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The 19th Annual Student Book Arts Competition celebrates the remarkable creativity and craftsmanship of students who transformed the traditional book form into stunning works of art. This year’s competition saw a record-breaking number of submissions, with 22 unique artist books entered—each offering a fresh perspective on what a book can be.

A distinguished panel of judges—Orlando-based artist and Book Arts Guild of Central Florida instructor Meghan Medina, and David Benjamin, Head of Special Collections & University Archives—had the difficult task of selecting the winner based on design, craftsmanship, and artistic vision.

Taking top honors was reflection by Jessica Morris, an innovative artist book inspired by the moon and its enduring presence in our skies. We sat down with Jessica to talk about their work and the book arts collection at Special Collections & University Archives.

• Why were you inspired by the moon for your artist book “reflection”?

I have always loved the moon ever since I was a child. It’s so interesting how in astronomy, the sun gets so much attention, like when there’s a solar eclipse and all that stuff. But the moon, we always kind of see it as a constant. It’s always there every night except obviously a new moon. I felt I wanted a way to show how important the moon was, and despite it only being a reflection as the book title, I wanted to show how important it was to us and how we should pay more attention.

• How did you come up with the visual narrative of your artist book?

I like this astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy,  who I enjoy looking at his photos and he has an incredible setup for telescopes and he does long exposure macro images. So I was looking at his work and I was thinking, how could I do something similar to this?  I came up with the idea of a depth map, because his photos are basically composed of multiple layers. So I was thinking what if I did something like that with multiple layers where it’s just a depth map of the moon and it would light up from the inside as a lithograph.

• What were some things in the process you enjoyed while making your artist book?

I have pretty in-depth experience with 3D printing, but this was definitely a challenge because the plates are so wide, my 3D printer could barely handle them. I made this book over 120 hours of printing alone. It was 10 hours. So that was a big challenge, making sure everything was calibrated correctly but it was so fun because when every plate came out, I had that moment of joy of seeing it come to life. I would hold my phone flashlight up to the back to see how it glow, and it was just so awesome to see how it came out. The images were from my personal photography. There’s one of the first footprints on the moon that is public domain and a couple taken by my favorite astrophotographer, Andrew McCarthy, used with permission.

• What do you think about the Book Arts Collection at Special Collections & University Archives?

Like in general, it’s very cool. I think it’s very important. I’m glad it’s becoming an art form that is being preserved and being noticed as much as it is.

• After creating your artist book, what are your thoughts about book arts in general?

I think it’s a good experience to embrace a form that most people wouldn’t really know. There’s so much difference in creativity in the book. You kind of realize it’s not just one form, it’s so many things you could do and I feel that experimenting with that really helps. Building your own book really gives you that experience of being able to express something that you want people to find from the book to make them feel.

Awards were given to outstanding entries that captivated the judges:

• 1^st Place: reflection by Jessica Morris (UCF)
• 2nd Place: Death Lifts Us by Maria Busby (UCF)
• 3rd Place (tie): Hermaphropedia by Saxon Anderson (Rollins College) and The Natural Order by Karla Maria Gonzalez (UCF)
• Honorable Mention: and Book of Breviceps Fuscus by Kathleen Harton (UCF)

All entries, including the award-winning works, are currently on display in the 4th Floor Gallery of the John C. Hitt Library from August 18 through the end of September 2025.

To learn more about the Student Book Arts Competition and view past entries, visit: stars.library.ucf.edu/bookartscompetition

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