Quodlibet ─ A Q-rated Encyclopaedia

Inspired by the late, great Georges Perec, who is famous for writing a book whose sole subject was the letter E, illustrator Katja Spitzer and freelance writer Sebastian Gievert teamed up to tackle the letter Q.

Katja explains that in the German language, as in English, Q is a rather peculiar letter. One of the rarest in the German language, Q is only given a fleeting position in the Brockhaus Lexicon (an equivalent to our Encyclopaedia Britannica), a mere forty-five pages of Q words, falling somewhere in the middle of a volume entitled PES–RAC, in spite of granting an individual volume to every other letter in the alphabet. Feeling that the letter was given undue negligence, Katja took it upon herself to create the missing "Q" volume of the lexicon and thus Quodlibet was born. Translated from the German, this edition contains several new Q letter entries to replace those from the original text that didn't have direct English language equivalents. Quodlibet covers everything from famous Grindhouse movie directors, to obscure eighteenth century dances, to nature's marvels and ancient Chinese mythological beasts, each illustrated with mastery in four unique spot colors.

Katja Spitzer is a freelance illustrator in Berlin, Germany. Quodlibet, her final major project at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig, won her the prestigious 3 x 3 Illustration Gold Medal in 2010.

Sebastian Gievert is a freelance writer and journalist based in Berlin, Germany.

Katja Spitzer was born 1979 in a small town in Eastern Germany. Having completed an undergraduate degree in art history and history, Katja moved on to study illustration and graphic design in the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig. Today she works as a freelance illustrator in Berlin.
Sebastian Gievert: Sebastian Gievert, born on 21st June 1979, graduated from Leipzig University with a degree in journalism and politics. After working for several newspapers, online-media and broadcasting companies Sebastian now divides his time between freelance writing and creative projects like Quodlibet.
Alex Spiro is creative director and founding partner of Nobrow Press
Dr Michael J Routledge translator and educator with over 30 years of experience, formerly Senior Lecturer in French, Royal Holloway (University of London) including period as Director of European Studies (1996 -1999). Currently retired after 34 years.