Shropshire Artist's Epic Illustrations Win Book of the Year Award

Alice Cao, an illustrator living in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has recently won a major award for her artwork in a special edition of the classic story Beowulf. Alice worked with a team to create this limited-edition book, and their efforts were recognized at the British Book Design & Production Awards in London. The judges were very impressed with Alice's 18 new illustrations, saying they made the book something people would want to keep and treasure for many years. The book was made using a traditional printing method called letterpress, which gives the pages a raised, textured feel. This method is not used very often anymore, so it makes the book even more unique. The book was also bound in Ludlow, a town near where Alice lives. Alice was surprised and happy to win the award. She joked that she would have worn more comfortable clothes if she had known she would have to walk up on stage to accept the prize. The book, called Beowulf: The Morris Edition, is a tribute to a famous artist named William Morris, who worked on an earlier version of Beowulf. Only 308 copies of this new edition were made, making it a rare and valuable book. The book also won another award for its excellent print production. Alice's illustrations are found throughout the book. One of her drawings shows a medieval boat on a stormy sea, with a quote from the story written underneath. The judges said that even though the book is small, it is very impressive. They liked how Alice's new artwork fit perfectly with the traditional style of the story. They also said the book is important because it reminds people of the beauty of hand-made books, especially since letterpress printing is now considered endangered in the UK. Alice studied illustration at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge before working with Books Illustrated. She moved to the UK from Vietnam when she was 16 years old. For this project, she created scenes from Beowulf inside decorative frames, with hand-written quotes from the story below each picture. Alice wanted her illustrations to honor both the original story and the work of William Morris, while also adding her own modern touch. She said she wanted each scene to look like a dramatic moment from a video game, so her drawings are very bold and cinematic. In her free time, Alice enjoys drawing strong women in armor, often in battle scenes. She said she was thrilled to see her work celebrated and that winning the award means she will have more job opportunities in the near future. Alice and her team are already planning to work on another book together, and she is excited to start a new project.

Alice's success is good news for artists who enjoy traditional bookmaking. It shows that there is still interest in beautiful, hand-crafted books, even in a world where most things are made by machines. Alice hopes that more people will try making books using old techniques like letterpress printing. She also wants to keep creating new stories and illustrations for people to enjoy.

If you have an interesting story from Shropshire, the news team wants to hear from you. You can contact them to share your story. You can also follow BBC Shropshire online to read more stories like Alice's. Her achievement is a great example of how creativity and hard work can bring new life to old stories and inspire others to appreciate the art of bookmaking.