Book Arts Competition Winners
All Libraries Posted: June 30th, 2026Special Collections & University Archives is excited to announce the winners of the 20th Annual Student Book Arts Competition! This year’s top honors were awarded to Rie Cauley for “Kumiko” and Mia Herrera for “We Are So Fortunate”.
The winning artist’s books were selected by David Benjamin, Head of Special Collections & University Archives, and guest judge Denise Bookwalter, Professor of Art at Florida State University. Selected from an impressive group of creative submissions, both works demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship, innovation, and artistic vision.
To celebrate their achievements, we sat down with Rie and Mia to discuss the inspiration behind their award-winning artist’s books, their creative processes, and their experiences exploring the Book Arts Collection at Special Collections & University Archives.
What inspired the idea behind your artist books?
Mia: Well, I wanted to blend a lot of my focuses together, so printmaking, bookbinding and writing. I took creative writing as a minor when I was in school, so I wanted to blend all that together. And I think one of the best works that I tend to do is just from the heart. So I wanted to speak about my experiences and how to represent that through symbolic art as well. And putting that together was just really fun and finding the connections there.
Rie: So I’m from Japan and I moved here in 2009. And financially, I can’t go back to Japan because I have four kids. So I started to appreciate where I grew up in Japan. I like to put Japanese culture into my work when I create art. My artist book “Kumiko” started in my independent study. In the artist book I made wooden pieces that can be designed together into an intricate pattern. Each piece is precisely cut and placed where it’s supposed to be like how I’m suppose to be here.
What message or experience do you hope viewers take away from your artist books?
Rie: I want people to see themselves as they’re important and needed where they are. Because sometimes you might feel alone, you’re still part of something that’s beautiful.
Mia: For me, it was very deliberate to do my writing in the second perspective, because I think when it comes to talking about experiences, it’s easy to kind of detach yourself. So doing it in the second person really makes the viewer feel that they are in my shoes and it is an experience that I don’t think everybody deals with. So, what I hope for people to take away is just considering what it’s like to be other people. I feel like that’s not always the case. Not everyone sits down and thinks about that often.
How has exploring the book arts collection in Special Collections & University Archives influenced your understanding of artist books?
Mia: I remember when I took the book arts classes, I honestly didn’t even realize what book arts were until I came to the Library Special Collections. I hadn’t seen such a variety of books, and I’ve always loved reading and I love books, but I didn’t realize how much of an art form it could become.
Rie: I also never knew about book art till I took the book binding class last semester, and then we visited Special Collections. It was like, Whoa! Each book was very inspiring to me. And I wanted to create a book that was a very interactive, so I have made pieces for my artist book “Kumiko” that can be moved around. I was very happy to learn about book arts and every special collection visit seeing different artist books made me think “I can use this.”
What advice would you give students who are thinking about entering the book arts competition next year?
Mia: I would say to do it because I wasn’t going to initially. I was inspired, like my partner encouraged me to do it. And I thought that like my work wasn’t, I was like, oh, it’s not even worth it. But clearly it was. So my advice would be if there’s any hesitancy, just don’t listen to that part.
Rie: I agree. If you work hard for it. You should put it out there so people can see your work.
