Open Call for Submissions – ‘From Illustration to Book’ – 2023 Malta Book Festival

The National Book Council, in collaboration with Arts Council Malta, is issuing a call for submissions for the 2023 Malta Book Festival exhibition “From Illustration to Book”. The Festival and the exhibition will be taking place between 18–22 October 2023.

This will be the second edition of an exhibition dedicated to book design and illustration as an integral part of the Malta Book Festival events and activities.

The objective is to showcase the work of Malta’s leading contemporary book illustrators and designers, as well as pay homage to the country’s book illustration and design pioneers and feature the winning submissions to the publishing section of the Malta Community of Illustrators’ 2023 Malta Illustration Annual.

This initiative forms part of a strategic collaboration between the NBC and ACM which aims to promote innovation within the local publishing industry to include all aspects of its creative professions.

What We Are Looking For

We would like to invite you to submit illustrations and/or designs to be considered for the 2023 Malta Book Festival exhibition “From Illustration to Book”. The following will be accepted:

– a final book cover with typography and illustration, or the illustration itself featuring in the book cover as separate from the cover layout;

– an illustration from the interior of the book as part of the book interior layout, or the illustration itself featuring in the book interior as separate from the layout;

– a graphic design for a published book cover or interior.

The applicant can submit the following type of work, that must have been published by the start date of the Malta Book Festival (18 October 2023):

1. ‘published’ or ‘self-published’;
2. from a printed book or an e-book;
3. an illustration/graphic design work for a Maltese book (with a Maltese ISBN) by a Maltese or a foreign illustrator/designer; OR
4. an illustration/graphic design work by a Maltese illustrator for a foreign book (with a foreign ISBN).

How to Apply

– Please submit a maximum of three (3) artworks in high-res format (pdf, jpg or eps) with a caption containing the following:

ILLUSTRATOR

ARTWORK NAME

MEDIUM

CONTACT DETAILS (Instagram or other social media, website)

BOOK TITLE

– Please submit your application via this link, to include the artwork/s, your CV, a 20-30 word bionote, and the wetransfer, dropbox or Googledrive link or similar. For more info send an email to nikki.petroni.1@artscouncil.mt.

– If available, provide a sketch or artwork at work-in-progress stage or pitching stage, to be featured in a special section about thought process, pitching/commissioning and publication process.

A maximum of two (2) illustrations and/or design per artist will be selected for inclusion in the exhibition. The chosen illustrations will be accompanied by copies of the corresponding publications.

Selection Process

The submissions will be reviewed by a committee led by NBC and ACM. The submissions will be evaluated according to the three criteria listed below:

1. Idea and context
2. Skill and technique
3. Creativity and innovation

Important Dates

Open Call announcement: Wednesday 14 June 2023

Deadline for submissions: Monday 17 July 2023 at 12 (noon)

Notification of results: Friday 25 August 2023

For more info send an email on nikki.petroni.1@artscouncil.mt