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Bencina wins Folio Book Illustration Award for ‘entrancing’ interpretation of Le Guin
Cristina Bencina has been named winner of the Folio Book Illustration Award 2023 for her “absolutely entrancing” interpretation of Ursula K Le Guin’s story The Fliers of Gy.
She and five runners up were chosen by a judging panel including Theo Downes-Le Guin, Ursula K Le Guin’s son and literary executor. Bencina, an artist and illustrator based in Colorado, receives a £2,000 cash prize, £500 worth of Folio Society books and a portfolio review with the Folio Society art directors.
This year marks the second edition of the annual free-to-enter competition, launched in 2022 in celebration of The Folio Society’s 75th anniversary. Open to illustrators—either student or professional—who have not previously been commissioned by The Folio Society, the prize aims to find, platform and support new illustration talent from around the world.
This year, over 730 illustrators from 58 countries entered the competition, which asked entrants to illustrate a single scene of their choice from Ursula K Le Guin’s The Fliers of Gy.
Bencina’s work was inspired by Ursula K Le Guin’s description of a ritual persecuting the select few born with the ability to fly in a society of feathered people, who are thrown from a cliff and attacked with arrows.
Theo Downes-Le Guin said: “My mother loved working with illustrators, she loved seeing different interpretations of her work. Cristina Bencina’s composition stood out to the entire panel for its dynamism and its original interpretation of this moment in the story. The contrast between the dark values of the illustration and that bright punctuation of fire at the top was absolutely entrancing.”
Raquel Leis Allion, Folio art director and judge, said of the winning submission: “Cristina Bencina’s piece is instantly eye-catching with its strong graphic imagery. The pop of colour from the flames at the top of the mountain in the dark landscape guide your eye around the image. Christina has captured the sense of falling perfectly.”
Sheri Gee, Folio art director and judge, said: “This illustration has incredibly delicate line work that really wowed us on close inspection, contouring across the character’s feathers; and a nice element of merging trees and arrows visually. We also loved the interesting viewpoint which immediately made it stand out.”
The five runners up, who each receive £500 worth of Folio Society books and an individual portfolio review with the Folio Society art directors, are: Tommy Barclay (UK), Merran Coleman (UK, previously longlisted in the FBIA 2022), Den Owen (UK), Nate Sweitzer (US) and Jens Maria Weber (Germany).
Speaking of the calibre of this year’s runners-up, Evangeline Gallagher, winner of the FBIA 2022, said: “It was such a difficult task to narrow down these entries from such an incredible group! I would pick up a book illustrated by any of these artists. I really loved seeing the variety of interpretations across all of the longlisted submissions. From Den Owen’s moody and fantastical vignette to Nate Sweitzer’s beautifully composed scene, each entry exhibited a really personal voice which made the judging process both super challenging and super exciting.”
Tom Walker, Folio Society publishing director, added: “The range of illustration styles was spectacular for the FBIA 2023: from the classical and painterly, to the energetic and informal, and all shades in between. The variety and quality of the entire shortlist showed both the depths of Le Guin’s writing, and the depth of talent in the illustration world today.”
