Here’s a simple but effective video for Just My Type by Simon Garfield:
The book is finally getting released — with a foreword by Chip Kidd no less — by Penguin US next month.
(via Quipsologies)
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Published August 23, 2011
Category: Books
Published August 22, 2011
Devil Sent the Rain | Weekend Edition
Writer and music critic Tom Piazza discusses his new collection of essays, Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America, on NPR’s Weekend Edition:
NPR WEEKEND EDITION: Tom Piazza Devil Sent the Rain mp3
(via Largehearted Boy)
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Published August 17, 2011
Diana Athill | Michael Salu and Rankin
Designed by the brilliant Michael Salu, the cover for Diana Athill’s forthcoming collection of letters, Instead of a Book, features a stunning portrait of the author by acclaimed British photographer Rankin (co-founder of Dazed & Confused in case you were wondering).
To coincide with the release of the new book in October, Granta are also reissuing paperback editions of Athill’s books Stet, Yesterday Morning and Instead of a Letter with cover designs incorporating Rankin’s photographs.
I don’t think I have made any secret of my love of Stet, Athill’s book about her time as an editor at Andre Deutsch. But I have always been disappointed by the discouraging cover on the tatty copy on my bookshelf, and it makes me incredibly happy to finally see an edition that seems to capture something of Athill’s personality.
Athill’s writing is unflinching and it is remarkable to see that reflected in Rankin’s stark portraits. According to Michael, who art directed series and designed all the covers, “the idea was to not to shy away from age and experience, but to celebrate it and Diana’s distinct personality.” Certainly, it is hard not to be taken by the keenness of Athill’s eyes. One gets the sense she does not suffer fools gladly. There is something of a retired headmistress about her. But I love how in the photograph for Instead of a Letter, Rankin captures Athill’s thumb hooked under her necklace. The author doesn’t appear to be particularly aware that she’s doing it, but it is beautiful and poignant touch.
The type is set in Gill Sans. Of course.
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Published August 10, 2011
Laurence King on the Future of Design Publishing
In a great interview for Design Observer, UK publisher Laurence King discusses the future of design publishing with Mark Lamster:
Illustrated book publishers, and in particular art publishers, need bookshops to survive, especially the increasingly rare specialist ones where there are discerning buyers who understand art, architecture and design. I think that these need to be treated with a great deal of care by publishers because all too often they serve as shop windows for Amazon. They are more important to us than sales through them indicate. It would be great if they could use their reputations and expert knowledge to become competitive with Amazon on-line. But I dread the day when art publishers have to set up loss-making showrooms to exhibit our books, just because we went on being tough with the specialist booksellers. At the same time, booksellers need to reinvent themselves quite fast, which is obviously difficult.
Laurence King published Bibliographic: 100 Classic Graphic Design Books — one of my favourite visual books from the last couple of years — in 2009, and later this fall, they’re publishing a huge, long-awaited, monograph on designer Saul Bass. Can’t wait.
Full disclosure: Laurence King is distributed in Canada by my employer Raincoast Books.
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Published August 3, 2011
Whither the Library?
Going to the library is one of my earliest memories. I don’t remember much about the books, but I remember the building — its steps and its smell — and I remember the funny pinkish orange library tickets for children. I think I could take out three books at once.
I also remember that the library was not that close to where we first lived. We must have gone on the bus. It was surely an adventure for me, but a pain for my parents.
We’re more fortunate now. My family and I can walk to the library. It takes about 5 minutes — longer if we are distracted by a friendly dog or the need to jump off a wall.
I borrow picture books and music for their kids; books, comics, DVD and CDs for me. I request most of things from the library website. I can do it whenever something comes to mind or I read about it online. The books (and it is mostly books if I am honest) come from libraries across the city and I get a call at home when they arrive at my branch. I don’t know how many books I can borrow at once — I’ve never hit my limit (not for lack of trying, however) — but I must have at least 7 or 8 things out at the moment. It is an amazing service.
Our library is always busy — no matter the time of day — with people of all ages and from all walks of life. Some, like me, are borrowing books, movies or music. Others are reading newspapers and magazines. Some are making use of the programs that the library runs. Some are using the only computers they probably have any access to.
But here in Toronto, as in many towns and cities in the UK and US, library cuts are now being seriously discussed by politicians who do not appreciate their value to neighbourhoods and who apparently wouldn’t recognise Margaret Atwood on the street. It is hard to imagine they have visited to a library recently, let alone made use of its services.
On yesterday’s CBC news show The Current there was a lengthy and interesting discussion of libraries and their future. Contributors included librarian Ken Roberts, local councillor Sarah Doucette, and Julia Donaldson, the UK’s Children’s Laureate and author of The Gruffalo:
CBC RADIO THE CURRENT: Whither the Library?
If you live in Toronto, you can sign an online petition in support of the public library system here.
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Published August 2, 2011
George Pelecanos
Author George Pelecanos talks to NPR’s Morning Edition about race, class and setting all his novels in Washington, DC:
NPR MORNING EDITION: Taking On Crime In A Racially Divided D.C.
George Pelecanos’ new novel The Cut is released later this month.
(via Largehearted Boy)
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Published August 2, 2011
Muriel Spark | Writers & Company
The late Dame Muriel Spark, author of Memento Mori, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Ballad of Peckham Rye among others, talks to Eleanor Wachtel about her life and work in this archive interview for Writers & Company from 1999:
CBC RADIO WRITERS AND CO: Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark died in 2006 at the age of 88. The cover art in the image above is by Terence Greer.
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Published July 28, 2011
A History of Protest Songs | The Book Show
Author and journalist Dorian Lynskey talks about his book 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs with Ramona Koval on The Book Show:
THE BOOK SHOW: Dorian Lynskey — The History of the Protest Song
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Published July 21, 2011
The Helmet of Horror | Angus Hyland
As a follow up to yesterday’s Design Matters post, I just wanted to share Angus Hyland’s extraordinary design for The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin, published as part Canongate’s Myths series a few years ago:
The illustration is by Sara Fanelli.
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Published July 19, 2011
Richard Price Paperbacks | Henry Sene Yee
Columbine and A Wall in Palestine: cover designs by Henry Sene Yee
Henry Sene Yee is a designer and art director at Picador USA. The very of his best work (and all of it is good) — his cover designs for Columbine by Dave Cullen and A Wall in Palestine by René Backmann to pick two recent examples — combine judiciously selected and smartly cropped photographs with bold typographic choices.
Given the poignancy of the images he chooses and the respect he gives to them within his compositions — the room he gives them to breath — it isn’t surprising that Henry is a photographer himself, regularly capturing scenes of daily life in his beloved New York through a lens.
Photo by Henry Sene Yee
The author Richard Price, who has also written for the HBO series The Wire, was born in and raised in the Bronx. Several of his novels, including Clockers and Freedomland (both adapted to movies), are set in the in fictional town of Dempsy, New Jersey.
Photo by Henry Sene Yee
Over the last couple of years Henry, who also happened to grow up in New Jersey, has designed covers for Picador’s recent reissues of Price’s novels.
Bringing his understanding of photography and type to the designs Henry has, like Price himself, avoided the expected crime fiction clichés.
As fan of Price’s work as well as Henry’s, I thought I would take to the opportunity to ask the designer how he approached the covers.
Here is his reply:
Lush Life: cover design by Aaron Artessa
It started when Picador published the paperback edition of Richard Price’s bestseller Lush Life. Because of its success, the FSG cover was reproduced in ads and displayed prominently in bookstores. Repackaging the cover for paperback would not take advantage of the public familiarity with it so it was decided to keep the original jacket design [by Aaron Artessa].
Clockers final cover by Henry Sene Yee
Clockers: unused designs by Henry Sene Yee
Clockers, probably Price’s most well known backlist was also acquired by us and was reprinted to coincide. It was designed as a stand alone. I couldn’t see how I would or need to relate it to Lush Life.
Bloodbrothers final cover by Henry Sene Yee
It was followed by his next backlist title Bloodbrothers, which was also designed as a stand alone. That book’s themes reminded me of photographer Bruce Davidson’s beautiful 1970s NYC Subway photos. I found this great Davidson photograph from his gang series and kept the colors simple.
The Breaks final cover by Henry Sene Yee
We later acquired The Breaks and Ladies’ Man and I had no intention to follow any previous Price’s look since there was none. Photo research found some great images similar in look to the Davidsons. My two favorite photos happen to both be horizontal and the initial layouts looked similar to Bloodbrothers. I tried to distinguish them by using different colors in the background, type. But in the end, it was just distracting from the great photos. So I decided to have them match Bloodbrothers, keeping the type and same palette of black, warm gray duotones, cream and warm red.
Ladies man final cover by Henry Sene Yee
The Breaks and Ladies Man: unused designs by Henry Sene Yee
Thanks Henry!
Disclosure: As of Fall 2011, book published by Picador will be distributed to independent bookstores and libraries in Canada by my employer Raincoast Books as part of a new distribution arrangement with Macmillan US. For the record, Henry and I discussed featuring his work on The Casual Optimist several times well before details of this deal was known to either of us.
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Published July 13, 2011