Stiftung Buchkunst’s Awards of the Year 2021

Book lovers take note: the 25 Schönsten Deutschen Bücher (The Most Beautiful German Books) were once again chosen by the Stiftung Buchkunst (Book Art Foundation). The Stiftung Buchkunst has decided to honor the book Man kann keine Steine essen (Prima Publikationen, Stuttgart/Basel) with the Preis der Stiftung Buchkunst (Book Art Foundation Award.) The work, based on recipes and photographs by Japanese sculptor Shinroku Shimokawa, was created in collaboration with graphic designers Clara Neumann and Christina Schmid.

The jury (Julia Kahl / Slanted Publishers, Sylvia Lerch, Dieter Dausien / Buchhandlung am Freiheitsplatz, Dr. Joachim Unseld / FVA) selected the award-winning book from the 25 Schönsten Deutschen Bücher (The Most Beautiful German Books) announced by the Stiftung Buchkunst in June. The book designers, manufacturers and publishers of these 25 Schönsten Deutschen Büchern were also celebrated at the award ceremony. In addition, the Stiftung Buchkunst honored the winners of the Förderpreis für junge Buchgestaltung (Promotional Awards for Young Book Design). The prizes, each endowed with 2,000 euro, went to three titles that rethink the medium book: Virginie Calvet and Felix Hunger (Zwischen Euphrat und Tigris), Alissa Verj and Suki Su (Culture Switch), and Kristina Hilse (Eine Sammlung zu Margaret Atwoods The Handmaid‘s Tale).

23 jurors worked over nine days to find the most beautiful, innovative and forward-looking book publications of the year. The 25 Schönsten Deutschen Büchern and the Preis der Stiftung Buchkunst were selected from a total of 633 titles, and the three winning titles for the Förderpreise für junge Buchgestaltung was selected from 170 entries.

This year's award ceremony also saw the presentation of the annual catalog of Die Schönsten Deutsche Bücher 2021 (Most Beautiful German Books) designed and implemented by the team of Daniel Wiesmann—Büro für Gestaltung from Berlin.

The award-winning books will now go on a large traveling exhibition and can be seen at numerous locations in Germany and abroad. The cooperation with the Literaturhaus Frankfurt will also be continued: The 25 award-winning books will be on display in the foyer of the house throughout the year.

Catalog: “Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher 2021”

Concept and Design: Büro für Gestaltung (Daniel Wiesmann, Robert Radziejewski, Jule Erner)
Photography and Video/Reproduction and Lithography: farbanalyse
Editors: Katharina Hesse, Carolin Blöink, Jana Mayer-Stoltz, Josefine Kleespies
Texts of the Jury: Elmar Lixenfeld
Translation: Iain Reynolds
Typeface: Oracle, Oracle Triple
ISBN: 978-3-9822108-0-3
Paper: IGEPA Salzer EOS, Lessebo Design Smooth Bright, Pergraphica Infinite Black
Printing: Gallery Print
Binding: Josef Spinner Großbuchbinderei GmbH
Pice: € 20.–

Pre-order in Bookstores

Shinroku Shimokawa: Man kann keine Steine essen

Publisher: Prima.Publikationen
Photography: Shinroku Shimokawa
Design: Clara Neumann, Christina Schmid
Editing: Sabine Fessler, Christina Schmid
Format (w × h): 150 × 210 mm
Volume: 240 pages
ISBN: 978-3-9821198-4-7
Workmanship: thread stitching
Typeface: LL Brown
Paper: Munken Polar
Printing: Offizin Scheufele
Binding: Buchbinderei Spinner
Pice: € 32.–

Award Winner “Die Schönsten Deutschen Bücher” 2021

Michael Disqué, Roman Ehrlich, “Überfahrt”
Holm-Uwe Burgemann, Konstantin Schönfelder, “Gesellschaft Eine Insel”
Deborah Levy, “The Cost of Living”
Franz Dobler, “Ich will doch immer nur kriegen was ich haben will”
Charlie Kaufman, “Ameisig”
Anna Bokov, “Avant-Garde as Method”
Sven Tillack mit Beiträgen von Daniel Martin Feige,  Jo Frenken, “Exploriso. Low-tech Fine Art”
Marc Angélil, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Julian Schubet, Elena Schütz, Leonard Streich, “Migrant Marseille”
Tobias Roth, “Welt der Renaissance”
Monika Dommann, Hannes Rickli, Max Stadler, “Data Centers”
Shinroku Shimokawa, “Man kann keine Steine essen—Kochbuch eines japanischen Bildhauers”
Alexander Klose, Benjamin Steininger, “Erdöl—Ein Atlas der Petromoderne”
Joachim Schwarz, “Heimkommen”
Maja Adler, Sophie Bürgi, Eleonora Heim, “Auf Abwegen”
Detlef Dietrichen, Anselm Franke, Katrin Klingen, Daniel Neugebauer, Bernd Scherer, “Das Neue Alphabet”
Beiträge von Elise Lammer, Lars Bang Larsen, Julia Voss u.a., “Kosmos Emma Kunz”
Raphaeël Bouvier, “Rodin / Arp”
David Chipperfield Architects, “Inagawa Cemetery Chapel and Visitor Centre”
Steffen Knöll, “NASA Apollo 11—Man on the Moon”
Barbara Staubli und Barbara Hatebur, “Umgeben von Kunst”
Tom Eigenhufe, “Sonnige Grüße aus Ziffernhausen”
Julia Dürr, “Wo kommt unser Essen her?”
Finn-Ole Heinrich, Dita Zipfel, “Schlafen wie die Rüben”
Lucia Zamolo, “Elefant auf der Brust—Warum sich Liebeskummer lohnt”
Volker Mehnert, “Die großen Flüsse der Welt”