Glowing review for MA Illustration: Authorial Practice partner, Atlantic Press

Independent Penryn based publishers Atlantic Press who work in partnership with University College Falmouth's MA Illustration: Authorial Practice course have received high praise from Sarai Vardi in the award-winning international illustration magazine, Varoom at The Association of Illustrators, (AOI).

A glowing review of the Atlantic Press back catologue has been written for the AOI online version of the magazine Varoom creating interest as far field as Canada and the USA with their location in Cornwall being cited as a clear advantage.

"Atlantic Press' distance from London has worked in their favour. Being out of the capital has allowed them to create their own world of illustrative fiction removed from the influence of current trends," says reviewer Sarai Vardi. "They strive to create experimental and innovative graphic literature, uncommon in the commercial mainstream. And hats off to them, they've only gone and blooming done it."

Atlantic Press creates works of graphic literature that respect the illustrator's personal voice; their ideas, pictures and words and they seek to promote new authorial illustration talent as well as recognising existing practitioners. Their rare and collectable books present imaginative ideas or tell intriguing stories, and are often illustrated for an adult audience as well as an audience of all ages.

The press was founded ten years ago by Course Leader for MA Illustration: Authorial Practice, Steve Braund who currently runs it with Dean Owens, Roger Combe and Mat Osmond. They try to publish two books a year, but are currently developing four and work with local printer R. Booth and Son. Within the review, Steve's own book The Riddlers is labelled "a work of graphic poetry".

The partnership between Atlantic Press and the Falmouth course extends to an annual graphic literature competition for the MA students with the winner being published by the press. One winning book, The Garden Sketchbook sold out in a couple of months at zine fairs and is now likely to be published in a new edition in association with Tate Publishing.  This illustrated, pocket-sized sketchbook tells the story of the transformation of a neglected backyard into a beautiful organic garden. Authored by Anna-Kaisa Laine in collaboration with Emma Wills it is packed with helpful advice, hints and tips on how to create your own organic garden.

Reviewer Sarai Vardi continues: "The more you read their various publications, the more Atlantic Press win you over. Their books are quirky yet classy. Grown up, yet wonderfully eccentric, Illustrated books tend to attract skim readers, but Atlantic Press' books are little works of art, savour them and you will reap the rewards."

The whole article can be read here www.varoom-mag.com

Artists published by Atlantic Press include: Paul Slater, Barnaby Richards, Chris Odgers, Tom Barwick, Anna-Kaisa Laine, Mat Osmond, Nicholas Williams, Steve Braund, Helena Wakefield, Dean Owens, Daryl DeBeugny and Simon Davies.

info@atlanticpressbooks.com

For further information about MA Illustration at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/illustrationma, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 214372 for the full time course or 01326 214373 for the part time.

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name.  It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.  The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unique to the South West.

The University College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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