Awards Book Archive

Muse
  • Shortlisted

Designed by
W.H. Chong
Category
Best Designed Literary Fiction Book
Year
2016
Publisher
Text Publishing

About the Designer

W. H. Chong is the long-time design director at Text Publishing and designed their logo. In 2013 Chong was inducted into the Australian Book Design Hall of Fame. He is a founding member of ABDA, serving as Secretary from 2014 to 2016. He has written and spoken about book design, and blogged on art and culture for Crikey and Daily Review. He is also an exhibiting artist.  …

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Design Rationale

BRIEF: Present a high-style literary novel about a by-gone era of heroic American writers and publishers, by an insider author. NARRATIVE: The narrator recalls his search as a young editor for the most elusive, famous and glamorous literary figure of the age, the poet Ida Perkins. DESIGN: The text is interspersed with poetry taken from Perkins’ typed manuscripts — thus, the title is concrete poetry made with typewriter. The drawing refers to a crucial scene in the book about the titular “muse.” I wrote and set the blurb on the back to mimic Perkin’s style of poetry.

Details
Dimensions
153 x 234 mm
No. pages
272 pages
Special finishes
Cover printed on reverse stock for a papery feel.
Credits
Internal Design
W.H. Chong, M. Kristen Bearse
Illustration
W.H. Chong
Typesetting
Text Publishing
Printing
Griffin Press
Author
Jonathan Galassi