Penguin Random House New Zealand Award for
Best Illustrated Book 2015
Highly Commended 2015
Designer Dylan Horrocks
Title Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen by Dylan Horrocks
Publisher Victoria University Press
Format 178 x 255mm, 222pp, paperback, full colour end papers and hand lettering
Judges’ Comments Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen is a wonderfully designed graphic novel. The endpapers are fantastic. The form of the graphic novel is played with — twisted but never broken — as Horrocks journeys through his narrative with style. The shifts in colour palette are artfully done, and the format and stock choices work well with the content.
