Books, Design and Culture
I really like this new series design for Édouard Louis created by Violet Dine with AD Rodrigo Corral for Picador (US). The custom font was created by Trent Howell inspired by Jean-Luc Godard title cards.
Hey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well. Here are this month’s book covers…
Air by Christian Kracht, translated by Daniel Bowles; design by Sinem Erkas; painting by Georges Rohner (Serpent’s Tail / July 2026)
Sinem also designed the cover of Kracht’s previous novel Eurotrash.
Astronaut! by Oana Aristide; design by Utku Lomlu (W. W. Norton / July 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Astronaut!, published by Wildfire in March this year, was designed by Jack Smyth.
Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli; design by Kelly Blair (Knopf / July 2026)
There not really the same, but the phases of the moon reminded of the cover of How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu designed by Will Staehle for William Morrow & Co. from a few years back.
Cry For Me, Argentina by Tamara Yajia; design by Mia Kwon; illustration by Haley Tippmann (Bloomsbury / July 2026)
Dad Had a Bad Day by Ashton Politanoff; design by Luke Bird (Daunt Books / July 2026)
The cover of the US edition, published by Astra House in May, was designed by Rodrigo Corral.
Doonen by Keith Ridgway; design by Paul Sahre (New Directions / June 2026)
Exhibition by Alex Hyde; design by Anna Green; photo by Juergen Teller (Granta / July 2026)
Thanks to Sarah Wasley at Granta for providing the credits for their recent covers. I probably should’ve guessed this particular photo (‘Annie Morton, Forte dei Marmi, Italy, 1995, No.2’) was taken by Juergen Teller, especially given the book is set in the London art world of the 1990s.
Famous Men by Julie Buntin; design by Oliver Munday; art by Meghann Stephenson (Random House / July 2026)
Five Novels by César Aira; design by Erik Carter (New Directions / July 2026)
Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot; design by Sophie Harris (Faber / July 2026)
Heart Eater by Sun Yung Shin; design by Zoe Norvell (Black Lawrence Press / July 2026)
This reminds me of something but I can’t remember exactly what. Maybe the cover of Rabbit Island by Elvira Navarro designed by Gabriele Wilson? I don’t know.
Kitten by Stacey Yu; design by Saffron Stocker (Sceptre / July 2026)
Big yellow type — still a thing!
I Made you Up Inside My Head by Marta Pérez-Carbonell, translated by Rosalind Harvey; design by Grace Han (Riverhead / July 2026)
It Will Come Back To You by Sigrid Nunez; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / July 2026)
May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry; design by Jo Walker (Granta Books / January 2026)
I’m very late to this one, but I have been hearing great things about the book (Transit will be publishing it in the US and Canada in September) and it was just longlisted for the Booker Prize.
A Real Animal by Emeline Atwood; design by Patrick Sullivan (Catapult / July 2026)
We Were Forbidden by Jaqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz; design by Jared Bartman (Transit Books / July 2026)
There is also a Barnes and Noble special edition which has a variant cover.
The Winds of Maracaibo by María Elena Morán, translated by Madeline Jones; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / July 2026)
Leave a CommentHey, hello. Don’t you know there’s a World Cup on? Here are this month’s book cover selections…
As If by Isabel Waidner; design by Na Kim (FSG Originals / June 2026)
The cover of the UK edition, published by Hamish Hamilton back in February, was designed by Richard Bravery:
The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne; design by Robin Bilardello (Harper / June 2026)
OK, so two quick things about this cover: one, it immediately made me think of the Nicole Kidman “Eyes Wide Shut” poster (which it doesn’t really look like?), and two, I really like the ambiguity of which way she is looking.
Bait by Eugenia Ladra, translated by Miriam Tobin; design by Gray318 (Daunt Originals / June 2026)
Close Relationships with Strangers by Krista Diamond; design by Matt Roeser (Simon & Schuster / June 2026)
Heather by Caitlin Mullen; design by Luísa Dias (Celadon / June 2026)
Hinterlands by Hannah Lucinda Smith; design by Sinem Erkas; photograph by Jonas Bendiksen (Profile Books / June 2026)
Land by Maggie O’Farrell; design by Holly Ovenden (Tinder Press / June 2026)
Make Strange by Niamh Campbell; design by Ola Galewicz; art by Jantina Peperkamp (Weidenfeld & Nicolson / June 2026)
Monster of a Land by Lauren Hough; design Tyler Comrie (Pantheon / June 2026)
I know there are two in this month’s post, but I still need more dogs on covers please.
Pool House by Mary H.K. Choi; design by Laywan Kwan; art by Virginie Schroeder (Flatiron / June 2026)
Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly; design by Jaya Miceli (Cardinal / May 2026)
A Second Sight by Sarah J. Jackson; design by Owen Corrigan (Mariner / June 2026)
The Spirit of Stone by Wyl Menmuir; design by Holly Ovenden (Aurum / June 2026)
Thrilling Tales of Modern Men by Danny McBride; design by Chris Allen (Random House / June 2026)
What Came West by Josh Weil; design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday / June 2026)
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I’m sure Tom Gauld‘s latest cartoon for The Guardian will resonate with a few folks around here…
I liked Tom’s recent New Yorker cover too…
I love this new cover for the Fiction Issue of The New Yorker by artists Sergio García Sánchez and Lola Moral.
Is there a history of these kinds of cutaway illustrations on New Yorker covers? There was another Sánchez-Moral collaboration “Ready to Soar” a couple of years ago, and Luci Gutiérrez’s “Inside Story” cover for the ‘Cartoons & Puzzles’ issue last December. Then there is the New Yorkeresque poster for Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch by illustrator Javi Aznarez. Where did the inspiration for that come from?
Hi. Hello. I hope you’re all keeping well. This month seems to have flown by so I apologise for rather rushing this out at the last minute.
I was reminded this week there are people in the world (some of whom should know better) who think that all contemporary book covers are boring and banal. I don’t really know where to start with arguments like this. It just seems objectively false to me?
Anyway, I hope these posts help dispel some of those notions and you enjoy this month’s selections….
Attention Seeking Behavior by Aea Varfis Van Warmelo; design by Michael Salu (Graywolf / May 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Attention Seeking Behaviour published by Peninsula Press, was designed by Luke Bird.
Carryout by Hasan Dudar; design by Kathleen Lynch / Black Kat Design (University of Iowa Press / May 2026)
Complete Works of Ricardo Reis by Fernando Pessoa, translated by Patricio Ferrari & Margaret Jull Costa; design by Peter Mendelsund (New Directions / May 2026)
This is fourth Peter Mendelsund Pessoa cover for New Directions:
Dog Days by Emily Labarge; design by Jared Bartman (Transit Books / May 2026)
The Fifth Year by Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / May 2026)
Matt also designed the covers of previous Marlen Haushofer titles, The Wall and Killing Stella, for New Directions:
The Hill by Harriet Clark; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)
Homebound by Portia Elan; design by Jaya Miceli; art by Andrea Bacca (Scribner / May 2026)
Honey by Imani Thompson; design by Poppy Loughtman (The Borough Press / May 2026)
The cover of the US edition of Honey, published by Random House, was designed by Michael Morris. Michael did a brief Q&A with Debutiful about the design.
Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller; design by Josie Staveley Taylor; art by Thérèse Mulgrew (Fig Tree / May 2026)
The cover the US edition of Hunger and Thirst, available from Tin House next week, was designed by Beth Steidle.
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson; design by Luke Bird (Granta / May 2026)
The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin; design by Robbie Porter (Faber / May 2026)
Mare by Emily Haworth-Booth; design Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Mare, published by Granta in March, was designed by Jo Walker.
Murder Like Clockwork by Nicola Whyte; design by Jared Oriel (Union Square & Co. / May 2026)
Nerve Damage by Annakeara Stinson; design by Linda Huang (Knopf / May 2026)
New Skin by Sarah Wang; design by Oliver Munday (Little Brown & Co / May 2026)
Nonstop Bodies by Rennie McDougall; design Eli Mock; (Abrams / May 2026)
Pink Tongue Out, Blind Cat by María Paz Guerrero, translated by Robin Myers; design by Sarah Schulte (Phoneme Media / May 2026)
Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker; design by Chris Allen (Random House / May 2026)
Tarantula by Eduardo Halfon, translated by Daniel Hahn; design by Adriana Tonello (Bellevue Literary Press / May 2026)
Vilhelm’s Room by Tove Ditlevsen, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)
Na previously designed the covers of Ditlevsen’s Copenhagen trilogy.
Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler; design by Cassie Vu (Hogarth / May 2026)
Ways of Listening by Rollie Pemberton; design by Matthew Flute (McClelland & Stewart / May 2026)
Leave a CommentHi. Hello. I hope you’re keeping safe and well. I’m getting this month’s post out at little earlier than usual (i.e. not the 11th hour), and on a Monday no less, because I’m going to be in NYC the rest of this week for work. Even though this is a little bit of a quick and dirty post, there are still lots of covers for you to peruse and admire. Apologies if I’ve missed anything obvious and/or spectacular. I will try to catch up next month.
American Fantasy by Emma Straub; lettering by Jessica Hische; art by Vi-An Nguyen (Riverhead / April 2026)
The Blood Year Daughter by G. G. Silverman; design by Luísa Dias (Creature Publishing / April 2026)
The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke; design by Will Staehle (Harper / April 2026)
Book covers on book covers on book covers… (I posted a whole bunch of variations on this theme back in 2014. It’s probably due an update)
Gilgamesh translated by Simon Armitage; design by Jaya Miceli (Liveright / April 2026)
It’s interesting to compare this cover to the one for the Yale University press edition translated by Sophus Helle from a couple of years ago designed by Jenny Volvovski:
Go-Between Girl by Andrea Gunraj; design by Talia Abramson (McClelland & Stewart / April 2026)
Haven by Ani Katz; design by Elizabeth Yaffe (Penguin Books / March 2026)
Hexes of the Deadwood Forest by Agnieszka Szpila, translated by Scotia Gilroy; design by Linda Huang (Pantheon / April 2026)
Like This, But Funnier by Hallie Cantor; design and illustration by Rachel Willey (Simon & Schuster / April 2026)
Nice to see a new book cover from Rachel who is busy doing art directing things at the New York Times Magazine these days I believe!
My Lover, the Rabbi by Wayne Koestenbaum; design by Jack Smyth (Granta / March 2026)
If anyone at Granta reads the blog, I would love to chat to someone about getting the design credits for your covers on a regular basis.
And the (very different) cover of the US edition of My Lover, the Rabbi published by FSG Originals last month was designed by Evan Gaffney.
No Ghosts by Max Lury; design by Tom Etherington (Peninsula Press / April 2026)
No Way Home by T. C. Boyle; design by Emily Mahon (Liveright / April 2026)
The Oak and the Larch by Sophie Pinkham; design by Georgie Proctor; art by Masabikh Akhunov (William Collins / January 2026)
A bit late to this one, but the art (which I would guess is a linocut?) is really, really nice.
Odessa by Gabrielle Sher; design by Keith Hayes; cover art by Ben Turner (Little Brown and Company / April 2026)
On the Calculation of Volume (Book IV) by Solvej Balle, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / April 2026)
Here are the first four books side by side:
The Pain of Others by Miguel Ángel Hernández, translated by Adrian Nathan West; design by Jared Bartman (Other Press / April 2026)
Permanence by Sophie Mackintosh; design Dan Jackson; art by Jess Allen (Hamish Hamilton / April 2026)
The cover of the US edition of Permanence, published by Avid Reader Press this month was designed by Grace Han.
Ruins, Child by Giada Scodellaro; design by John Gall; art by Lorna Simpson (New Directions / April 2026)
Transcription by Ben Lerner; design by Violet Dine, Rodrigo Corral Studio (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / April 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Transcription, published by Granta this month, was designed by Gray318.
Verb Your Enthusiasm by Sarah L. Kaufman; design by Daniele Roa (Particular Books / April 2026)
Visitations by Julia Alvarez; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / April 2026)
Wifehouse by Sonya Walger; design by Patrick Sullivan; art by John Worthington (Union Square & Co / April 2026)
I guess legs on covers are a thing this month?
Hey. It’s almost spring. Hang in there!
I took a long-planned week off in March, so this month’s post was somewhat cobbled together around that trip and somehow we’ve ended up with lots of great covers to show for it! I should take vacation more often! There’s some particularly fun typography, some nice illustration, and some of the usual weirdness. Enjoy!
The Beginning Comes After the End by Rebecca Solnit; design by Gray318 (Granta / March 2026)
Business Men as Lovers by Rosemary Tonks; design by Oliver Munday (New Directions / March 2026)
Oliver Munday’s cover for The Bloater by Rosemary Tonks, also published by New Directions, was on my 2022 notable list…
Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky; design by Vivian Lopez Rowe (Ecco / February 2026)
The Fountain by Casey Scieszka; design by Jack Smyth (Harper / March 2026)
Four Night Seas by Niamh Mac Cabe; design by Sarah Schulte (Lilliput Press / March 2026)
Gunk by Saba Sams; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / March 2026)
I feel like shiny 3D type might just be a thing this year.
Hotel Exile by Jane Rogoyska; design by Daniele Roa (Allen Lane / February 2026)
The Hour of the Wolf by Fatima Bhutto; design by Gray318 (Daunt Originals / February 2026)
I had a hell of time trying to remember what this reminded me of, I think it is Jeffery Alan Love‘s illustration for the cover of Wolves by author Simon Ings published by Gollancz way back in 2014.
Coincidentally, the cover of Wolves and other Simon Ings titles from Gollancz were among the ABCD Award winners in 2015, and if you’re interested in reading about this year’s ABCD awards, which took place earlier this month, Vyki Hendy has a write up at SPINE.
I Am Agatha by Nancy Foley; design by Clay Smith (Avid Reader Press / March 2026)
Monster Capital edited by Ra Page & David Sue; design by David Pearson (Comma Press / March 2026)
The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / March 2026)
Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas; design by Claire Sullivan (Atria / March 2026)
Now I Surrender by Álvaro Enrigue, translated by Natasha Wimmer; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / March 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Now I Surrender published by Harvill Secker features art by Mexican illustrator Rodolfo Baquier. His art also features on the cover of You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue, which was one of my notable covers in 2024.
Pixie by Jill Dawson; design by Carmen R. Balit (Bloomsbury / March 2026)
Recession by Tyler Goodspeed; design by Steve Leard (Basic Books / March 2026)
Steve does love a black, white, and red colour palette for nonfiction!
A Scandal in Konigsberg by Christopher Clark; design by Stephanie Ross (Penguin Press / March 2026)
Seasons of Glass & Iron by Amal El-Mohtar; design by Spencer Fuller / Faceout Studio (Tordotcom Publishing / March 2026)
Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Laurel Taylor & Hitomi Yoshio; design by Tiana Dunlop; art by Tetsuya Noda (Knopf / March 2026)
The Spoil by Maile Chapman; design by Vivian Lopez Rowe (Graywolf Press / March 2026)
The Truth of Carcosa by Jacob Rollinson; design by Rodrigo Corral Studio (Union Square & Co. / January 2026)
200 Monas by Jan Saenz; design by June Park (Little Brown & Co. / March 2026)
The lips trend has carried over from 2025!
Woman Alive by Susan Ertz; illustration by Tom Gauld (Manderley Press / March 2026)
I should probably do a post of Tom’s cover illustrations for other people’s books at some point. There must be a few now?
Wretch by Eric Larocca; design by Alicia Tatone (Saga Press / March 2026)
Leave a CommentHey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well, especially my friends and colleagues in snowy NYC. Thanks to everyone who helped with images and design credits this month — it’s been a really busy month so I really appreciate it!
Angry Girls Will Get Us Through by Rebecca Traister; design by Sarah Creech; art by Adara Sánchez (Simon & Schuster BYR / February 2026)
And just ICYMI, my look back at some of last year’s young adult covers can be found here.
As If by Isabel Waidner; design by Richard Bravery (Hamish Hamilton / February 2026)
Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming by László Krasznahorkai, translated by Ottilie Mulzet; design by Paul Sahre (New Directions / January 2026)
Here’s the full jacket:
And it probably makes more sense if you’ve seen the hardcover, also designed by O.O.P…
Brawler by Lauren Groff; design by Jaya Miceli; art by Vladimir Dunjic (Riverhead / February 2026)
Clutch by Emily Nemens; design by Beth Steidle; art by Wayne Thiebaud (Tin House / February 2026)
This reminded me of Alex Merto‘s cover for On Giving Up by Adam Phillips from a couple of years ago…
Crux by Gabriel Tallent; design by Chris Bentham (Fig Tree / February 2026)
This is the UK cover. The cover of the US edition of Crux designed by Jaya Miceli was in last month’s post.
The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova; translated by Sasha Dugdale; design by Oliver Munday (New Directions / February 2026)
Eradication by Jonathan Miles; design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday / February 2026)
Oliver’s own novel, Head of Household, is out from Simon & Schuster in the US this month too. The cover was designed by Christopher Brand, and you can read a conversation between the two about the design process at LitHub.
Favorita by Michelle Steinbeck; translated by Jen Calleja; design by Henry Petrides (Faber & Faber / February 2026)
A Killing in Cannabis by Scott Eden; design by Giacomo Girardi / Rodrigo Corral Studio (Spiegel & Grau / February 2026)
Lithium by Malén Denis; translated by Laura Hatry & John Wronoski; design by Joan Wong (New Directions / February 2026)
Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack; design by Ben Wiseman (Avid Reader / February 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Murder Bimbo published by Manilla Press was designed by Alex Kirby.
Playermakers by Michael Kimmel; design by David Litman (W.W. Norton / February 2026)
The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman; design by Nicole Caputo (Counterpoint / February 2026)
It’s nice to see an author get consistency across their covers. I think the type is Tabular? Someone should do a Fonts in Use post!
Super Nintendo by Keza MacDonald; design by Jonathan Pelham (Guardian Faber Publishing / February 2026)
Technology and Barbarism by Michel Nieva; translated by Rahul Bery; design by Frances DiGiovanni / Rodrigo Corral Studio; art by Julien Gobled (Astra House / February 2026)
The cover of Nieva’s novel Dengue Boy also from Rodrigo Corral Studio was included in February 2025’s post.
Tell Me How You Eat by Amber Husain; design by Claire Sullivan (Washington Square Press / February 2026)
They by Helle Helle; translated by Martin Aitken; design by Erik Carter (New Directions / February 2026)
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