ABW FAQs

 

Frequently Asked Questions about ART BOOKS WANTED International Award (ABW)

Can I submit more projects to the competition?

Yes, you can submit, as many books/projects you wish. Just make sure, you send us a submission form and a submission fee for each book separately.
You will find Submission forms here: https://www.editionlidu.com/artbookswanted/submissions/

How can I submit?

You have several possibilities, Online submission, e-mail submission or paper submission. To submit your projects go to the official website www.artbookswanted.com menu SUBMISSIONS
 

I have only 1 copy of my book, that I want to submit to ABW. Will I see my book again after the competition?

All physically sent Artworks (books) and documents usually remains in THE ART BOOK COLLECTION of EDITION LIDU for further exhibitions, the representation of the author and the ABW Award. With authors that instist on having their books back, we will find a solution. The main goal of ABW Award is to promote artists, designers and original books, so we want you to be satisfied to be part of this project. Please, mention in the submission form: I would like to receive my book back.

If you cannot send your book physically, from any reason (you do not have enough time, you have only 1 copy, etc.), you can also submit only representative photos of your book and send your submission form by e-mail at abw[at]editionlidu.com

The Jury will review all submissions, photos, prototypes and physically sent printed books.
 

What is the deadline for submissions for ABW 2014?

Deadline for submissions: Extended until 27 May 2014

The deadline was extended, this is stated on the official website www.artbookswanted.com
You can also follow and like our facebook page to have latest information and if you do not want to miss any importnat news, subscribe to our Newsletter.
 

Can I submit a book created several years ago?

Yes. There is no limit for the date of creation of your book/project. This is very unique about ABW Award, as ABW project is iniciated by artists, we know that it is important to give artists and other creative people the freedom.  We have experienced many times, that we could not submit a book with a later date of creation to some contest and where sad about that. We anable you to submit also older works. So you can even submit books that you have created years ago and now you finally find the time to present them.
 

I am not sure if my book is an ART BOOK, I am a graphic designer. Can I submit to ABW?

Yes, you can submit. The official name of the contest is ART BOOKS WANTED International Award, however graphic related books, illustrated books, comics, books for children and more can be submitted. ABW Award is here to promote diverse approch to book creation.

You can see selected project here, to get you inspired.
 

What makes ABW Award different from any other competition?

ART BOOKS WANTED International Award is not only a competition. ABW is an artists run platform to spread the best in art, design and book culture. The organizer, International Art Publisher EDITION LIDU has a large background in art and design events, but also understands what artists and designers feel and need and enables them to promote their work through exhibitions, other cultural events and large network of media partners and supporting institutions.

ABW Award is perhaps the only international book award that presents a large spectrum of creative approach to a book.

Among awarded and nominated projects in the past editions, you could find books artist books, illustrated limited editions, extravagant comic strips, beautiful books for children, POP-UP books, but also conceptualy concieved minimalistic works, instlallations, photography books and art catalogs both prototypes and published books. We also welcome new media projects (ibooks, apps and other interactive projects) that are related to a storytelling.

The project enables to promote artists, designers, writers and editors and creates new dialogues between authors and publishers, galleries and other cultural institutions.
 

I published a limited edition of my illustrated book, so it is already self-published. Can I submit or do you accpet only unpublished books?

You can submit self-published book (as an author, illustrator, designer, photographer or independent publisher). If your book is awarded, nominated or selected in the 1st round, you can be offered the possibility of selling your book via EDITION LIDU and reach bigger public.
 

I have read somewhere that EDITION LIDU is also a selling platform for authors and designers?

EDITION LIDU is International ART BOOKS Publisher, however to create greater awareness of art book culture EDITION LIDU regularly search for interesting books via ABW and presents them via EDITION LIDU’s exhibitions and fairs and also via the online store www.editionlidu.com.

Thus EDITION LIDU can provide professional and artistic presentation and selling platform for Artists, Writers, Designers, etc.
Artists, Photographers, Writers, Designers or independent publishers that have already created/printed/sefpublished a book, zine or catalog in limited/small edition or only few copies have an excellent opportunity to sell their books and other products.

EDITION LIDU bases on the experience of the publishing industry and knows that despite of very good content and visual qualities some books can be very hard to sell or completely forgotten.
That is why EDITION LIDU gives a special care of these treasures, present them in beautiful exhibitions and is able to sold them out.

 

What can I get by participating at ABW Award?

As the main winner you will get the Prize of 1000 €.

Another aprrox. 12 projects will get the ABW Award, according to the submitted books the Jury elect the categories to award such as: BEST ART CATALOG, BEST COMICS, BEST CHILDRENS BOOK, BEST CONCEPT, BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN, BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK, etc.
We approach the works individually to search the best in them. Categories and prizes are not the most important in ABW Award.

We do not focus only on awarded projects, but reserve also to other unique and quality books to be promoted and exhibited at international venues, even if they did not win. So the authors can benefit meetings with publishers and curators and can get other creative opportunities.

By Submitting Artworks to the ART BOOKS WANTED International Award, participating artists, designers and other authors has the possibility of future cooperation with The Organizer – Art Book Publisher EDITION LIDU.
Participants can be also contacted by other publishers, curators and clients that are able to see their work via the international presentation of ABW International Award and would like to start a creative collaboration.

Many artists sold their books to the art galleries after reciving the ABW Award and the international promotion or get an opportunity to exhibit their work abroad thanks to the wide international promotion.
 

Can I be published by EDITION LIDU?

Yes. You can also get your book published by EDITION LIDU. Every year, EDITION LIDU selects books to be published among ABW award winners and participants. Many particicpants has already a book published or existing book distibuted by EDITION LIDU ( Chicken or Beef by Jeong Hwa Min, Toulitka - illustrated by Martina HamouzováLa Descante by Benjamin Courtault, Arana by Sofia Drescher, Sicktown by Frantiska Lachmanova, Allem Anschein by Lasse Wandschneider and more). More books are in the working process.

Most of the books were SOLD OUT briefly after the announcement of the winners and presentation by EDITION LIDU. Check the books in our online store www.editionlidu.com.

This year EDITION LIDU also prepared a evolutionary editorial project of black & white POCKET COMIC BOOKS Collection. The Vol. 1 featured 6 selected ABW 2012 and 2013 Award winners, nominees and particicpants:
Sofia Drescher (UK), Line Wasner (Germany), Tereza Vostradovská (Czech Republic), Joana Rosa Braganca (Portugal), Marike Le Roux (South Africa), Frantiska Lachmanova (Czech Republic). The POCKET COMIC BOOKS collection - Vol. 1 was launched during the Milan Design Week 2014. EDITION LIDU will publish regularly new collections with other ABW artists, graphic designers and illustrators to promote them.

This year, ABW became also a platform to spread art events, exhibitions, workshops and creative projects of awarded and participant authors via www.editionlidu.com, you can look forward to new interviews with artists, illustrators, designers and curators and articles related to the art book world and independet publishing.

You can benefit many other opportunities by participating to ART BOOKS WANTED international Award. See the previous editions and what participants benefit specifically here


Do I need to send my book by post? And to what address?

You do not need to send your physical book by post. You can only send us images by e-mail at abw (at)editionlidu.com

However, we are happy to receive your books in volume to have a better understanding of the artwork. If you wish to send us your books in volume, please send them to this adress:

EDITION LIDU
Zlatnická 12
110 00 Prague 1
Czech Republic

 

What kind of books can be submitted?

- Author's books, zines and catalogs
- Artist's books, zines and catalogs
- Graphic books, zines and catalogs
- Design books, zines and catalogs
- Typography books, zines and catalogs
- Photography books, zines and catalogs, both Art or Documentary
- Comic strips, both classical and experimental
- Graphic novels, fiction and non-fiction
- Illustrated short stories or poetry
- Books and Albums for children with or without text
- Folding picture books with or without text
- Pop-up books with or without text
- Activity books and zines with or without text
- Teaching aids with original concept
- Hand-printed books, zines and catalogs
- Interactive books, made from paper, cardboard, textile and other materials
- Tactile books, made from paper, cardboard, textile and other materials
- Animated storybooks
- Interactive books and stories using digital media (iPad, iPhone, Touchpad, Mac, PC, etc.) both published and unpublished
- Physical books which interact with a digital media project
- Other original book forms which are not mentioned above

All book propositions mentioned above can be:

- prototype/model in volume or layout (PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG, etc.) designed for publishing
- created as a unique piece of art, which is mentioned not to be reproduced
- self-published in limited edition or small edition
- published by a museum, gallery or an independet publisher
- digital media (iBooks, ePub, APPS, MAC/PC Apps, etc.) published or unpublished

There are no limitations in the subject matter, style or used media of the Book propositions and from here forth referred to as "Artwork(s)".

You can read detailed information in the ABW Terms & Conditions


Is there any entry fee?

Yes. The submission fee is 10 € for Students and 25 € for Profesionals (Artists, Graphic designers, Museums, Independent publishers, etc.
Please, understand that organize and administrate such a large international event, with all year exhibitions cannot be done without any administrative fee.
Additionally, EDITION LIDU uses own financial resoources to donate the realization of this unique international project.
 

How is ART BOOKS WANTED International Award presented to the public?

During exhibitions, festivals, via international media campaignes (printed, online, radio) and other occassion.

The first major exhibition presenting the project ART BOOKS WANTED International Award, the award-winning and other selected authors was held from 19th June to 6 July 2013 at the Centre for Contemporary Design in Prague.

Important ABW shows were organized during these events:
Award winners and nominees show - Milan Design Week, Micro Festival, Milano April 2014 (Check the photos)
Award winners and nominees show during Designblok - Prague Design and Fashion Week, Kafka House, Prague October 2013 (Chek the photos)
Extensive ABW show at Gallery 140 in a frame of Tabook festival of independent publishers, Tabor October 2013 (Read the Article)


Project ABW and selected books are regularly introduced to the public within EDITION LIDU’s sales exhibitions and fairs:
Design Supermarket, Archa Palace and Kafka House, Prague December 2012 and 2013
Operae Independent Design Festival, Torino October 2013
Presentation at Spazio B**k, Milan October 2013
Artelibro and Fruit - Self publishing exhibition, Bologna September 2013
Knihex - Festival of Independant Publishers, Prague May 2012 and 2013
International Book Fair Book World, Industrial Palac, Prague May 2012 and 2013
Fuori Salone (Milan Design Week) - fuori MICRO, Via Tortona 34, Milan April 2013
Designblok - Prague Design and Fashion Week, Spork palace, Prague October 2012
And many more

IN 2013 EXHIBITIONS ATTENDANCE EXCEEDED 200,000 VISITORS, BOTH ART AND DESIGN PROFESSIONALS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC

WE ARE PREPARING NEW EXHIBITION SITES FOR 2014.
 

I created my book as a student, but I have my own graphic studio now. Can I apply with a student submission Fee?

If you are already a graduate and started your own studio, you need to apply as a profesional. Thank you.
Also if you are a group of authors and a co-author of yours is a profesional, but you are a student, you still need to submit as a profesional. The adventaged Student fee is mentioned only for students and school projects.
 

We are a museum and we have recently published a catalog about American Art, can we submit it?

Yes, museums, galleries and other cultural institutions can also submit their books and catalogs. These books/catalogues wil be avaluated in a special category BEST ART/DESIGN CATALOG.
 

I am a photographer and I recently did a photography book, am I eligible for ABW contest?

Yes, photographers can submit their books and catalogs (fashion, portraits, conceptual, documentary, etc.)
 

Who is aligible for participating at ABW Award?

The ABW International Award 2014 is open to established and emerging artists, illustrators, graphic designers, typographers, photographers, designers, writers, art & design students, independent publishers,
museums and galleries, who have created, published or collaborated on an interensting art/design book, zine, comics or catalogue, view details in the uestion related to What you can submit.
Submissions are welcome from individuals and creative studios. There are no age, language or nationality limitations.
 

Does the book have to be in English?

No. You can submit a book or book related project in any language (English, Spanish, French, German, Esperanto, Chinese, Indonesian, etc). To help us understand your project, you can just fill a short description in English to the submision form. Thank you.
 

I am from Israel. Can I submit to ART BOOKS WANTED International Award?

ABW Award is international and gives everyone the same opportunity to promote books and book related artworks. No matter if you are a French, American or Japanese, you can submit to ABW contest. The contest is open to authors from any country and nationality. Last year we have received books from 35 countries. And it was amazing experiance.
 

I submitted to a previous edition of ABW, can I submit again with a new book?

Of course, we cannot wait to see your new submitions! You can submit one or more projects.


Who will be in the International Jury this year?

Every year, the ABW Internatioanl JURY is composed of art and design experts, artists, editors and curators.

The Jury of the previous edition was composed of the following experts:

Active members of the Jury:

Sergio Caruso (IT) - designer, illustrator and editor of Nurant Mag
Lucie Vlckova (CZ) - curator of books and graphics collection Museum Of Applied Arts in Prague
Ludmila & Sylvain Favardin (FR) - artists, curators and founders of EDITION LIDU
Stephan Bult (NL) - curator of the Center for Contemporary Design
Stanislaw Jagiello (BE) - fashion and conceptual photographer

Honorary Members of the Jury:
Iva Knobloch (CZ) - curator of prints collection at UPM Museum
Juanjo Oller (ES) - illustrator and independent editor (Milimbo)

You can read more about ABW International Jury members here.

The upcoming Jury members will be announced on the official website: www.artbookswanted.com
You can also follow and like our facebook page to have latest information and if you do not want to miss any importnat news, subscribe to our Newsletter.

 

What are the evaluation creteria?

The Jury examine the submissions according to the following criteria:

creativity, originality, innovation, aesthetic quality, quality of presentation, maturity of the book/artwork, detail.

In addition to these criteria:
EDITION LIDU will consider also the possibility of the publication and production of submitted Artwork (only in case, the book is meant for future publishing).

 

How the evaluation process looks like?

Submitted Artworks will be evaluated in 2 rounds

1st ROUND
After the official submission deadline, submitted books/artworks are first proccesed administratively to check if all submissions are complete. Then all submissions are reviewed and evaluated by the Art direction of EDITION LIDU. The Art direction of EDITION LIDU will select approx. 50 submissions (note: in ABW 2013, 117 projects were selected out of 268 submitted, the number can change every year accroding to the quality of submitted artworks).

The shortlist of projects selected to the 2nd round will be announced at th eend of June 2014.


2nd ROUND
Artworks which were selected in the 1st round will be evaluated by The International JURY composed of art and design experts, artists and curators. THE JURY will select projects to be nominated in different catergories and then select approx. 12 Artworks which will be awarded ABW AWARD (the number is selected according to the prices that can be awarded to different categories).

The JURY will vote for 1 BEST ARTWORK through all categories and the Author will receive the ART BOOKS WANTED PRIZE and 1000 €.

The exact date of the JURY meeting will be announced on our website www.artbookswanted.com and send by the ABW Newsletter.

 

Who are the organizers of the ART BOOKS WANTED contest?

The ART BOOKS WANTED International Award is organized by the International Art Publisher EDITION LIDU (based in Prague).

The ABW Award and project was initiated by Ludmila & Sylvain Favardin, conceptual artists and founders of EDITION LIDU. They are also the curators of ABW exhibitions.

ART BOOKS WANTED International Award was created and first organized in 2011 by EDITION LIDU with the goal of supporting and presenting quality art, design and book culture and preserving it for new generations.
In 2014 the 3rd edition of the competition is held with the goal of supporting art and book culture worldwide.

EDITION LIDU focuses on producing and promoting quality art, design and graphic books, original children‘s books and new media projects. EDITION LIDU gives authors the possibility of high-level presentation. EDITION LIDU’s books and art projects regularly participate in exhibitions and festivals all over the world and are often honored at international competitions and selected in Permanent collections of art museums, libraries and archives.
 

I did not find an answer to my question here, how can I contact you?

Please e-mail us your questions at: abw[at]editionlidu.com

We will be happy to give you more details.

 

You can also visit the official ABW website www.artbookswanted.com or directly submit your project here