Readers and Bakers: It’s Time for the Edible Books Contest

The Jessie Ball duPont Library will celebrate its eighth year of participating in the International Edible Books Festival with a contest on Monday, April 1. Entries will be accepted from 8 a.m. until noon. Judging will take place beginning at noon, and the celebration will be 3:30–5:00 p.m. in the main lobby of the duPont Library.

Each entry should be edible—cakes, vegetables, fruits, bread and the like—and represent a book or something about a book. Past entries have included “The Princess and the Pea,” “The Hunger Games,” “A Farewell to Arms” and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” among other literary greats. 

 The contest has several special categories for judging: Children’s Books, Banned Books, Wittiest (Title Puns), Entries by Children 12 and Younger, in addition to the general category. 

This year organizers have added a new category for Professional Culinary Entries: any local bakers, restaurants, caterers, etc., are encouraged to submit an entry that will be judged separately. 

Prizes include gift cards from local businesses and pictures of all the entries will be showcased on duPont Library’s Facebook page. Also new this year will be the “People’s Choice Award;” everyone who attends the celebration will have the opportunity to vote for a favorite entry during the afternoon celebration.

For Pinterest users, there is a board for Edible Book ideas and a look at some entries from previous years at <http://pinterest.com/penelk/edible-book-ideas/>. 

The International Edible Book Festival is held annually around April 1. People participate in the event in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Singapore and Sweden.

The date of the event, April 1, is the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book “Physiologie du goût,” a witty meditation on food. April 1 is also the perfect day to eat words and play with them as the “books” are consumed on the day of the event.

For more information about the local contest contact Wanda Cheston at 598-1658 or <wcheston@sewanee.edu> or Joan Blocher at 598-1778 or <jo​bloche@sewanee.edu>.