Not only is World Book Night (WBN) one of the best-organized mail art events, it also sets challenging themes for participants. This year’s theme is books and mountains.
There is a wide selection to choose from. Bruce Chatwin’s “On the Black Hill” immediately springs to mind, as does Nan Shepherd’s “The Living Mountain”. And don’t forget Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain.”
Other books that come to mind are “K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain” by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts, and “The Alps of Hannibal” by William John Law.
Short stories, such as Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and the myths about Mount Olympus are good starting points. And don’t forget Robert Frost’s poem “The Mountain” with the line:
“‘Twouldn’t seem real to climb for climbing it.”
The Call
WBN is organized by Sarah Bodman and Linda Parr with input from Nancy
Campbell. They invite you to make a 2D or 3D work (which must fold flat to
fit into an A5 envelope for mailing) inspired by mountains to send for an
exhibition and mail art swap.
You can make a text or image contribution, using any media you
wish, but it must fit into an A5 envelope (which means it must be smaller
when folded than 14.8 x 21 cm).
Postal address
Sarah Bodman, CFPR, Room 2D3
UWE Bristol
Kennel Lodge Road
Bristol BS3 2JT
United Kingdom
Please email
- details of the text you are inspired by so they can compile a collaborative bibliography between all participants;
- your postal address;
- and Instagram or Bluesky info if you wish.
All artworks will be swapped so you will receive another artist’s work in return plus the keepsake for WBN2026 which is being produced by Chrystal Cherniwchan and Craig Tattersall.
Deadline: 3rd March 2026 – Early submissions are very welcome.
Questions? Email: Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk
Exhibition at Bower Ashton Library, UWE Bristol, UK (April – July 2026).
Links
Top Photo
The photo on top of the page is a work of Kseniia Rastvorova (Unsplash).
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