Bocas Academy hosts book-design workshop

Join award-winning graphic designer Melanie Archer on February 8 for the second instalment of Bocas Academy’s Writer's First: Write a Book, Get it Published! seminar series.

A media release said Archer will lead an online Zoom session from 10 am-11.15 am on the importance of book design, and how authors can optimise the design and layout of their forthcoming titles by collaborating with professionals.

Archer, an experienced designer, has worked on over 50 projects in a wide cross-section of genres and publication formats. She is the recipient of multiple Addy (Caribbean Advertising Federation) Awards for Book Design.

Archer said her passion for design was ignited during her MFA studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Her two takeaways for prospective particpants in the seminar were practical ones: consistency and thinking beyond one’s immediate circle, the release said.

“Design consistency is key. I've seen a poster and a book launch invite for a book that looked so visually different from the book itself that I had to wonder if it was the same title,” said Archer.

She added, “Your immediate circle is going to buy your book because they know you (if they don't, you need a different immediate circle). But you can catch a few strangers' eyes in a bookshop through good design.”

Archer expressed heightened interest in meeting new writers through the seminar.

“I'm a reader and a supporter of writers, particularly those from the Caribbean, so I'm always looking forward to making those connections, and getting to see and hear about what people are working on.”

This session is the second of three parts in the Bocas Academy’s Write a Book, Get it Published! seminar series. The final and third session takes place on February 15, when Alice Besson, managing director of Paria Publishing, will outline the role of a publisher in guiding a book to its final, saleable form, the release said.

Each individual session costs $300.

Participants in the Bocas Academy will also have access to free resource kits, alumni events and certificates of completion.

For more info and to register, visit www.academy.bocaslitfest.com or e-mail workshops@bocaslitfest.com .