What’s Your Book?
Now that Andrew Ilachinsky’s book proposal has been chosen as our WYB? 2007 winner, the challenge – as with every book – is how to take it to the next stage. Eddie Ephraums, the competition organiser, gives his thoughts.
COPSEY
CRONE
There are so many factors to take into consideration when making a photography book like Andy’s. One of my jobs as the editor (as well as the designer and publisher) is to ensure that the book’s message is clear, that it has a well defined audience, and that the it ‘speaks’ to these people in such a way that they would want to own a copy.
Let’s start by addressing the question: ‘Who is the audience?’
Andy is an American photographer. We know there is a good market for photo books in the States. But, there are differences between our cultures that we need to be aware of in order to make this a book that works on both sides of the Atlantic. This is where I see the major challenge – and a great opportunity!
My (very simplified) view of American photography is that it is rooted in a different tradition to ours. For example, unlike us they have their heroes – people like Adams and Weston, whereas in the UK who or what do we look up to?! To ‘complicate’ matters further, I see a different tradition of book design in the States. Just think how American photo books and magazines look in comparison to our own (or consider how the highly successful National Geographic magazine has stayed the same for as long as I can remember, without anyone thinking it needs a makeover. I can’t see that happening here.)
With these thoughts in mind, I think the best place to start with Andy’s book is to get some images down on paper, using the fold-out book design (illustrated opposite), and to show these to Andy and a sample audience. My reason for the fold-out format is simple: rather than trying to fit in with UK or US photographic publishing conventions, the concertina format will give people on both sides of the Atlantic a fresh perspective on how b&w photographs can be communicated through the printed page. Let’s see how it goes…!
More thoughts and some page layouts to follow – soon.
The plan for Andy’s Sudden Stillness is to do something less conventional and make it into a concertina book. These are notoriously tricky to produce, especially as I want to use heavier 200-250gsm paper, so the book can stand up by itself when open. When extended, the book will span almost two metres in length, giving an impressive feel, yet the relative stiffness of the paper will ensure that it is be easy to handle.
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