Request for Proposals: Willa Cather Book Illustration

Project Summary: The National Willa Cather Center seeks to issue a special edition of Willa Cather’s short story collection, Youth and the Bright Medusa, during the 2020 publication centenary of the collection. To that end, we request proposals from artists for new artwork to accompany the short stories—one illustration for each of the eight short stories, plus a frontispiece. The National Willa Cather Center can supply summaries and descriptions of the stories.

Profile of the Willa Cather Foundation: The National Willa Cather Center is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather and preserving the historical settings and archival material associated with her life and writings. Since its founding in 1955, the NWCC has been headquartered in Red Cloud, Nebraska.

Design Criteria: This project will result in a trade paperback edition of Youth and the Bright Medusa, containing black and white illustrations accompanying each story, and a color frontispiece. Proposed designs should take into account and be optimized for trade paperback size (roughly 5.5–6 inches by 8.5– 9 inches) and the uncoated paper stock and black and white printing of interior pages. The NWCC desires to retain all original illustrations for exhibit and merchandising.

Budget: $8,000 to $10,000. Budget figure should include any costs of development of the proposal and reflect the full transfer of physical and intellectual property, rights to likenesses, etc.

Project Timeline: Targeting a May 15, 2020, release date, the NWCC asks that all final pieces and assignment of rights be completed by February 15, 2020. To that end, we will consider the deadline for proposals November 30, 2019, and will make final decisions by December 15, 2019.

Proposal Requirements: Your proposal should include artist’s statement of intent, a description of the project and its elements, concept and approach, and relevant mock-ups, representative examples of your work, or other proof of concept. Digital submissions (hi-res PDF or JPG) are encouraged, but hard copies will also be accepted.

Proposal Due: November 30, 2019

Contacts:

Tracy Tucker, Education Director — ttucker@willacather.org

Ashley Olson, Executive Director — aolson@willacather.org

413 North Webster Street, Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970 | (402) 746-2653

For more information: www.WillaCather.org