The 27th Letter Rules

Note: no professional qualification is needed to enter.

Conditions

• The letter must be relevant to the Latin alphabet as used by English-speakers and to current diction. The sounds represented by other alphabets are precluded.
• Characters from the English Pronouncing Dictionary will not be considered.
• The 27th letter must fulfil a distinct purpose that the present alphabet lacks.
• Entrants may come from any country and must have reached the age of sixteen. Entrance is free. Only one submission per applicant will be considered. Upper case and lower case versions of the same character will be treated as a single submission. Automated entries, bulk entries and third party entries will be disqualified.
• The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Procedure

• Every entry will be given a number and acknowledged. The name and personal details of the entrant will be recorded on their submission and must not be included with their design.
• All candidates must include a sentence in English illustrating how their proposed 27th letter would be used.
• The competition will open for entry on March 15 2017 and close on April 25 2017.
• The judges will be headed by Professor Phil Cleaver, Professor in the Creative Industry at Middlesex University; James Fergusson, Editor of The Book Collector; Ian Fleming’s nephew, the author Fergus Fleming, and Lilian Lindblom- Smith, Head of Graphic Design at Middlesex University. The final selection will be made independently by Sir Peter Blake.
• The prize will be £250 (or the equivalent in dollars or euros) and a trophy designed by Professor Cleaver. In addition The Book Collector will donate £500 to Give A Book, a charity founded in 2011 that buys books at cost and distributes them to charitable and other organisations. In the event of a shared award, the prize will be divided accordingly.
• The winner will be announced at the International Antiquarian Book Fair, Olympia, London on Friday 2 June 2017.

Paperwork

• Artwork received on paper will not be accepted.

• Artwork received on paper will not be accepted.
• Entries must be in black letters against a white background and on A4 portrait (210mm x 297mm format).
• Each submission must contain, separate from the design, both postal and electronic details of the entrant, including a telephone number. Entries not containing these details may not be acknowledged.
• A short list will be circulated to the relevant entrants.
• The winner will be notified by email and/or phone by 28 May 2017.

Copyright

Copyright remains with the originator but The Book Collector reserves the right to reproduce any or all of the entries, with appropriate credits, in a future issue or issues; and to display entries (with full accreditation) during the course of any publicity.

Privacy

The Book Collector's website is at www.thebookcollector.co.uk. It is fully compliant with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Your details will not be passed to any third party without your prior consent.

Contact

All enquiries should be sent to Emma Brown at emma@thebookcollector.co.uk.