Design an “artsy” poster, win money, and see your work all over the region!

Deadline: Postmarked March 15, 2012

Grand Prize: A cash award of $500

Fall for the Book is hosting a poster contest to celebrate the 2012 festival. The grand prize-winning poster will be a cornerstone of the upcoming festival’s annual marketing campaign, just as the poster to the left here was featured prominently in last year’s festival advertising and promotion. Fall for the Book, now in its fourteenth year, is one of the oldest, largest, and best of its type in the country. The 2011 festival attracted more than 20,000 attendees to venues throughout the DC metro region. Past festivals have featured authors and performers for all ages, including Stephen King, Amy Tan, Greg Mortenson, Ann Patchett, Chinua Achebe, Sherman Alexie, Michael Cunningham, E.L. Doctorow, Khaled Hosseini, Sue Miller, Pat Conroy, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tim O’Brien.

The festival planners seek a full-color poster that celebrates the interaction between readers and writers, and calls people’s attention to the festival’s September dates. The poster will be printed in the summer and distributed throughout the capital region. Entries will be judged by the festival staff. Entries should appear in the same form as the final artwork; electronic files will be necessary for reproduction of the winning poster.

GUIDELINES

• The poster must include the Fall for the Book logo, the festival dates (September 26-30, 2012), and the website (www.fallforthebook.org).
• Though Fall for the Book does not have a yearly theme, you may want to highlight the following information in your design:
  • Five Days
  • Nearly 150 Authors
  • Readings, Discussions, Performances & More
  • Throughout Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland
  • You can find out more about the festival by exploring this website, and details about the 2011 program are still available here.
  • Electronic files of the 2012 logo can be obtained by contacting Kara Oakleaf at (703) 993-3986 or fftb@gmu.edu.
  • Artwork must be 18” x 24” and can be vertical or horizontal. Do not matte or frame artwork.
  • All two-dimensional media are accepted, including computer-generated images. Note: Chalk, charcoal and pastel entries should be sealed with a fixative spray to prevent smearing. Do not laminate entries.
  • Three-dimensional entries will not be accepted.
  • While collaborations are welcome, collaborators must split the prize money.
  • Artists may submit multiple posters. You may send all your posters in one package.
  • Participants accept all responsibility for late, lost, misdirected or illegible entries. Entries sent with insufficient postage will be disqualified. Fall for the Book is not responsible for entries damaged, destroyed or lost during the judging process.
  • Fall for the Book reserves the right to alter the final poster design or to reject all submissions for the final poster design.
  • All submissions become the property of Fall for the Book and may be used for commercial purposes. No entries will be returned, so please keep all your files and/or scan your work.
  • In consideration for the opportunity to enter the Fall for the Book Poster Contest, participants agree to allow Fall for the Book to use their names and photographs for promotional and publicity purposes.
  • Finalists may be asked for additional materials including a disk or CD of all poster files.

IMPORTANT: Entries must include the artist’s name, address, phone number, and valid e-mail address on the back of each poster. Only original artwork will be considered. Please do not use copyrighted images or materials.

All submissions must be mailed to:

Fall for the Book Festival

English Department – MS3E4

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA 22030

Deadline: Postmarked March 15, 2012

Please contact Kara Oakleaf at (703) 993-3986 or fftb@gmu.edu with any questions.

11/22/63, the new novel from Mason Award winner Stephen King, has earned tremendously positive reviews since its publication in the days after this year’s Fall for the Book—and the accolades now include being named among the top five novels of the year by The New York Times. The Times’ list of 100 Notable Books of 2011 also included several of this year’s festival authors—including Teju Cole, author of Open City; Alexandra Fuller, author of Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness; and Francine Prose, author of My New American Life—as well as Jonathan Letham, winner of the 2007 Mason Award and author most recently of The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc.

King’s novel was also among the Washington Post’s notable books of the year, and the Post’s own Top Ten Books list included several authors who’ve graced Fall for the Book’s stages in recent years: Ann Patchett, the 2010 Fairfax Prize winner, for her latest novel, State of Wonder; Mary Doria Russell, who appeared at the 2009 festival, for her latest novel, Doc; Walter Isaacson, who appeared in 2007,  for his new biography of Apple founder Steven Jobs; and Sylvia Nasar, author of Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius, who recently appeared at George Mason University’s Law School in Arlington through a partnership with The Mercatus Center as part of the festival’s new series of monthly events.

Also appearing on both newspaper’s notable books of the year was an author who will be appearing at the festival’s March 2012 monthly event in partnership with one of our major festival sponsors, the Fairfax County Public Library. Which author? Stay tuned to find out! Just bookmark our webpage here or join our mailing list by entering your email address in the box at the upper left of our homepage to stay up-to-date on the latest festival news.

And now that the Times and the Post have weighed in with their favorites of 2011, let us know what your favorite books of the year: Join the discussion at our Facebook page here.