Best Book Design from all over the World 2023

The competition Best Book Design from all over the World 2023 is an attempt to compare the technical and aesthetic level as well as the appropriate and artistic design of books beyond national borders.

In 2023 the jury awards the publication Susi + Ueli Berger. Kunst am Bau und im öffentlichen Raum 1968–2008 from Switzerland with the GOLDENE LETTER, the highest mention. The book, published by Scheidegger & Spiess (Zurich), was designed by Dan Solbach, Fabian Harb, and Maria Peskina.

In addition to the highest award, the GOLDENE LETTER, another 13 books from Denmark, Germany, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, and South Korea were awarded. The awards are non-monetary and are intended to stimulate greater international dialogue in the book design scene. The institutions taking part have honored books in national design competitions. Only titles are accepted that have already been awarded prize in their home country or have been recommended by a body of experts.

Five jurors from five different countries—Aslak Gurholt, Billy Kiosoglou, Siri Lee Lindskrog, Maša Poljanec, and Coline Sunier—came together in the German National Library in Leipzig from February 23rd until 25th to examine and evaluate books from 30 different countries. “I think we’ve been through 600 books. It’s quite exhausting, but it’s quite an experience. It also changes the way you approach your own work.”, says juror Billy Kiosoglou about the jury’s work.

Juror Siri Lee Lindskrog adds: “Some of the books we noticed because they had a new approach to what a book can be or how the content of the book may interact with other formats, like digital formats for example. Other books were noticed because they had a very important statement or some content, we could see was very valuable to be published and spread into the world. Others were noticed simply for their formal quality.”

This year one can get an acoustic impression of the jury session in a special episode of their podcast.

During Leipzig Book Fair 2023 the publication Best Book Design from all over the World 2023, designed by Christian Lange (COCCU), will be released. This year’s 14 awardees will be honored on Friday April 28, 2023 at 4pm at the Stiftung Buchkunst booth at the book fair (Leipzig Bookfair, Hall 2 booth G600/F601). Everybody interested is welcome. Not only the 14 awarded publications and the shortlist of the international competition, but all the other submissions (around 600 books from 30 countries) will be on display at Stiftung Buchkunst’s booth.

Here you can see the list of all winners