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Tag: book cover of note

Book Covers of Note, April 2026

Hi. 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 2024. 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; 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?

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Book Covers of Note, July 2025

Somehow it is the end of July, and I am once again rushing to get this done. I think it’s a decent mix of covers this month though, with some big books, some indies, a few type-only covers, some nice art, and a couple of trends to watch out for. I’m glad it’s all come together, even if it is last minute!

Thanks to everyone who took time to help me with cover images and design credits over the past couple of weeks (days!) — it’s really, really appreciated! I hope everyone is having a good summer.

Black Genius by Tre Johnson; design by Dominique Jones (Dutton / July 2025)

Fools for Love by Helen Schulman; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / July 2025)

Janet also designed the cover of Helen Schulman’s novel Lucky Dogs, which was on my 2023 notable book covers list.

And thanks to Alban Fischer for pointing out that red lips on book covers are a bit of a thing at the moment (or maybe have been for a while?)

Harbour Doubts by Bebe Ashley; design by Jack Smyth (Banshee Press / July 2025)

Special thanks to Jack for sending me this cover while he was on vacation!

I Remember by Joe Brainard; design by David Pearson (Daunt Books / July 2025)

Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones; design by David Litman (Saga Press / July 2025)

This is fun a double cover…

Oh and I’m not saying Dave likes a ripped paper motif, but I’m not not saying it either… ;-)

There might also be a thing for cars from above

Killing Stella by Marlen Haushofer; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / July 2025)

Matt also designed the cover of the New Directions edition of The Wall by Marlen Haushofer, which was featured on the blog back in October 2022 (where does the time go???)

Lili is Crying by Hélène Bessette; design by Jamie Keenan (New Directions / July 2025)

Ripped paper… it’s a thing.

Maggie, Or a Man and Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee; design by Grace Han (Summit Books / July 2025)

Thanks to Jaya Miceli for helping with the credit for this one!

Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore; design by Beth Steidle (Tin House / July 2025)

No Sense in Wishing by Lawrence Burney; design by Janay Nachel (Atria / July 2025)

I think this is a really great (and rare!) example of a quote looking good on a cover. It doesn’t feel jammed in last minute.

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford; design by Kieryn Tyler (Pan Macmillan / July 2025)

Are peephole covers now a thing too?

The macabre cover of the US edition of One Yellow Eye, out this month from Gallery Books, was designed by Claire Sullivan, with art by Alex Eckman-Lawn.

The Painter’s Fire by Zara Anishanslin; design by Madeline Partner (Harvard University Press / July 2025)

Pan by Michael Clune; design by Janet Hansen (Penguin Press / July 2025)

Not to keep going about trends, but cropped faces might be a thing? Pan has the bonus creepy (peephole?) eyes though…

People With No Charisma by Jente Posthuma; design by Luke Bird (Scribe / July 2025)

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King; design by Jo Thomson (HarperCollins / July 2025)

The Satisfaction Café by Kathy Wang; design by Jaya Miceli; art by Kosta Morr (Scribner / July 2025)

Whisky & Scotland by Neil M. Gunn; design and illustration by Sinem Erkas (Profile Books / July 2025)

This is just really nicely done.

Zofia Nowak’s Book of Superior Detecting by Piotr Cieplak; design and illustration by Meg Shepherd (Dialogue / June 2025)

I might generally be done with quirky-cozy (quozy? Sorry. Marketing brain) amateur sleuths, but this is a fun cover.

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