About us
The Alcuin Society is a non-profit association of lovers of the book arts (typography, type design, calligraphy, paper making, illustration, printing and binding) as well as the history and future of the book, book collecting, and libraries.
Our primary mission is promoting the finest in Canadian book design and connecting like-minded individuals through the following:
Events
Hosted online since the pandemic, our lectures feature design, typography and publishing experts. In the past, we’ve worked with universities, museums and bibliographical societies to organize events. In 2023, we were be back with the Wayzgoose (printers’ fair).Book Awards
Held annually since 1981, this is the oldest national competition that recognizes and celebrates fine book design in Canada.Robert R. Reid Medal
Awarded for the lifetime achievement or extraordinary contributions to the book arts in Canada since 2007 and carrying the name of the first medal recipient.Amphora
The Society’s journal published three times per year covers topics that include authorship, publishing, book design and production, the history of the book, libraries, ephemera, bookselling, and book buying and collecting, as well as the book arts of typography, type design, printing, binding, papermaking, marbling, calligraphy and illustration.
Mission
History
Geoffrey Spencer conceived the idea of the Alcuin Society, which he founded in Vancouver in 1965, along with Basil Stuart-Stubbs, Bill Duthie, Sam Black, Bill McConnell, Dale Smith, and Sam Fogel. The initial aim of the Society was to promote a wider appreciation of fine books among book lovers around the world. Today, it is the only non-profit organization in Canada dedicated to the entire range of interests related to books and reading.
The Society is named after Alcuin of York (c. 735-804), who moved to what is now France with his considerable and much-respected library. While there, teaching rhetoric, dialectic, and astronomy at The Palace School in Aachen, he became a tutor to the illiterate Emperor Charlemagne and his sons and daughters, as well as many young scholars. He was the most prominent member of the Carolingian Renaissance and influenced the development of the most legible script of its day, known as the Carolingian minuscule, and its influence is still present in the modern lower-case alphabet. He wrote, 'Oh how sweet life was when we sat quietly... midst all these books'.
While the society has evolved over time, the passion of its directors remains the same. It continues to nurture the love and enthusiasm for books that brought it into existence in 1965.
The Board
Officers
Chair
Spencer W. Stuart
Vice-chair
Richard Hopkins
Treasurer
Glenn Woodsworth
Secretary
Chester Gryski
Directors
Program chair
Gina Page
Membership & program
Susan Andrews
Membership secretary
Frank Winter
Publications chair
Ralph Stanton
Website & digital
Natalie Davidovic
Marketing
Hamish Clark
Fundraising
Guy Robertson
Ex-officio
Editor of Amphora
Peter Mitham
Graphic design
Shelley Gruendler
Book design
Leah Gordon
Book design
Robin Mitchell-Cranfield
Book design & publications
John Maxwell
Book design & Toronto liaison
Grant Hurley
Book design & Edmonton liaison
Sue Colberg
Montreal liaison
Marlene Chan
Okanagan liaison
Peter Hay
Victoria liaison
Heather Dean