Maureen Duke Educational Award | Society of Bookbinders

The Norie Trust...

...is a small charitable trust based in the South-West of England which funds various projects, many of which are associated with literature and the arts and community-based projects which aim to improve the quality of people's lives.

It created the Maureen Duke Educational Award to recognise the late Maureen Duke's inspirational teaching and dedication to education. The award is jointly sponsored by the Society of Bookbinders and the Norie Trust, and administered by the Society on behalf of the Trust.

The recipient of the award each year should be:

a bookbinder, book conservator, book restorer or book artist;
who is working professionally in the UK;
and plans to start or continue to teach and pass on their skills, both to individuals and groups.

The 2026 Award

Applications are invited for the 2026 Award. This year the Society of Bookbinders is supplementing the Norie Trust's contribution to bring the total award to £5,000, intended to support a specific developmental opportunity for a professional in the book field.

Closing date: Friday 3 July 2026

Announcement: The winner will be announced at the Society of Bookbinders National AGM on Friday 14 August at the 2026 Conference in York.

Submit your application to: [email protected]

The recipient will be required to write an account of their study and experience for others in the field.

Your application should include:

Names, addresses and email addresses of two referees;
A curriculum vitae;
A brief outline of the specific developmental opportunity, indicating how it will enhance your work and teaching, and your plans for future professional development;
A breakdown of costs, including fees, travel and subsistence;
Images of work completed in the two years prior to application.

Please submit your application and images as a single Word or PDF document.

2025 Award: Felicity Bristow

The 2025 Maureen Duke Educational Award was presented to Felicity Bristow, who impressed the adjudicators with her progress in developing her involvement in bookbinding and her plans for a focused period of professional development.

Approaching the craft from an artistic perspective, Felicity has created a body of sculptural work incorporating traditional bookbinding techniques based on conventional book forms. The award is supporting her in refining her expertise in fine binding to improve her teaching of basic bookbinding structures, and in expanding into binding limited-edition artist and letterpress books through expert tuition.

I'm truly honoured to receive the Maureen Duke Educational Award for 2025. This support is enabling me to deepen my skills in fine binding and expand my teaching practice, while continuing to explore the artistry of the book as a sculptural and expressive form. My sincere thanks to the Trust and Adjudicators.

Felicity Bristow, August 2025