It is that wonderful/awful time of year. Wonderful because we get to look back at some of the amazing work people have done over the past 12 months. Awful because lists are arbitrary and someone always misses out.
I’m not going to say these are the ‘best’ covers of year. I don’t think it’s fair, and I don’t feel qualified to make that kind of judgement. This post is more an attempt to reflect the year in covers as I saw it — the covers I liked; the covers I thought were well done; the covers I thought were interesting; the covers that I thought were a bit different.
Like last year, I’ve clustered my selections around designers. Not only does this allow me to post more covers, it means I can show a greater diversity of work.
I am truly sorry to all the hardworking and talented designers (and art directors) whose work I have overlooked this year. I do my best. It is not enough. Bring on 2017.
Addlands by Tom Bullough; design by Jenny Grigg (Granta / June 2016)
Also designed by Jenny Grigg:
Cove by Cynan Jones; design Jenny Grigg (Granta / November 2016)
The Winterlings by Cristina Sánchez-Andrad; design by Jenny Grigg (Scribe / August 2016)
All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage; design by Mario Hugo (Knopf / March 2016)
The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan; design by Matt Vee (Viking / March 2016)
Barkskins by Annie Proulx; design Anna Morrison (Fourth Estate / June 2016)
Also designed by Anna Morrison:
Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland by Mia Gallagher; design by Anna Morrison (New Island Books / August 2016)
All at Sea by Decca Aitkenhead; design Anna Morrison (HarperCollins / April 2016)
Beast by Paul Kingsnorth; design Mark Ecob; illustration Alan Rogerson (Faber & Faber / July 2016)
The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall; design by Alysia Shewchuck (House of Anansi / August 2016)
A Burglar’s Guide to the City by Geoff Manaugh; design by Nayon Cho (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / April 2016)
But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman; design by Paul Sahre (Blue Rider Press / June 2016)
Also designed by Paul Sahre:
The Strange Case of Rachel K design by Paul Sahre (New Directions / September 2016)
Little Labors by Rivka Galchen; design by Paul Sahre (New Directions / July 2016)
Cannibal by Safiya Sinclair; design by Nathan Putens; artwork by Wangechi Mutu (University of Nebraska Press / September 2016)
Cannibals in Love by Mike Roberts; design by Na Kim (FSG Original / September 2016)
Also designed by Na Kim:
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward; design by Na Kim (Scribner / August 2016)
The Moravian Night by Pete Handke (FSG / December 2016)
The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert; design by Jaya Miceli (Scribner / January 2016)
Also designed by Jaya Miceli
Barkskins by Annie Proulx; design Jaya Miceli (Scribner / June 2016)
Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee; design by Jaya Miceli (Scribner / May 2016)
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue; design by Jaya Miceli (Random House / August 2016)
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien; design Jaya Miceli (W.W. Norton / October 2016)
The After Party by Anton DiSclafani; design by Jaya Miceli (Riverhead / May 2016)
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick; design by Chloe Giordano (Harvill Secker / August 2016)
Congratulations on Everything by Nathan Whitlock; cover art by Gary Taxali (ECW / May 2016)
The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble; design Rafi Romaya; cover illustration by Timorous Beasties (Canongate / November 2016)
Also designed by Rafi Romaya:
Some Rain Must Fall and Other Stories by Michel Faber; design by Rafi Romaya; art by Yehrin Tong (Canongate / July 2016)
Undying by Michel Faber; design by Rafi Romaya; art by Yehrin Tong (Canongate / July 2016)
Dialogue by Robert McKee; design by Catherine Casalino (Twelve Books / July 2016)
Also designed by Catherine Casalino:
Listen to Me by Hannah Pittard; design by Catherine Casalino (HMH / July 2016)
Unmistakable by Srinivas Rao; design by Catherine Casalino (Portfolio / August 2016)
Don’t I Know You? by Marni Jackson; design by Phil Pascuzzo (Flatiron / September 2016)
Also designed by Phil Pascuzzo:
Clearing the Air by Gregory Wood; design by Phil Pascuzzo (Cornell University Press / November 2016)
Champion of the World by Chad Dundas; design Phil Pascuzzo (Putnam / July 2016)
The Encounter: Amazon Beaming by Petru Popescu; design by David Pearson (Pushkin Press / February 2016)
Also designed by David Pearson:
The Tempest by William Shakespeare; design by David Pearson (Penguin / April 2016)
The Boss of Bethnal Green by Julian Woodford; design by David Pearson ((Spitalfields Life Books / November 2016)
The Chaplin Machine by Owen Hatherley; design by David Pearson (Pluto Press / June 2016)
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry; design Peter Dyer (Serpent’s Tail / June 2016)
Faithful by Alice Hoffman; design by Zoe Norvell (Simon & Schuster / November 2016)
Also designed by Zoe Norvell:
And Again by Jessica Chiarella; design by Na Kam (Simon & Schuster / February 2016)
Black Bread by Emili Teixidor ; design by Zoe Norvell (Biblioasis / August 2016)
A Gambler’s Anatomy by Jonathan Lethem; design by Gray318 (Doubleday / October 2016)
Also designed by Gray318:
School of Velocity by Eric Beck Rubin; design Gray318 (Pushkin Press / November 2016)
What Language Do I Dream In by Elena Lappin; design by Gray318 (Virago / June 2016)
Colonel Lagrimas by Carlos M. Fonseca; design by Gray318 (Restless Books / October 2016)
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer; design Gray318 (FSG / September 2016)
Swing Time by Zadie Smith; design by Gray318 (Hamish Hamilton / November 2016)
Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman; design by Robin Bilardello (Harper / May 2016)
Also designed by Robin Bilardello:
The Mother by Yvvette Edwards; design by Robin Bilardello (Amistad / May 2016)
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett; design by Robin Bilardello (Harper / September 2016)
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson; design Robin Bilardello (Amistad / August 2016)
The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla; design by James Paul Jones (Unbound / September 2016)
Also designed by James Paul Jones:
All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan; design by James Paul Jones (Transworld / September 2016)
The Panama Papers by Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier; design by James Paul Jones (Oneworld / June 2016)
The Guineveres by Sarah Domet; design by Lauren Harms (Flatiron Books / October 2016)
Also designed by Lauren Harms:
Invincible Summer by Alice Adams; design by Lauren Harms (Little, Brown & Co. / June 2016)
As Close to Us as Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner; design by Lauren Harms (Lee Boudreaux Books / March 2016)
The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone; design by Chelsea McGuckin; art by David Wu (Atria Books / July 2016)
How Propaganda Works by Jason Stanley; design by Chris Ferrante (Princeton University Press / May 2016)
Also designed by Chris Ferrante:
The Essential Goethe edited by Matthew Bell; design by Chris Ferrante (Princeton University Press / January 2016)
Welcome to the Universe by Neil Degrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss, J. Richard Gott; design by Chris Ferrante (Princeton University Press / September 2016)
How to See by David Salle; design by Peter Mendelsund (W.W. Norton / October 2016)
Also designed by Peter Mendelsund:
The Girls by Emma Cline; design Peter Mendelsund; lettering by Jenny Pouech (Random House / June 2016)
Time Travel by James Gleick; design by Peter Mendelsund (Pantheon / September 2016)
A Cop’s Eyes by Gaku Yakumaru; design by Peter Mendelsund (Vertical / May 2016)
Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett; design by Keith Hayes (Little, Brown & Co. / May 2016)
Also designed by Keith Hayes:
Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien; design by Keith Hayes (Little, Brown & Co. / April 2016)
Perfect Days by Raphael Montes; design Keith Hayes (Penguin / February 2016)
Is That Kafka? 99 Finds by Reiner Stach; design by Erik Carter (New Directions / April 2016)
Also designed by Erik Carter:
Now the Cats with Jeweled Claws & Other One-Act Plays by Tennessee Williams; design by Erik Carter (New Directions / August 2016)
The Hideous Hidden by Sylvia Legris; design by Erik Carter (New Directions / September 2016)
Once and for All by Delmore Schwartz; design Erik Carter (New Directions / May 2016)
Knockout by John Jodzio; design by Matt Dorfman (Soft Skull / March 2016)
Legoland by Gerard Woodward; design by Justine Anweiler; illustration by Axel Bizon and Lena Sarrault (Picador / February 2016)
Also designed by Justine Anweiler:
What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell; design by Justine Anweiler (Picador / April 2016)
We’ll Always Have Paris by Emma Beddington; design by Justine Anweiler; lettering by Cocorrina (Macmillan / April 2016)
Little Nothing by Marisa Silver; design by Rachel Willey (Blue Rider Press / September 2016)
Also designed by Rachel Willey:
Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrigue; design by Rachel Willey (Riverhead / March 2016)
Boy Erased by Garrard Conley; design Rachel Willey (Riverhead / May 2016)
The Mothers by Brit Bennett; design by Rachel Wiley (Riverhead / October 2016)
The Lonely City by Olivia Laing; design Henry Sene Yee; photograph by Jerome Liebling (Picador USA / March 2016)
Looking for the Stranger by Alice Kaplan; design by Isaac Tobin (University of Chicago Press / September 2016)
Also designed by Isaac Tobin:
Windows into the Soul by Gary T. Marx; design by Isaac Tobin (University of Chicago Press / July 2016)
That Perfectly Useless Concentration by Alan Shapiro; design by Isaac Tobin
The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray; design by Peter Adlington (Canongate / June 2016)
Also designed by Pete Adlington:
Gold from the Stone by Lemn Sissay; design by Pete Adlington (Canongate / August 2016)
Himself by Jess Kidd; design by Pete Adlington (Canongate / October 2016)
Timekeepers by Simon Garfield; design by Pete Adlington (Canongate / September 2016)
The Ministry of Nostalgia by Owen Hatherley; design by Andy Pressman (Verso / January 2016)
Moonglow by Michael Chabon; design by Adalis Martinez (Harper / November 2016)
The Muse by Jessie Burton; design by Ami Smithson, cover art by Lisa Perrin (Picador / June 2016)
Also designed by Ami Smithson:
The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler; design by Ami Smithson (Picador / May 2016)
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose; design by Sandy Cull (Allen & Unwin / August 2016)
My Father the Pornographer by Chris Offutt; design by Jamie Keenan (Atria / February 2016)
Also designed by Jamie Keenan:
Superabundance by Heinz Helle; design by Jamie Keenan (Profile / February 2016)
The Ecliptic by Benjamin Wood; design Jamie Keenan (Penguin Press / May 2016)
The Nix by Nathan Hill; design by Oliver Munday (Knopf / August 2016)
Also designed by Oliver Munday:
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead; design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday / August 2016)
Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters; design by Oliver Munday (Mulholland Books / July 2016)
Dr. Knox by Peter Spiegelman; design by Oliver Munday (Knopf / July 2016)
Black Water by Louise Doughty; design by Oliver Munday (Sarah Crichton Books / September 2016)
The Assault by Harry Mulisch; design by Oliver Munday (Pantheon / April 2016)
Permanent Resident by Roanna Gonsalves; design Alissa Dinallo (UWA Publishing / November 2016)
Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett; design by Alex Merto; cover art: detail from ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ Margriet Smulders (Riverhead / July 2016)
Also designed by Alex Merto:
Cambodia Noir by Nick Seeley; design by Alex Merto (Simon & Schuster / March 2016)
Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vásquez; design by Alex Merto (Riverhead / September 2016)
Pull Me Under by Kelly Luce; design by June Park (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / November 2016)
Reality is Not What it Seems by Carlo Rovelli; design by Coralie Bickford-Smith (Allen Lane / October 2016)
Also designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith:
Empire of Things by Frank Trentmann; design by Coralie Bickford-Smith (Allen Lane / January 2016)
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali; design by Coralie Bickford-Smith (Penguin / May 2016)
The Night Manager by John Le Carre; design by Coralie Bickford-Smith (Penguin / September 2016)
Sex and Death edited by Sarah Hall and Peter Hobbs; design by Luke Bird (Faber & Faber / September 2016)
Smoke by Dan Vyleta; design by Mark Swan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson / July 2016)
The Start of Something by Stuart Dybek; design Suzanne Dean; cover art by Marion de Man (Jonathan Cape / November 2016)
Also designed by Suzanne Dean:
Fen by Daisy Johnson; design Suzanne Dean (Vintage / June 2016)
All That Man Is by David Szalay; design by Suzanne Dean; illustration by Nick White (Jonathan Cape / May 2016)
You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris; design by Suzanne Dean (Harvill Secker / October 2016)
The Story of Reason in Islam by Sari Nusseibeh; design by Anne Jordan and Mitch Goldstein (Stanford University Press / November 2016)
Also designed by Anne Jordan and Mitch Goldstein:
Making Literature Now by Amy Hungerford; design by Anne Jordan and Mitch Goldstein (Stanford University Press / August 2016)
Dada Presentism by Maria Stavrinaki; design by Anne Jordan & Mitch Goldstein (Stanford University Press / April 2016)
The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel; design by Allison Colpoys (Scribe / August 2016)
Also designed by Allison Colpoys:
The Hate Race by Maxime Beneba Clarke; design by Allison Colpoys (Hachette Australia / August 2016)
So Sad Today by Melissa Broder; design by Allison Colpoys (Scribe / May 2016)
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad; design by Ploy Siripant; lettering by Joel Holland (Penguin / February 2016)
Also designed by Ploy Siripant:
The Morning They Came for Us by Janine di Giovanni; design Ploy Siripant (Liveright / May 2016)
Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington; design by Ploy Siripant; illustration Joel Holland (Algonquin / April 2016)
The Trees by Ali Shaw; design by David Mann (Bloomsbury / March 2016)
Version Control by Dexter Palmer; design Janet Hansen (Pantheon / February 2016)
Also designed by Janet Hansen:
Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space by Janna Levin; design by Janet Hansen(Knopf / March 2016)
Lost Time Accidents by John Wray; design by Janet Hansen (FSG / February 2016)
The Bed Moved by Rebecca Schiff; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / April 2016)
Where the Bird Sings Best by Alejandro Jodorowsky; design by Richard Ljoenes (Restless Books / April 2016)
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue design by Kimberly Glyder (Little, Brown & Co. / September 2016)
Also designed by Kimberly Glyder:
The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang; design by Kimberly Glyder (Houghton Mifflin / October 2016)
Riverine by Angela Palm; design by Kimberly Glyder (Graywolf / August 2016)
Compartment N0. 6 by Rosa Liksom; design by Kimberly Glyder (Graywolf Press / August 2016)
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue design by Jo Thompson (Picador / September 2016)
XX: Poems for the Twentieth Century by Campbell McGrath; design Sara Wood (Ecco / March 2016)
Also designed by Sara Wood:
The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman; design by Sara Wood (St. Martin’s Press / March 2016)
The Nest by Cynthia D’aprix Sweeney; design by Sara Wood with Allison Saltzman (Ecco / March 2016)
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