Meet the artisans crafting the Booker Prize’s one-off books

Each year, a select group of master bookbinders create unique editions of the Booker Prize shortlist. Angela James, a master bookbinder, has overseen this process for 14 years. She organizes six fellows from the Designer Bookbinder society to produce one-of-a-kind editions of each shortlisted work.

Design inspiration and process

“My first response to pretty well anything that I design and bind is colour. With the book I’m assigned to – The Land in Winter – it was obvious early on that I was going to choose bleached and pale winter colours. White leather was non-negotiable.”

Angela explains that the creative process begins with close reading, note-taking, sketching, and making trial pieces. This initial phase of reading and designing demands a significant amount of time.

Time constraints and challenges

Time is a crucial factor, as each binder receives their assigned work right after the shortlist announcement. They then have just over a month to complete their editions before the Booker Prize announcement and dinner on November 9th. Due to this tight deadline, only 9 or 10 bookbinders typically volunteer as candidates each year.

Angela James’s role

As both a coordinator and contributor, Angela James guides the selected binders through the demanding process, ensuring that the final editions are ready for presentation to the authors.

Author’s summary: The creation of Booker Prize unique book editions is a meticulous, time-pressured art driven by master binders like Angela James, blending creativity and craftsmanship into fleeting masterpieces.

Wallpaper* — 2025-11-07