Best Overall – Rebecca Tabaja – Donut Feed the Squirrels

The University of Cincinnati Libraries celebrated the annual International Edible Books Festival on April 5-9, 2021.

A record 31 edible books were created and featured throughout the week on the Libraries Facebook page, as well as on Twitter and Instagram. Submitted entries included such edible titles as “Coffee,” “LuLu’s Giraffe Bakery,” and “Donut Feed the Squirrels.” Best sellers “Lord of the Rings,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Catch-22,” “Super Fudge” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” were represented along with children’s books like “Jolly Postman,” “Hair Love,” “Rainbow Fish,” “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way” and “Madeline,” among other literary greats. The edible books were made of cakes, cookies, candy, deviled eggs and even sushi.

Created by librarian Judith A. Hoffberg and artist Béatrice Coron, the International Edible Books Festival is held worldwide annually on or around April 1^st to mark the birthday of Jean Brillat-Savarin, author of The Physiology of Taste.  The global event has been celebrated since 2000 in various parts of the world, including in Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, Russia and Hong Kong.

Best Student Entry – Mya Bond – Hair Love

UC Libraries has participated in the International Edible Books Festival since 2001.

The 2021 winners are:

• Maggie Patel – The Labor of Lunch – Most Clever
• Lila Patel – Super Fudge – Most Delicious
• Cade Stevens – The Emperor’s New Cake – Most Scandalous
• Debbie Weinstein – The Rabbit, the Dark and the Cookie Tin – Most Mysterious
• Yu Mao – Tao Te Ching – Most Original
• Yu Mao – The Handmaid’s Tale – Most Taboo
• Haley Shaw – Rainbow Fish – Most Aquatic
• Lisa Haitz – Hot Dog! Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic – Most Humorous
• Celeste Brant – Pinkalicious – Most Creative
• Melissa Cox Norris – The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies – Honorable Mention
• Jack Norris – Lord of the Rings – Most Magical
• Sam Norris – Star Wars: The Marvel Years – Most Sci-Fi
• Steve Norris – Coffee – Honorable Mention
• Jessica Ebert – Reading Rainbow – Most Colorful
• Holly Prochaska – Catch-22 – Most Deadly
• Jenny and Cade Mackiewicz – The Language of Flowers – Most Beautiful
• Carol Freid – Interpretative watercolor based on the Chinese painting book Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden(芥子園畫傳, Jieziyuan Huazhuan) – Most Imaginative
• Amy Dennison – Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin (CCM pandemic style) – Most Musical
• Amy and Isabella Koshoffer – Be Still, Life – Most Artistic
• The Mackiewicz Family (Cathy, Cade, Charlie and Connor) – Little Blue Truck Leads the Way – Most Industrious
• Abby, Maxine and Mae Mattingly – The Giving Tree – Most Honorable
• Ashleigh Schieszer and Griffin – LuLu’s Giraffe Bakery – Most Adorable
• Eira Tansey – Jolly Postman – Most Timely
• Olga Hart – Madeline – Most Literal
• Olga Hart – The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Most Deadly
• Tina Fellinger  – The Adventures of Captain Underpants – Silliest
• Debbie Tenofsky – The Runaway Bunny: Cottontail Cookies – Most Whimsical
• Tamara O’Callaghan – The Comestible Digestible Bestiary – Scariest
• Luahna Winningham Carter – The Picture of Dorian Gray – Most Gruesome
• Mya Bond  – Hair Love – Best Student Entry
• Rebecca Tabaja – Donut Feed the Squirrels – Most Surprising

Congratulations to all the edible books creators! View the entries and the winners on the UC Libraries Facebook page. See you next year for Edible Books 2022!