2nd April 2013: We are delighted to tell you that Paul Thurlby has won the highly presitigious Bologna Ragazzi 'Opera Prima' award for his 'Alphabet' book as published by Templar. An intelligent collection of the Alphabet based on what was initially a personal project, this is what the jury had to say:
“With Paul Thurlby’s Alphabet, the author takes us back to the ABC books that were part of our childhood. First on account of the paper, finely squared, all the letters we read and write carefully framed within their confines. More especially, Thurlby – storyteller, collector and demiurge – invites us into his own alphabet world. He welcomes us into this typographical realm where whale meets owl and space is comfortably enclosed in a trapeze. This phantasmagoric universe is the real stuff of children’s dreams. It explains how, when they first learn the alphabet, children set off on a voyage into its secrets. Seeing the world through a child’s eyes, Thurlby knows that without those tiny squared sheets we risk not seeing life’s traffic lights.”
Well done to Paul and all at Templar - you deserve to wined & dined in Italy for this award!