the expressive spectrum of book art. Established in 2009, this biennial award is meant to represent the diversity of approaches to book art, honoring one winner and four finalists for their unity of form, material, and content. Book art, broadly defined, includes work that embodies narrative, instruction, reference, mapping, guides, documentation, and more. It is work that engages the viewer and propels the experience forward through narrative, sequencing, spatial elements, visual or verbal language, temporal, mechanical, aural, typographic, symbolic or material means.

For the 2020 MCBA Prize, which coincided with MCBA’s 35th anniversary, we received 158 submissions from 18 countries. From this diverse group of artists, Juror Betty Bright selected 32 semi-finalists and five finalists, and one winner: Sara Langworthy, for her artist’s book Sidereal.

We invite you to cast your ballots for the People’s Book Art Award here by January 10, 2021!