Best Book Design from All Over the World

Since 1963, Leipzig has hosted the world's only international book design competition honouring the most beautiful books from all over the world. Despite cultural differences in editorial design and book production, the competition is an attempt to compare the technical and aesthetic level and the professional and artistic design of books beyond national borders.

The competition Best Book Design from All Over the World assesses around 700 publications, which have previously been awarded prizes in their respective countries of origin within the framework of national competitions. This year, books from 34 countries were considered. An international jury of experts has reviewed all the publications in a selection process and selected 14 winners. This year, the book that has been awarded the Golden Letter is a Dutch publication: Amsterdam STUFF by Jerzy Gawronski and Peter Kranendonk, designed by Willem van Zoetendaal.

The competition Best Book Design from All Over the World is organised and carried out by the Stiftung Buchkunst. With the international competition as well as the awards Best Book Design from Germany and the advancement award for young editorial designers, the foundation has promoted well-designed books and offered them platform as well as access to a broad public and the market for several decades. The competitions examine current developments in the field of international book design. The large number of young prize winners also underlines the formats’ openness to innovation without disregarding the longstanding book tradition.

In a conversation, editorial designer Valeria Bonin (Bonbon, Zurich) talks about her experiences as a jury member of this year's competition. She gives an insight into the jury's approach as well as the evaluation criteria and shows what good book design is all about. The talk is followed by a discussion with the audience.