Association of Book Crafts - The John Sansom Memorial 2025

Association of Book Crafts (New Zealand) Inc

John Sansom Memorial winners and judge David Ashman's comments:

Rebind/Traditional:
This prize goes to a piece that stands out for its sharp, clean and elegant execution. Congratulations to Jill Rose for The Lamplighter's Bookshop. Due to the low number of entries in this category I haven’t selected a runner up.

Craft:

An exceptional work takes the prize here. Kudos to Louise James (again) for Plan Drawers, beautifully conceived and expertly carried out. The runner-up is Jill Timm for Hot - I was particularly impressed by how the different elements fitted together and the delightful surprise revealed when opening the final lid it was just pipped to the post due to the finer detail and finishing of Lou's plan chest.

Modern:

The winner is Sharon Peoples for On the Edge of Silver Water. For the book, its box, contents and overall concept she has gathered a variety of materials that are melded together through images, words, tones and textures. A special mention and runner-up award goes to Ann Bell for The Headless Chicken, a book that is not only great fun but also incredibly complex in its construction.

     The Lamplighter's Bookshop

                 Plan Drawers

Hot

       On the Edge of Silver Water                      

           The Headless Chicken

To all our winners and participants, thank you for enriching our community with your talent, innovation and creativity 
that is an inspiration to us all.