By: Izzy Cheung, Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered how chicken scratch drafts turn into colourful, award-winning hardcovers? Until August 31, you can find out at W.A.C. Bennett Library on SFU’s Burnaby Campus. Two free exhibits, the 2022 Alcuin Society Excellence in Book Design Award Exhibit and From Draft to Book: A Journey Through the Publishing Process, highlight the steps involved in publishing a book.
Upon arriving at the library, the first exhibit you’ll come across is From Draft to Book, which is located directly in front of the library’s main entrance on the third floor. It features works from writers including Eden Robinson, Michael McClure, and Daphne Marlatt, plus insights on the business side of publishing from New Star Books, Talonbooks, and Douglas and McIntyre. The books, drafts, and manuscripts can all be found behind two glass cases like artifacts in a museum. You’ll want to start with the case furthest from the library entrance, as this is where the exhibit starts chronologically.
Each step in the publishing process is accompanied by an associated item and a write-up. The first step, “acquisition,” showcases a book proposal for The Silent Messengers, by Norman Hallendy, which was eventually published under the name Inuksuit: Silent Messengers of the Arctic (also on display). This is followed by steps detailing the editing process, demonstrated by a manuscript of The Antagonist, by Lynn Coady. In the second case, you can follow along with technical processes like design and production, marketing and sales, and the making of proofs and advanced reader copies.
While the exhibit put forward a lot of information I hadn’t known before, it would benefit from a live-interaction portion. It would have been interesting and informative to flip through the drafts, but I know this would be difficult to manage. Because of all the rough manuscripts and drafts, this exhibit lacked dramatic pops of colour, which is understandable. However, the second exhibit completely makes up for this.
The Alcuin Society exhibit was a little more daunting to visit, but stood out for just that reason. It’s located on the seventh floor, at the entrance to the library’s Special Collections. As is tradition with W.A.C. Bennett Library, the higher up you go, the quieter the library gets — and the seventh floor is the highest in the building.
The Alcuin Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to book art and libraries, held its 40th national book design competition on March 18, and some of the winning books are featured in this display. Each book is paired with a small write-up with information like printer and typeface. Categories included children’s, comics, limited editions, and pictorial poetry. The book covers are neat to check out, some fashioned with bright pops of pink and orange, and fun depictions of long-stemmed mushrooms and sunglasses. My favourite part was the comics, as they were propped up in a way that allowed me to see some of the black-and-white drawings on the inside (these books were covered by a glass case as well). Other than this portion, everything else was stippled with bold colours, making them stand out against the dark, wooden walls of the seventh floor.
In total, both exhibits only took around 15–20 minutes to check out, but it could be more or less depending on the type of exhibit-viewing person you are. Seeing as both are in the library, it makes sense to see both of them if you’re already planning on catching one. If you’re interested in publishing, English, or anything book-related, I highly recommend checking these out!
