NEW 30th Anniversary Book Receives National Award

The independent publishing industry has given an award to a book published last year to honor the 30th anniversary of the School of Art's Normal Editions Workshop (NEW) at Illinois State University.

The Independent Publisher Book Awards has awarded a 2008 bronze medal in the National Category of Fine Art to "Marks from the Matrix: Normal Editions Workshop Collaborative Limited Editions Prints 1976-2006," edited by NEW Director Richard Finch and Associate Director Veda Rives.  The book features 491 illustrations including 110 full-page color plates, plus essays and commentaries by former visiting artists and Illinois State University graduates who learned and worked in the NEW.

"Marks from the Matrix" was released last fall in conjunction with a highly successful NEW conference called "Frontiers in Printmaking."  The conference included three art exhibitions as well as panel discussions, demonstrations, lectures and exhibitions throughout the community, all in celebration of Normal Editions Workshop's 30th anniversary.  

The Independent Publisher Book Awards competition attracted 3,175 entries from 49 US states plus District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands, nine Canadian provinces, and 16 countries overseas. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary independent, university, and self-published titles produced each year. Winners were named in 64 subject categories.