Tag: aurora parlagreco

Notable YA Covers of 2024

Published January 5, 2025

Notable YA Covers of 2024

Happy New Year! I hope you’re keeping safe and well. The first post of the year is the now customary look back at the previous year’s Young Adult covers. All the covers on this year’s list are illustrated (which was almost, but not quite, the case last year too). I love illustration — it’s part of the reason why I still keep doing these posts! — so it’s possible that this just reflects my personal preferences, but almost all the YA covers I saw this year were illustrated. There were very few photographic or type/letter-only covers.

I compile this list a little differently to my adult list. It’s mostly done over a few weeks at the end of the year rather than compiled across the year as a whole. I’m sure this skews my selections too. I’m probably overly reliant on cover reveal posts and best of the year lists. I think this probably means that the big American publishers are over-represented, which is less than ideal. I suspect they’re dominant in the category anyway, but I’m sure I am missing some interesting covers from independent and international publishers all the same.

The Horror and Fantasy seem to be having a moment. The line between YA and adult covers seems very blurred in both genres. I had to double-check a number to titles to confirm where they belonged. It happened often enough for me to think it was intentional, which probably speaks to who is reading YA and what they are looking for. It is also possible that I am over-indexing both genres here because they seem more mature and they appeal to me personally. I am also less of a fan of the illustration styles popular for the romance genres at the moment, so I think it’s fair to say they are under-represented on the list. I am very aware that I am not the target audience, so I’m not sure it is something that should overly worry art directors (although apologies if you’re disappointed not to see more of your covers on the list!). Still, it might be nice to see some new / different approaches to Romance — and all genres, frankly — going forward.

And with that, I wish you all the best for 2025, and I hope you enjoy the post!

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley; design by Joel Tippie; art by Katya Murysina (Katherine Tegen Books / June 2024)

Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore; design and illustration by Julian D. Paulsen (Inkyard Press / March 2024)

Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo by Adam Cesare; design Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Matt Ryan Tobin (HarperTeen / August 2024)

I think this is my favourite cover from the series thus far, but the covers of the original Clown in a Cornfield from 2020, and the second book Frendo Lives from 2022, are also very creepy.

Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi; design by Samira Iravani; art by Lola Idowu (Henry Holt / June 2024)

The previous two books in the series, Children of Blood and Bone and Children of Virtue and Vengeance, were in my 2018 and 2019 lists respectively, although they have a different designer and different illustrators.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi; design Richard Deas (Henry Holt / March 2018)

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White; design and illustration by Evangeline Gallagher (Peachtree Teen / September 2024)

The cover of The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White was on last year’s list.

A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur; design by Aurora Parlagreco; art by Yejin Park (Feiwel & Friends / May 2024)

The covers of June Hur’s books The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls were on the 2020 and 2021 lists respectively, again with different designers and illustrators.

*The Silence of Bones* by June Hur; design by Katie Klimowicz; art by Kasiq Jungwoo (Feiwel & Friends / April 2020)

Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews; design by Meg Sayre; art by Jana Heidersdorf (Feiwel & Friends / October 2024)

Dust by Alison Stine; design by Kerri Resnick; art by Annabelle Ariane (Wednesday Books / December 2024)

The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow; design by Casey Moses; art by Victo Ngai (Delacorte Press / August 2024)

The cover of the UK edition of The Girl With No Reflection published by Hodder & Stoughton was designed by Micaela Alcaino.

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao; design by Terri Nimmo; art by Ashley Mackenzie (Tundra / December 2024)

The cover of Iron Widow, the previous book in the series, was on the 2021 list.

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright; design by Corina Lupp; art by Christin Engelberth (Harperteen / March 2024)

The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadettes by Hanna Alkaf; design by Leo Nickolls (Simon & Schuster BFYR / September 2024)

The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland; design by Theresa Evangelista; art by Aykut Aydoğdu (Nancy Paulsen Books / January 2024)

Kindling by Traci Chee; design by Kathy H. Lam; art by Kiuyan Ran (HarperCollins / February 2024)

The cover of A Thousand Steps into the Night by Traci Chee was on the 2022 list with a different art style.

Made Glorious by Lindsay Eager; design by Maria T. Middleton; art by Deena So’Oteh (Candlewick / April 2024)

I missed the cover of The Family Fortuna by Lindsay Eagar last year, but it’s also delightfully creepy. The art is by Elena Masci, and I believe the designer is Matt Roeser.

Merciless Saviors by H. E. Edgmon; design by Kerri Resnick; art by Elena Masci (Wednesday Books / April 2024)

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee; design by Liz Dresner; art by Priscilla Kim (Delacorte Press / June 2024)

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa; design by Samira Iravani; art by Marlowe Lune (Feiwel & Friends / January 2024)

Night Owls A. R. Vishny; design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Zach Meyer (HarperCollins / September 2024)

Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner; design by Liz Dresner; art by Zoë van Dijk (Delacorte Press / September 2024)

The Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher; design by Kerri Resnick; art by Giuditta Bertoni (Wednesday / March 2024)

Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith; design by Liz Dresner; art by Marcela Bolivar (Delacorte Press / July 2024)

My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino; design by Rosie Stewart; art by Tristan Elwell (Page Street YA / February 2024)

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat; design by Trisha Previte; art by Zoë van Dijk (Delacorte Press / January 2024)

Prince of Fortune by Lisa Tirreno; design by Rebecca Syracuse; art by Serena Archetti (Atheneum BFYR / October 2024)

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken; design Liz Dresner; art Tomasz Majewski (Ember / May 2024)

This is actually the paperback of the first title in series. The new cover matches the latest book, released in July, The Mirror of Beasts.

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole; design by Jenny Kimura; art by Taj Francis (Little, Brown BFYR / January 2024)

So Witches We Became by Jill Baguchinsky; design Jenny Kimura; art by Marco Mazzoni (Little, Brown BFYR / July 2024)

Songs of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin; design by Rich Deas; art by Sija Hong (Feiwel & Friends / July 2024)

The cover of A Magic Steeped in Poison and it’s sequel A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin were on 2022’s list.

*A Magic Steeped in Poison* by Judy I Lin; design by Rich Deas; art by Sija Hong (Feiwel & Friends / March 2022)

Stranger Skies by Pascale Lacelle; design by Greg Stadnyk (Margaret K. McElderry Books / November 2024)

The cover of Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle was on last year’s list.

*Curious Tides* by Pascale Lacelle; design by Greg Stadnyk; illustration by Signum Noir (Margaret K. McElderry Books / October 2023)

Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner & Brittany Cavallaro; design Laura Mock; art by Hokyoung Kim (Quill Tree Books / July 2024)

Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury; design by Greg Stadnyk; art by Elena Masci (Margaret K. McElderry Books / February 2024)

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal; design by Aurora Parlagreco; art by Valentina Remenar (Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR / February 2024)

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang; design by Regina Flath; art by Sija Hong (Del Rey Books / April 2024)

To The Bone by Alena Bruzas; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; art by Adam Parata (Rocky Pond Books / September 2024)

Twenty- Four Seconds From Now by Jason Reynolds; design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian; art by Daniel Egnéus (Atheneum Books / October 2024)

Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis; design by David Curtis; art by Corey Brickley (Katherine Tegen Books / March 2024)

The cover of The Last Laugh by Mindy McGinnis (and re-jacketed backlist) were on the 2022 list.

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould; design by Kerri Resnick; art by Peter Strain (Wednesday Books / December 2024)

I was sure I had included the covers forThe Dead and the Dark and Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould illustrated by Peter Strain in previous lists, but apparently I hadn’t. They’re really nice:

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; design by Elizabeth Clark; art by Aykut Aydoğdu (Feiwel & Friends / March 2024)

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Published January 19, 2023

Notable YA Covers of 2022

I should, at this point, rename this post “Young Adult Book Covers I Saw Last Year, Quite Liked, and Could Find Some Credits For.” It would be accurate.

December turned out to be really busy. It is every year. I’m not sure why it still catches me out. That said, 2022 did seem to be especially busy for reasons far, far too boring to get into here (yes, I got sick amongst other things).

I had thought, in fact, that it might be time to retire this particular annual post. But then I looked around to see what other YA cover lists had been posted and… well, it wasn’t great. If I don’t do it, who will?

This year’s list — like last year’s — is full of illustrated covers. It seems to be the dominant trend, and I would really like someone more knowledgeable than me to profile some of the illustrators and put their work in its proper context. Maybe there is an art book in it for an enterprising publisher, if there isn’t one already? There are so many great covers from the past couple of years to choose from. 1

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this very late look at some of the YA covers of 2022. Feel free to leave your thoughts below.

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson; design by Alison Impey; art by Spiros Halaris (Delacorte Press / May 2022)

Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin; art by Jason Griffin (Atheneum Books / January 2022)

Anatomy by Dana Schwartz; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Zach Meyer (Wednesday Books / January 2022)

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh; art by David Curtis (Little, Brown BYR / September 2022)

Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty; design by Veronica Mang; art by Sasha Vinogradova (Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR / June 2022)

The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian; design by Corina Lupp; art by Natalie Shaw (Balzer & Bray / February 2022)

Cursed by Marissa Meyer; design by Rich Deas; art by Tim O’Brien (Feiwel & Friends / November 2022)

The same creative team produced the cover of Gilded by Marissa Meyer published last year:

The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim; design by Alison Impey; art by Tran Nguyen; lettering by Alix Northrup (Alfred A. Knopf BYR / August 2022)

The cover of Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim was on last year’s list.

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones; design by Jenny Kimura; art by SPIDER MONEY (Little, Brown BYR / August 2022)

Echoes and Empires by Morgan Rhodes; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; art by Leilani Bustamante (Razorbill / January 2022)

Extasia by Claire Legrand; design by Joel Tippie; art by Diego Fernandez (Katherine Tegen Books / February 2022)

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft; design by Kerri Resnick; art by Em Allen (Wednesday Books / March 2022)

Gallant by V. E. Schwab; art by David Curtis (Greenwillow Books / March 2022)

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh; design by Rich Deas; art by Kuri Huang (Feiwel & Friends / February 2022)

HopePunk by Preston Norton; design Mary Claire Cruz; art by Adams Carvalho (Little, Brown BYR / January 2022)

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; art by Jim Tierney (Razorbill / April 2022)

If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang; design by Gigi Lau; art by Carolina Rodriguez Fuenmayor (Inkyard Press / October 2022)

The Last Laugh by Mindy McGinnis; design by Erin Fitzsimmons; art by Corey Brickley (Katherine Tegen Books / March 2022)

Mindy McGinnis’s backlist titles The Female of the Species and The Initial Insult were also re-jacketed in the same style:

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I Lin; design by Rich Deas; art by Sija Hong (Feiwel & Friends / March 2022)

The sequel, A Venom Dark and Sweet, was published in August with a cover from the same creative team:

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len; design by Jessie Gang; art by Eevien Tan (HarperTeen / February 2022)

Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf; design by Sarah Creech; art by Leonardo Santamaria (Salaam Reads / April 2022)

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters; design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Tran Nguyen (HarperTeen / October 2022)

Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad; design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian (Margaret K. McElderry Books / October 2022)

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo; design by Anna Booth; art by Feifei Ruan (Dutton BYR / October 2022)

The Secrets We Keep by Cassie Gustafson; design by Krista Vossen; art by beatriz ramo (Simon & Schuster BYR / November 2022)

Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley; design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian; art by Mona Finden (Margaret K. McElderry Books / April 2022)

Strike the Zither by Joan He; design by Aurora Parlagreco; art by Kuri Huang (Roaring Brook Press / October 2022)

Sugar by Carly Nugent; design by Imogen Stubbs; art by gozitive (Text Publishing / March 2022)

Sugaring Off by Gillian French; design by Aurora Parlagreco; art by Elena Masci (Algonquin YR / November 2022)

This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves; design by Laurent Linn; art by Goni Montes (Simon & Schuster BYR / August 2022)

This Place is Still Beautiful by XiXi Tian; design by Jessie Gang; art by Robin Har (Balzer & Bray / June 2022)

A Thousand Steps into the Night by Traci Chee; design by Celeste Knudsen; art by Kotaro Chiba (Clarion Books / March 2022)

Trigger by N. Griffin; art by Dan Burgess (Atheneum Books / March 2022)

This reminded me of Dan Burgess’s art for Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent from last year. The lesson is, spectral trees are very spooky.

We All Fall Down by Rose Szabo; design by Aurora Parlagreco; art by Corey Brickley (Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR / June 2022)

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds; design by Beth Clark and Sarah Kaufman; art by Laylie Frazier (Roaring Brook Press / November 2022)

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson; design by Erin Fitzsimmons; art by Jeff Manning (Katherine Tegen Books / September 2022)

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Published December 31, 2021

Notable YA Covers of 2021

These posts are such a last minute scramble I don’t usually offer much in the way of commentary. It is hard to ignore, however, how many of my selections this year are illustrated. This may be a reflection of my personal preferences. Certainly, it isn’t new. As I mentioned in my look back at the year’s adult covers, the trends in 2021 felt very much like a continuation of the previous couple of years. Even so, I was struck by the sophistication and the range of YA illustrations this year. There are some illustrators whose work appears here more than once, but I don’t get the sense that there is a dominant style across category. It seems to depend very much on the specifics of the genre and the age range of the readership. That said, there is, perhaps, a common theme of ornate detail and decoration.

I am also finding it harder to differentiate between covers for more mature YA readers and adult covers of the same genre these days. If the cover blurbs and other identifiers (“A Novel”) didn’t give it away, the combination of the typography, colour palette, and the apparent age of the protagonist depicted used to give me a clue. Now it seems to me that there is a blurring of the lines, and I’ve had to check a couple of times recently to be sure of the intended readership age. I’d be curious to know if this is intentional on the part of publishers.

Anyway, there are some fantastic covers this year. Buzzfeed has a really decent list with design and illustration credits too if you’re looking for a second opinion (not that they need any clicks from me!). You can find my 2020 list here if you are interested.

Happy New Year!

All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman; design by Will Staehle (Tor Teen / November 2021)

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu; design by Kerri Resnick (Roaring Brook Press / October 2021)

Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson; design by Jessie Gang; illustration by Valentina Remenar (Harperteen / September 2021)

Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert; art and design Natasha Cunningham (Balzer & Bray / October 2021)

Cazadora by Romina Garber; design by Kerri Resnick; illustation by Daria Hlazatova (Wednesday Books / August 2021)

The cover of Lobizona was on last year’s list:

City of Rust by Gemma Fowler; design by Steve Wells; illustration by Karl James Mountford (Chicken House / March 2021)

The Coming Storm by Regina M. Hansen; cover art by Tran Nguyen (Atheneum Books for Young Readers / June 2021)

Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat; design by Laura Mock; illustration by Magdalena Pagowska (Quill Tree Books / September 2021)

Drawn That Way by Elissa Sussman; design by Sarah Creech; lettering and illustration by art lettering Francesca Protopapa (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / September 2021)

Dustborn by Erin Bowman; design by Mary Claire Cruz; illustration by Matt Griffin (Clarion / April 2021)

Aside from generally being a terrific SFF illustrator, I believe Matt Griffin illustrated the cover of Ace Books’ deluxe hardcover edition of Dune by Frank Herbert a couple of years ago, so he seems like an inspired choice here.

The Falling Girls by Hayley Krischer; design by Samira Iravani; illustration by Sarah Maxwell (Razorbill / October 2021)

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado; design by Chelsea Hunter; illustration Ericka Lugo (Holiday House / February 2021)

Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria; design by Mary Claire Cruz; illustration by Viv Tanner (Clarion / June 2021)

The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley; design by Richard Deas; illustration Moses Lunham (Henry Holt & Company / March 2021)

(Sorry — I couldn’t find a cover image without the roundel. If anyone at Macmillan would like to send me one, I’ll be happy to replace it)

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur; illustration Pedro Tapa (Feiwel & Friends / April 2021)

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna; design Ray Shappell; cover art by Tarajosu (Delacorte Press / February 2021)

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao; design by Talia Abramson; illustration Ashley Mackenzie (Penguin Teen / September 2021)

Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez; design by Casey Moses; cover art Mishko (Delacorte / September 2021)

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann; design by Rachel Vale (Macmillan Children’s Books / January 2021)

The cover of the US edition, published by ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) in February, was designed by Aurora Parlagreco with an illustration by Sally Nixon. I like it a lot too. It’s interesting to see the contrast between the UK and US markets.

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride; design and illustration by Richard Deas (Feiwel & Friends / August 2021)

Muse by Brittany Cavallaro; design by David Curtis; illustration by Florian Schommer (Katherine Tegen Books / February 2021)

Namesake by Adrienne Young; design by Kerri Resnick; photograph by Sveltana Belyaeva (Wednesday Books / March 2021)

Fable, the other half of this cover, was published in September 2020 and featured in last year’s YA cover round-up.

Oculta by Maya Motayne; design by Aurora Parlagreco and Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Mark Van Leeuwen (Balzer & Bray / April 2021)

The cover of Nocturna, the previous book in the series, was featured in my 2019 YA round-up.

The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He; design Aurora Parlagreco; illustration Aykut Aydogdu (Roaring Brook Press / May 2021)

Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent; design Alice Wang; illustration Dan Burgess (Harperteen / July 2021)

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters; design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell; illustration by Chervelle Fryer (Harperteen / July 2021)

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim; design Alison Impey; cover art by Tran Nguyen; lettering by Alix Northrup (Alfred A. Knopf BYR / July 2021)

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen; cover art by Jeff Manning (Random House BYR / November 2021)

Smoke by Darcy Woods; design Ray Shappell; lettering and photography Agustina Gastaldi Ferrario (Crown BYR / June 2021)

Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki; design Carol Ly; illustration Shoko Ishida (Delacorte / March 2021)

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow; design David Curtis (Tordotcom / October 2021)

(I’m not sure that this is actually YA technically speaking, but it fits better on this list than the other one)

Terciel & Elinor by Garth Nix; design David Curtis; illustration Ashley Mackenzie (Katherine Tegen Books / November 2021)

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani; cover art Jenny Zemanek (Harperteen / March 2021)

This goes very nicely with the cover of Thorn, the author’s previous book, published in hardcover last year.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron; design by Jet Purdie; illustration by Raymond Sébastien (Bloomsbury YA / June 2021)

This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry; design David Curtis (Katherine Tegen Books / January 2021)

Tides of Mutiny by Rebecca Rode; design Leo Nickolls (Jimmy Patterson / September 2021)

The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad; design by Laura Mock ; illustration Júlia Sardà (HarperCollins / July 2021)

Yes, this is middle-grade and not YA, but I really like the lettering and I love Júlia Sardà’s illustrations so I’m allowing it.

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris; design David Dewitt; illustration Shane Ramos (Quill Tree Books / January 2021)

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood; design Kerri Resnick; illustration Palesa (Wednesday Books / October 2021)

(Another cover image with a roundel. Apologies. At least it is somewhat less obtrusive here.)

Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi; design Lizzy Bromley; cover art by gg (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / March 2021)

The covers of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi designed by Lizzy Bromley with art by gg have featured in previous year’s lists.

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Published June 30, 2021

Book Covers of Note, June 2021

A little bit rushed again this month for various reasons (will I ever catch up? No. No I won’t…), but here are my cover picks for June…

Animal by Lisa Taddeo; design by Greg Heinimann (Bloomsbury / June 2021)

The cover of the US edition of Animal, published by Simon & Schuster, was designed by Alison Forner and Zak Tebbal:

Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard; design Richard Ljoenes (Liveright / June 2021)

Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur; design by Helen Crawford-White (Erewhon Books / April 2021)

The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee; design by Nathan Burton (Granta / June 2021)

The cover of the US edition, published by Knopf, was designed by none other than John Gall:

(The Knopf cover actually reminds me of this Lauren Peters-Collaer silhouette cover from a couple of years ago for Verso)

How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith; design by Lucy Kim (Little Brown and Company / June 2021)

Island by Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen; design by Anna Morrison (Pushkin Press / June 2021)

July by Kathleen Ossip; design by Alban Fischer (Sarabande Books / June 2021)

The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He; design Aurora Parlagreco; illustration Aykut Aydogdu (Roaring Brook Press / May 2021)

Pure Flame by Michelle Orange; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus and Giroux / June 2021)

In the ongoing game of books I think look alike but actually don’t when you put them side by side, the cover of Pure Flame brought to mind Peter Mendelsund‘s design for Civil Wars by David Armitage from a few years ago. Of course they don’t really look anything alike, but that’s how this game works…

Civil Wars by David Armitage; design by Peter Mendelsund (Yale University Press / February 2017)

A Shock by Keith Ridgway; design by Nathan Burton (Picador / June 2021)

A read an ARC of A Shock earlier this month and thought it was extraordinary. A recent review in the Observer described it a collection voyeuristic vignettes, which I suppose is accurate. The book is made up of interconnected and intimate stories, often about loneliness and confinement of one kind or another (particularly resonant during the pandemic). They are prying and unsettling… stories about seeing and been seen (or not). But in a wider sense, A Shock is about the telling and retelling stories (myths even!), and the way that is revealed in the novel itself is what elevates it above and beyond the usual fare. Anyway… I liked it. It won’t be for everyone.

The cover of the US edition, available from New Directions next month, was designed by the one and only Mr. Keenan:

Tokyo Redux by David Peace; design by Luke Bird (Faber & Faber / June 2021)

The War Against the BBC by Patrick Barwise and Peter York; design by Richard Green (Penguin / March 2021)

Who doesn’t love a really long subtitle and an all text cover?

With Teeth by Kristen Arnett; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / June 2021)

A Year Without a Name by Cyrus Dunham; design by Alex Merto (Back Bay Books / June 2021)

The hardcover of A Year Without a Name, released in 2019, was designed by Lucy Kim.

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Published April 30, 2021

Book Covers of Note, April 2021

A bit too much going on this month for my liking, but no shortage of great covers…

Car Crash by Lech Blaine; design by Design by Committee (Black Inc. / March 2021)

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner; design by Na Kim (Knopf / April 2021)

This reminded me of Lynn Buckley‘s cover from a while back for On the Noodle Road by Jen Lin-Liu.

Dirt by Bill Buford; design by Gabriele Wilson (Vintage / April 2021)

The Free World by Louis Menand; design by Rodrigo Corral (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / April 2021)

From a Taller Tower by Seamus McGraw; design by Alex Camlin (University of Texas Press / April 2021)

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian; design by Stephanie Ross; illustration by Sky Goodies (Penguin Press / April 2021)

Namesake by Adrienne Young; design by Kerri Resnick; photograph by Sveltana Belyaeva (Wednesday Books / March 2021)

This is, of course, only half the picture… Fable was published in September and featured in my 2020 YA cover round-up posted in January.

Nancy by Bruno Lloret; design by Gabriele Wilson (Two Lines Press / April 2021)

New York, New York, New York by Thomas Dyja; design by Rodrigo Corral (Simon & Schuster / March 2021)

Two New York covers for Mr. Corral this month.

The Penguin Book of Feminist Writing by Hannah Dawson; design by Olga Kominek (Penguin Classics / March 2021)

Oculta by Maya Motayne; design by Aurora Parlagreco and Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Mark Van Leeuwen (Balzer & Bray / April 2021)

The cover of Nocturna, the previous book in the series, was featured in my 2019 YA round-up.

Red Island House by Andrea Lee; design by Tristan Offit (Scribner / March 2021)

Refugee by Emmanuel Mbolela; design by Eva Gabrielsen (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / April 2021)

The Revelations by Erik Hoel; design by Alex Merto (Abrams / April 2021)

The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock by Edward White; design by Jason Ramirez (W. W. Norton / April 2021)

2034 by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis; design by Christopher Brian King (Penguin Press / March 2021)

Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin; design Luke Bird (Open Letter / April 2021)

I believe this cover was originally used in the UK last year for the Daunt Books edition, but I missed it. Open Letter are publishing the book in the US and Canada this month, so that’s as good as an excuse as any to post the cover now.

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Published October 11, 2018

Book Covers of Note October 2018

Here are the book covers that caught my eye this month…

Beirut Hellfire Society by Rawi Hage; design by Lisa Jager (Knopf Canada / August 2018)

The Boatbuilder by Daniel Gumbiner; design by Sunra Thompson (McSweeney’s / May 2018)

This goes rather nicely with Sunra’s cover for the hardcover of All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews…

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke; design by Elizabeth H. Clark; illustration by Will Staehle (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / October 2018)

The Death Scene Artist by Andrew Wilmot; design by Michel Vrana (Wolsak & Wynn / October 2018)

I guess skulls aren’t going out of fashion any time soon!

‘Exterminate the Brutes’ by Sven Lindqvist; design by Luke Bird (Granta / October 2018)

One for the maps list.

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis; design by Pete Garceau (W. W. Norton / October 2018)

I feel like I should at least try to collect some of the best political covers from the past year or so together into a post at some point. On the other hand, I really don’t want to…

Gin: Distilled by Gin Foundry; design by James Paul Jones (Ebury Press / October 2018)

The Infinite Blacktop by Sara Gran; design by Alex Merto (Atria Books / September 2018)

Nervous States by William Davies; design by Suzanne Dean (Jonathan Cape / September 2018)

No Country Woman by Zoya Patel; design by Astred Hicks (Hachette Australia / August 2018)

Océans by James Hyndman; design by David Drummond (Les Éditions XYZ / September 2018)

Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith; Design by Lucy Ruth Cummins; art by Mike Perry (Simon & Schuster / September 2018)

Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif; design by Greg Heinimann (Bloomsbury / October 2018)

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand; design by Aurora Parlagreco; illustration by Ruben Ireland (Katherine Tegen Books / October 2018)

Something Great and Beautiful by Enrico Pellegrini; design by Gray318 (Other Press / September 2018)

I’m not entirely sure why, but cover of Something Great and Beautiful brought to mind the 2014 cover of the UK edition of The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison, designed by Tom Darracott for Granta. They’re really not that similar, and yet…