Lots to see this month, including several YA covers (which I know will please some regular readers), some ‘big’ literary fiction, and a couple of confrontational nonfiction covers to round it out. Enjoy!
Aetherial Worlds by Tatyana Tolstaya; design by Stephanie Ross (Knopf / March 2018)
Beneath the Water by Sarah Painter; design by Emma Rogers (Lake Union / February 2018)
Although it pains me a little to say it, I think Amazon’s ‘book club’ imprint Lake Union are doing an impressive job commissioning appealing covers for their intended market. I would be interested to hear about the process from designers who’ve worked with them.
The Birth of the RAF 1918 by Richard Overy; design by Richard Green (Allen Lane / March 2018)
The type on this cover is ace.
The Bleeds by Dimitri Nasrallah; design by David Drummond (Esplanade Books / February 2018)
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi; design Richard Deas (Henry Holt / March 2018)
Don’t Call Me Princess by Peggy Orenstein; design Robin Bilardello (Harper / February 2018)
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi; design by Lizzy Bromley; illustration gg (Simon & Schuster / March 2018)
The End of American World Order by Amitav Acharya; design by David A. Gee (Polity / March 2018)
I feel like there are a lot of stars and stripes covers kicking around right now, but I like the ‘collapsing Venetian blind’ thing going on here.
A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena; design by Elizabeth H. Clark (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / March 2018)
Graffiti Palace by A.G. Lombardo; design Rodrigo Corral Studio (FSG x MCD / March 2018)
Gun Love by Jennifer Clement; design by Michael Morris (Hogarth / March 2018)
I like this cover very much–especially the type. The illustration and colour combination remind me of Matt Dorfman’s 2011 cover for The Pyschopath Test by Jon Ronson (Riverhead):
The Gunners by Rebecca Kauffman; design by Nicole Caputo (Counterpoint / March 2018)
I read The Gunners earlier this year and it’s very good. Recommended if you enjoyed The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer.
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin; design Yeti Lambregts (Tinder / March 2018)
It’s interesting to see the UK publisher go in such a different direction from the US cover (designed and illustrated by Sandra Chiu) which, as I noted back in January, seems very on trend internationally to me.
In Every Moment We Are Still Alive by Tom Malmquist; design Marina Drukman (Melville House / January 2018)
In Full Flight by John Heminway; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / February 2018)
The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman; design by Jaya Miceli (Viking / March 2018)
I felt like this cover might be a little too much when I first saw it online, but I bet it will look absolutely stunning in print and piled up on tables.
I Wrote This Book Because I Love You by Tim Kreider; design by David Litman (Simon & Schuster / March 2018)
For reference, I have a pinboard of contemporary covers that make use of Lydian, the typeface used here. It was designed for American Type Founders by Warren Chappell in 1938, and it’s very distinctive (those ‘R’s!), so it’s interesting to me that it suddenly has this kind of cult popularity.
The Largess of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson; design by Suzanne Dean (Jonathan Cape / February 2018)
The pencil shavings are delightful of course, but I did immediately think of Peter Mendelsund‘s covers for Leaving the Sea (2014) and The Flame Alphabet (2012) by Ben Marcus.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo; design by Erin Fitzsimmons; illustration by Gabriel Moreno (Harper Teen / March 2018)
You can read about the design process for the Poet X cover on the Epic Reads blog.
Police: A Field Guide by David Correia and Tyler Wall; design by Matt Avery; illustration by Lauren Nassef (Verso / March 2018)
Can anyone tell me if there is a term for this kind of semi dust jacket? It seems like more than just a belly band.
The upside-down ‘POLICE’ shield is an interesting decision. It gives the illustration a kind of authenticity (I assume it is based on an actual example), but it also subtly implies something about the contents of the book (as does the not so subtle decision to show a police officer in riot gear rather than more approachable attire!).
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst; design by Jenny Carrow (Knopf / March 2018)
Standpoints by Svend Brinkmann; design by David A. Gee (Polity / March 2018)
This is a bit like one Canadian designer called David doing an impression of the ‘other’ Canadian designer called David. Both of them are very idea-driven, and sometimes they do seem to think very alike! I believe they both worked in advertising before turning their attention to design.
The Word for Woman is Wilderness by Abi Andrews; design by Steve Panton; illustration by Lizzy Stewart (Serpent’s Tail / February 2018)
