The Baxter Society Prize for the Book Arts was awarded at the May Meeting of the Society, held at the Baxter House Museum, and the Baxter Memorial Library in Gorham, Maine. The four judges (Marieke van der Steenhoven at Bowdoin College Library Special Collections; Sarah Baker, Curator of the Maine Women Writers Collection, UNE; Josh Bodwell from David R. Godine Publishing; and Fannie Ouyang from Colby College Libraries) had a real challenge in selecting only three winners from the impressive submissions received.
The prize winners are:
Women of Windy Hill, Rachel Church (grand prize)
Bestiary, Brian D. Cohen (honorable mention)
Wonder, Jan Owen (honorable mention)
The Grand Prize book was designed, printed, and assembled by Rachel E. Church, 2022 Book Artist in Residence at Maine Media Workshop + College, where it was produced in the Charles Altschul Book Arts Studio on a Vandercook Universal III letterpress and in the Haas Lab for Historical Photographic Processes. The paper used is 90 lb white Legion Stonehenge, 140 lb Winsor & Newton Professional Hot Press Watercolor, and Moab Lasal Photo Matte 235. The images were printed in cyanotype and inkjet. The type set is Bembo.
Thank you to Maine Media Workshop and College for their generous support to create this project, as well as the Women’s Group of the North Vienna United Methodist Church, and especially Barbara, Debbie, Donna, Jean, Katie, Laura, and Millie, for sharing their recipes, photos, and stories.