Contest for Book Cover: Life of Pi

Karen Schneider, selected by The Age, Australia

Drawn to the power of Pi

Many people have recomended the novel Life of Pi. I have it on a stack of books to be read.
(I added Amazon Links at the bottom - you can get this book now under $3.00)

I did not know about this cover contest, but found the short list results impressive. You can view these submissions at The Time on Line Web Site at

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2044284,00.html


Details
"In October, The Times and Canongate Books launched a competition to find an illustrator for a new edition of Yann Martel’s Man Booker-prizewinning novel Life of Pi. Today we feature the five shortlisted images, chosen by our judging panel out of some 600 entries. Five more artists have been selected from those who entered via The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada, and another five from those who submitted their illustrations to The Age in Australia. All 15 shortlisted artists will submit three more illustrations each before an overall winner is chosen in April."

The artical also had several interviews with some of the shortlisted artist. This one was my favorite artist repsonse:


LUIS LORENZANA

(Manila, Philippines)

I never bought the book. When the competition came to my knowledge, I didn’t have any cents in my pocket but I wanted to enter so I went to the bookstore four days in a row to read it. I’m happy to be shortlisted. I put a lot of work in: it’s a long walk to the bookstore! My illustration is entitled The Greatest Show on Earth — it shows the scene where Pi is taming Richard Parker. It is full of emotion, conflict and excitement. Pi could die at that moment. I wanted to emphasise the space between them; to capture the intensity of the tiger and the mix of coolness and terror in Pi.

I use all sorts of media, but this was done by layering acrylic paint on paper. I wanted to make it look old and blurred, to fit the magical, mysterious effect of Pi’s story. I plan a completely different style to illustrate the alternative story that Pi tells at the end.