We are excited to share the selected entries for the 2025 Association of University Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show with you. This year’s show features 110 entries as selected by Alban Fischer, Lara Minja, Debbie Berne, and Angela Moody. Judging for this year’s Book, Jacket, and Journal Show took place at the AUPresses Central Office in New York City in January 2025. You can browse selections in each category below or read the full press release.
Books from the 2025 show will be donated to the Book Cellar in New York City. Proceeds from the Book Cellar support the New York Public Library.
2025 AUPresses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show
The 2025 AUPresses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show will hit the road, traveling to the presses that have requested it, from September 2025 to June 2026. View the schedule.
2025 Selections by Category
Scholarly Typographic | 6 selections
Scholarly Illustrated | 11
Trade Typographic | 8
Trade Illustrated | 16
Poetry and Literature | 4
Journals | 3
Reference | 4
Jackets and Covers | 58
Member presses submitted 575 publications:
Scholarly Typographic | 37 entries
Scholarly Illustrated | 33
Trade Typographic | 20
Trade Illustrated | 40
Poetry and Literature | 18
Journals | 9
Reference | 8
Jackets and Covers | 410
The Jurors
BOOKS AND JOURNALS
Alban Fischer
Alban Fischer has designed hundreds of book covers and interiors since 2009. His work has appeared in Graphis Design Annual (2023, Silver Award), has been shortlisted for the Art Directors Club Awards (2021, 2023), shortlisted for Communication Arts Design Annual (2023), selected for AIGA’s 50 Books/50 Covers (2017, 2019, 2020), included in the AUPresses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show (2017), and has been recognized by The Book Cover Archive, The Casual Optimist, Literary Hub, Print, and Spine. He lives with his husband in Michigan and is the founding editor of Trnsfr Books and author of the poetry collection Fake Moon.
Lara Minja
Lara Minja is the Principal and designer of Lime Design Inc., located in Victoria, British Columbia. Her love of the arts, history, learning, and storytelling has led her to the focused design of scholarly and trade books, exhibition catalogues, magazines, educational materials, and postage stamps. She holds bachelor degrees in visual communication and fine arts from NSCAD University and a master’s degree in communication and technology from the University of Alberta. Her work has been widely recognized by The Alcuin Society, The Association of University Presses, PubWest Design Awards, Applied Arts Magazine, University and College Designers Association, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and Design Professionals of Canada amongst others.
JACKETS AND COVERS
Debbie Berne
Debbie Berne has been a professional, freelance book designer since 2002—designing hundreds of books in genres across the board and for everyone from the Big 5 publishers to independent and academic presses to self-publishing authors. Her favorite books to design are children’s picture books and cookbooks. In 2024 a book she both designed and wrote—The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers—was published by University of Chicago Press. She lives with her family in Oakland, CA.
Angela Moody
Angela Moody, a visionary designer with a keen eye for aesthetics, has shaped the visual landscape for over three decades. Her BFA in graphic design from the University of Michigan laid the foundation for a career marked by innovation and creativity primarily as a branding designer but also with a particular focus in book cover design. Having collaborated with a diverse range of clients, including renowned university presses such as Northwestern University Press, Stanford University Press, University of California Press, and Fordham University Press, among many others, she also works for mass market publishers, independent presses, and individual authors. Her recent recognition in the Association of University Presses 2023 Book, Jacket, and Journal Show is a testament to and underscores her exceptional talent.
About the Book, Jacket, and Journal Show
The Association of University Presses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show honors excellence in design produced by its member presses. The show recognizes meritorious achievement in the design, production, and manufacture of books, jackets, covers, journals, and digital publications by members of the university press community. 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of this book show.
What you may notice first about the publications by AUPresses members is the wide variety of subjects, forms, and approaches to disseminating scholarship. This variety reflects the diversity of the members themselves. Some members are among the very largest scholarly publishers in the world while other presses are offices with small staffs and limited resources. It also reflects the variety of new forms and formats available to publishers including digital and print-on-demand technologies in addition to offset printing. The budgets for the publications themselves reflect the market needs of the individual project, the press’s resources at hand, and decisions a press makes about physical aspects of the publication. What unites these books, however, is something you cannot see. It is the fact that these publications have been subject to the rigorous standards of peer review.
The design and production aspects of these publications are also integral to the very mission of the Association. Excellent design contributes to a book or journal’s reception and its impact in the larger world.
In addition to recognizing excellent work, the AUPresses Book, Jacket, and Journal Show provides an evaluation of members’ work and serves as a focus of discussion and a source of ideas for intelligent, creative, and resourceful bookmaking. The 2025 show will include books published by AUPresses members in 2024 and jackets and covers of books published that year. Books may have been manufactured anywhere in the world, but imports, and copublications designed and produced by a with a foreign publisher, are not eligible.
Through the show, and its acclaimed annual catalog, the Association seeks to expand the conversation about the essential importance of good design in scholarly publishing.
Special thanks to the 2024–2025 Book, Jacket, and Journal Show Committee
Michelle van der Merwe, British Columbia, Chair
Shiraz Abdullahi Gallab, Michigan
Ashley Bernicky, Toronto
Alison Cobra, Calgary
Jennifer Conn, Wisconsin
David Zielonka, Stanford
Lori Lynch, Alabama
Isaac Morris, New Mexico
Corey Parson, North Georgia
Peter Perez, North Carolina
Kate Kolendo, Community Development and Communications Manager, AUPresses
Trevor Nau, Administrative Coordinator, AUPresses