Tag: alison forner

It is the time of year for lists and I should’ve been done weeks ago, but I am late and already well behind the pack. Apologies for that.

I admire Matt Dorfman‘s ability to whittle his list down to a dozen covers for the New York Times. I imagine it takes him a lot less time for one thing, but I’m sure Matt still agonizes over every cover. It requires a level of discipline and restraint that I do not possess to keep it that tight year after year.

I am not alone in that latter respect. LitHub’s list, chosen by designers, is 167 covers this year. 28 covers more than last year’s already long list, 64 more than 2022, and 66 more than 2021.

In 2020, their list was relatively lean 89.

PRINT’s list of best book covers of 2024, compiled by editor-at-large Zachary Petit, is also long. It’s a 100 covers. Last year it was 50.

I’m not trying to throw stones here. We are all seeing more covers than we used to. There are more books for one thing. But they’re not just something we just experience in print in anymore. You don’t have to go into a bookstore or read the newspaper or magazine to see them. They’ve become something we see and share all the time online. Designers are promoting their own work and (slowly) getting more credit for it (although there is a lot more to be done in that area. Publishers — credit your designers!). My monthly round-ups are now one of several you can choose from.

And it is not like my list is short. This year it features work by 48 designers — more than half of them women — and 86 covers (plus a couple of supplementary images).

The consensus seems to be that it was a decent year for covers, and it’s hard to argue with other people’s selections even if I don’t love them all.

It is telling though that 100 of LitHub’s selections were individual picks. There are covers on my list that are not on the anyone else’s despite their length. So while I think we agree there were lots of good covers, I’m less certain we entirely agree on which ones were actually the outstanding ones.

A recent article Spine argued that there is a battle between minimalism and maximalism going on (you can find Spine’s end of year list here by the way). I think that could be true. Different approaches work for different audiences. But I also think it’s messier than that. I get the sense that publishers are less sure of what they want and what sells (certain genres notwithstanding).

It has been a rough year for a lot of publishers, so there is undoubtedly a lot of uncertainty, and no small amount of anxiety. I could go on about why that it is (and the publishing’s self-inflicted wounds) but, in short, what I think we’re also seeing with book covers is more meddling and less direction.

Anyway, I don’t want to end this on a bleak note. This year was shit enough. Despite it all, there genuinely were a lot of good covers in 2024, and some that I did think we’re outstanding. A couple of them made me laugh, which was no small thing. It was a strong year for several individual designers in particular and, despite the pressures, many produced work that was recognizably theirs. I thought there were more interesting covers coming out of the UK and Ireland (that mercifully wasn’t just about the inks or the finishes!), and there were some fun Canadian covers too.

Thanks, as always, for reading, and I hope you’re all keeping safe and well. Happy Holidays!

Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / February 2024)

Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson; design by Keith Hayes (Penguin Press / July 2024)

The Abyss by Fernando Vallejo; design by Janet Hansen (New Directions / June 2024)

Also designed by Janet Hansen:

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino; design by Thom Colligan (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / January 2024)

Birding by Rose Ruane; design by Charlotte Stroomer; photograph by Kelsey McClellan (Little, Brown / May 2024)

Butter by Asako Yuzuki; design by Emma Pidsley (HarperCollins / February 2024)

Challenger by Adam Higginbotham; design by Pete Garceau (Avid Reader Press / May 2024)

Cold by David Hayden Taylor; design by Kelly Hill (McClelland & Stewart / January 2024)

Crisis Actor by Declan Ryan; design by Stephanie Cui (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / February 2024)

Dear Dickhead by Virginie Despentes; design by Luke Bird (Quercus / September 2024)

Also designed by Luke Bird (and I could’ve several included more!):

Defectors by Paola Ramos; design Chantal Jahchan (Pantheon / September 2024)

The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / September 2024)

Also designed by Lauren Peters-Collaer:

Everything and Nothing At All by Jenny Heijun Wills; design by Terri Nimmo (Knopf Canada / August 2024)

Fog & Car by Eugene Lim; design by Michael Salu (Coffee House Press / July 2024)

It’s the spine and back cover that really make this for me.

Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon; design by Math Monahan (Scribner / March 2024)

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon; design by Gregg Kulick (Henry Holt / March 2024)

Also designed by Gregg Kulick:

Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly; design by Clay Smith (Avid Reader Press / February 2024)

Honey by Victor Lodata; design by Robin Bilardello (Harper / April 2023)

In Tongues by Thomas Grattan; design by Alex Merto (MCD / May 2024)

Also designed by Alex Merto:

Ixelles by Johannes Anyuru; design by Jonathan Pelham (Two Lines Press / October 2024)

Kittentits by Holly Wilson; design by Eli Mock (Zando / May 2024)

Liars by Sarah Manguso; design by Cassie Gonzalez (Hogarth Press / July 2024)

Little Rot by Akwaeje Emezi; design by Kishan Rajani (Faber & Faber / July 2024)

Also designed by Kishan Rajani :

Love Junkie by Robert Plunket; design by Oliver Munday (New Directions / May 2024)

Also designed by Oliver Munday:

Madness by Antonia Hylton; design by Daniel Benneworth-Gray (Footnote Press / March 2024)

Mammoth by Eva Baltasar; design by Anna Morrison (And Other Stories / August 2025)

MILF by Paloma Faith; design by Jack Smyth (Ebury / June 2024)

Also designed by Jack Smith:

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley; design by Alison Forner; typography by Andrew Footit (Avid Reader Press / May 2024)

Mojave Ghost by Forrest Gander; design by Giacomo Girardi / Rodrigo Corral; lettering by Adriana Tonello (New Directions / October 2024)

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova; design by Tom Etherington (Cinder House / June 2024)

Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia; design by Beth Steidle (Tin House / August 2024)

Also designed by Beth Steidle:

Necrology by Meg Ripley; design by Luísa Dias (Creature Publishing / September 2024)

Also designed by Luísa Dias:

Nicked by M. T. Anderson; design by Zak Tebbal (Pantheon / July 2024)

The Obscene Bird of Night by José Donoso; design by Joan Wong (New Directions / April 2024)

The Observable Universe by Heather McCalden; design by Arsh Raziuddin and Gaby Pesqueira Ortiz (Hogarth / March 2024)

Also designed by Also designed by Arsh Raziuddin:

Piglet by Lottie Hazell; design by Jenni Surasky; art by Noah Verrier (Henry Holt / February 2024)

A Reason To See You Again by Jami Attenberg; design by Allison Saltzman (Ecco / September 2024)

Sociopath by Patric Gagne; design by Rodrigo Corral (Simon & Schuster / April 2024)

The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza; design by David Litman (Simon & Schuster / June 2024)

Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhoul; design by Emma Dolan (Strange Light / May 2024)

There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib; design by Tyler Comrie; photograph by Matt Eich (Random House / March 2024)

Also designed by Tyler Comrie:

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk; design by Kaitlin Kall (Dutton / March 2024)

The Understory by Saneh Sangsuk; design by Emily Mahon (Deep Vellum / March 2024)

Also designed by Emily Mahon:

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange; design by Linda Huang (Knopf / February 2024)

Also designed by Linda Huang:

Wandering Stars, by Tommy Orange; design by Suzanne Dean (Vintage / March 2024)

Also designed by Suzanne Dean:

I also have to give a special shout out to the cover for Paper Boat by Margaret Atwood (Chatto & Windus / October 2024). Suzanne commissioned paper art by Nathan Ward to design a template for a paper boat that could be cut out from the dust jacket and stuck together.

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue; design Kris Potter; illustration by Rodolfo Baquier (Vintage / January 2024)

You Glow in the Dark by Liliana Colanzi; design by Jamie Keenan (New Directions / February 2024)

Also designed by Jamie Keenan:

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