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Book Covers of Note, July 2024
Published July 26, 2024

Book Covers of Note, July 2024

I wonder what it is like to live in uninteresting — boring, even — times? It must be nice. While I continue to ponder that, here are this month’s book covers….

The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / April 2024)

Back to the Local by Maurice Gorham; design by Pete Adlington (Faber & Faber / June 2024)

Pete talks about the book and his process designing the cover for the Faber Journal.

Festival & Game of the Worlds by César Aira; design by Tyler Comrie (New Directions / July 2024)

The Horse by Willy Vlautin; design by Milan Božić (HarperCollins / July 2024)

Kicking Off Around the World by Ramon Usall; design by Steve Leard (Pluto Press / June 2024)

If I was good at blogging I would have posted this last month when the book was actually published and before the finals of Euros and Copa America, but here we are. Better late than never I guess, and politics never goes out of sport however much some people pretend they are unconnected. (I’m still thinking about doing a post of covers from books about sport, but haven’t got any further than that. Again, if I was actually smart and organized, I would have had it done in time for the Olympics. Cover suggestions still welcome by the way!).

Anyway… The author’s surname and the book’s subtitle were actually printed on to the shirt for the cover and Steve made or bought actual buttons to decorate it. He kindly sent over these shots of the work in progress…

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

(If anyone in the UK can tell me who designed the red and green cover of Liars for Pan Macmillan — and send me a hi-res cover image! — I would to love to include it next month’s list when it’s released)

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

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner; design by Tyler Comrie (Random House / July 2024)

The cover of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s previous novel Fleishman is in Trouble was designed by Kelly Blair. I feel like these work together despite being quite different? Maybe it’s as simple as the combination of really big type for the title and handwriting of “a novel”?

Neu Klang by Christoph Dallach; design by Jack Smyth (Faber & Faber / May 2024)

This is out in the US/Canada next month.

Paul Celan and the Trans-Tibetan Angel by Yoko Tawada; design by Jamie Keenan (New Directions / July 2024)

Rangikura by Tayi Tibble; design by Linda Huang; illustration by Simone Noronha (Knopf / April 2024)

The same team created the cover of Tayi Tibble’s previous poetry collection Poūkahangatus, which was included way back in September 2022’s post.

The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kọláwọlé; design Alicia Tatone (Amistad Books / July 2024)

(Thanks to Alicia and AD Stephen Brayda for sending over the cover)

Steak by Tim Hayward; design by Luke Bird (Quadrille / May 2024)

I am late to this one, but it is very good (in my defence, it only came out in the US/Canada last month).

They Dream in Gold by Mai Sennaar; design by Vivian Lopez Rowe (Zando / July 2024)

Tripping on Utopia by Benjamin Breen; design by Tyler Comrie (Grand Central / January 2024)

I don’t who decided July is Tyler Comrie month (me, apparently), but it seems that way…

Trouble in Censorville by Nadine M. Kalin and Rebekah Modrak; design by Ben Denzer (Disobedience Press / July 2024)

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood; design by Jaya Miceli; art by Steven Wilson (Dial Press / July 2024)

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Book Covers of Note, June 2024
Published June 27, 2024

Book Covers of Note, June 2024

Hey everyone. I hope you keeping well. It’s another big post this month. There are lots of new covers, but also quite a few that I missed (or didn’t have the design credit for!) from earlier this year too. I expect that’ll keep happening over the next couple of posts as I try to catch up over the summer, so feel free to send me stuff I might have overlooked. Now is the time!

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

Ask Me Again by Clare Sestanovich; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / June 2024)

A Janet Hansen one-two to open proceedings…

Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh; design by John Fontana; painting by Tosin Olusegun Kalejaye (Doubleday / June 2024)

The cover of the UK edition published by Penguin earlier this year, designed by Richard Bravery (I think?), uses the same painting by Tosin Kalejaye but it’s interesting to see the differences in the approach side by side.

The Borrowed Hills by Scott Preston; design by Jaya Miceli (Scribner / June 2024)

Another example of the US and the UK cover sharing the same image but with differing approaches. I like the type and the retro poster vibe of the UK cover a lot. I don’t have the design credit though so please drop me a note if you know whose work it is and I’ll add it in!

Brat by Gabriel Smith; design by Stephanie Ross (Penguin Press / June 2024)

Cue the Sun by Emily Nussbaum; design by Michael Morris (Random House / June 2024)

An Excellent Host by Chelsea G. Summers; design by Jaya Nicely (Unnamed Press / April 2024)

I’m a bit late to this. An Excellent Host, a short story by Chelsea G. Summers author of the cult hit A Certain Hunger, was originally printed exclusively for Independent Bookstore Day back in April. Signed copies are still currently available from the publisher. Jaya Nicely also designed the cover of A Certain Hunger of course…

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty; design by Beth Steidle (Tin House / June 2024)

The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne; design by Evan Gaffney; photograph by Camilla McGrath (Penguin Press / June 2024)

Nice swooshy type here, and that photo.

Girls by Kirsty Capes; design by Dan Jackson; art by Tracey Sylvester Harris (Orion / May 2024)

Gub by Scott McKendry; design by Anna Morrison (Little, Brown / February 2024)

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

The Mark by Fríða Ísberg; design by Robbie Porter (Faber & Faber / June 2024)

Ominous blobs are back!

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

This reminded me of Darren Haggar’s cover for the W.W. Norton edition of Crime by Irvine Welsh from the distant days of 2009.

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

The cover of the US edition of Monstrilio, published by Zando in March last year, was designed by Alex Merto. I was a little late to it, but it was included in my September round-up.

Overstaying by Ariane Koch; design by Jonathan Pelham (Pushkin Press / April 2024)

A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama; design by Jack Smyth (Quercus / May 2024)

Please Stop Trying to Leave Me by Alana Saab; design by Mark Abrams; painting by Jennifer Allnut (Knopf / June 2024)

There are shades of Italian Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo about this cover.

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

Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhoul; design by Luke Bird (Influx Press / June 2024)

I’m not much of a horror fan so my frame of reference is very dated, but this cover immediately made me thing of the 1998 Japanese movie Ringu (and the end of The Blair Witch Project).

The Canadian cover of Supplication designed by Emma Dolan for PRH Canada was featured in last month’s list.

(Thanks to Jack Smyth for the UK cover credit. Cheers Jack)

The Survivors of the Clotilda by Hannah Durkin; design by Mike McQuade (Amistad Press / January 2024)

Technology is Not the Problem by Timandra Harkness; design by Steve Leard (HQ / May 2024)

Eye, eye…

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow; design by Emily Mahon (Doubleday / June 2024)

This makes a nice pair with the cover of The Upstairs Delicatessen by Dwight Garner designed by June Park and published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in October last year.

Worry by Alexandra Tanner; design by Alicia Tatone; painting by Shannon Cartier Lucy (Scribner / March 2024)

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Book Covers of Note, May 2024
Published May 28, 2024

Book Covers of Note, May 2024

I hope you’re keeping safe and well. Between work trips and sales conference it’s been a few weeks for me, and there are a lot of covers this month, so I am going to stop prattling and let you get straight to the post…

Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace; design by Rodrigo Corral (MCD / May 2024)

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

I feel like there was another ice cream book cover recently and that somehow Ben Denzer has manifested this.

Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru; design by John Gall; painting by Chad Wys (Knopf / May 2024)

John Gall also designed the cover of Hari Kunzru’s previous novel Red Pill.

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

Coexistence by Billy-Ray Belcourt; design by Kelly Hill (Hamish Hamilton / May 2024)

Dead Animals by Phoebe Stuckes; design by Will Speed (Hodder & Stoughton / April 2024)

Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna; design by Jo Thomson (HarperCollins / May 2024)

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

I was trying to think what this cover reminded me of, and then I remembered this.

The Great State of West Florida by Kent Wascom; design by Jeff Miller / Faceout Studio (Grove / May 2024)

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck; design by John Gall (New Directions / May 2024)

This is the cover of the newly released US paperback. John Gall also designed the cover for the hardback, published by New Directions last year. Author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann recently won the 2024 International Booker Prize with Kairos.

Kilworthy Tanner by Jean Marc Ah-Sen; design by David Drummond (Esplanade Books / May 2024)

This composition brings to mind David Pelham’s covers for J. G. Ballard. (On a semi-related note, air-brushed covers are probably overdue a revival. Or is it a dying art now?)

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

Like Love by Maggie Nelson; design by Suzanne Dean (Vintage / May 2024)

Suzanne Dean also designed the cover of Bluets by Maggie Nelson.

Loneliness & Company by Charlee Dyroff; design by Mia Kwon (Bloomsbury / May 2024)

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

Olive Munday bringing his A game.

Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes by Adrienne Gruber; design by Tree Abraham (Book*hug / May 2024)

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

The Novices of Lerna by Ángel Bonomini; design by Sarah Schulte (Transit Books / May 2024)

Perfume & Pain by Anna Dorn; design by Math Monahan (Simon & Schuster / May 2024)

Just so much pink this month!

The Red Grove by Tessa Fontaine; design by Sara Wood (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2024)

The Skunks by FIona Warnick; design by Beth Steidle (Tin House / May 2024)

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

Can anyone tell me who designed the cover of the UK edition of Supplication for Influx Press? I’d love to include it in next month’s round-up when it’s published.

The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller; design by Andie Reid (Quirk Books / May 2024)

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Book Covers of Note April 2024
Published April 26, 2024

Book Covers of Note April 2024

Hey, I hope you’re safe and well. I’m a little bit ahead of schedule because fall sales conference season is upon us, and I have to be in New York for work next week. I’m less ahead than I would’ve liked — PRINT has already beaten me to the punch! — but here we are, a couple of days earlier than usual, with another look at some new and recent book covers. April is National Poetry Month in the US so there are a few poetry covers in the mix, as well as a couple of covers from independent presses, an Australian cover, and all the usual suspects.

Bones Worth Breaking by David Martinez; design by Alex Merto (MCD / April 2024)

Charlie Hustle by Keith O’Brien; design by Eli Mock (Pantheon / March 2024)

I just like the type and the colour palette here.

Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford; design by Henry Petrides (Faber & Faber / April 2024)

The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller; design by David Gee (Avid Reader Press / January 2024)

Divided Island by Daniela Tarazona; design by Jack Smyth (Deep Vellum / April 2024)

The Formula by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg; design by Pete Garceau (Mariner Books / March 2024)

Two nonfiction sports books in one post! Does Formula One really count as a sport? Not for me, Clive. But the subtitle says it is, and a Canadian friend once told me that for something to qualify as a sport it has to endanger your life in some fundamental way, so I guess F1 qualifies under Quebec Rules for Teen Boys if nothing else.

Anyway, it might be fun to do a post of interesting sports books covers at some point if I can find the time (let me know if any great examples come to mind!).

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

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh; design by Laywan Kwan (Atria / March 2024)

I feel like this is a bit different for a psychological thriller? I like the type a lot.

Knife by Salman Rushdie; design by Arsh Raziuddin (Random House / April 2024)

Interestingly, there is an “eye” motif on the spine with the Random House logo in the centre. Look for it next time you’re in a bookstore.

Also, this cover isn’t the first to riff, consciously or otherwise, on the cut canvases of Italian artist Lucio Fontana. The cover of Ball by Tara Ison, designed by Kelly Winton, comes to mind. I’m sure there are other examples (David Gee’s unpublished cover for Lolita. Are the more?).

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

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko; design Grace Han (Riverhead / March 2024)

The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan; design by Vivian Lopez Rowe (Ecco / March 2024)

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

Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr; design Kate Sinclair (Strange Light / April 2024)

The Roadmap of Loss by Liam Murphy; design by Lisa White (Echo / January 2024)

I don’t post enough Australian cover designs generally, and I’m late to this one, but I like the grunginess of it.

Short War by Lily Meyer; design by Emily Mahon (Strange Object / April 2024)

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

36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam Le; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / March 2024)

It’s nice to have two big, blocky, black and white type-only covers this month.

Twelve Trees by Daniel Lewis; design by Alison Forner; illustration by Eric Nyquist (Avid Reader / March 2024)

This reminded me of Eric’s illustrations for the covers of Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy designed by Charlotte Strick.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (US); design by Charlotte Strick; Illustration by Eric Nyquist (FSG / 2014)
Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (US); design by Charlotte Strick; Illustration by Eric Nyquist (FSG / 2014)

Weird Black Girls by Elwin Cotman; design by Michael Morris (Scribner / April 2024)

(The illustration also looks like something from Area X / the Southern Reach trilogy!)

While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi; design by Vi-An Nguyen (G.P. Putnam’s Sons / April 2024)

With My Back to the World by Victoria Chang; design by Thom Colligan (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / April 2024)

You Are Here edited by Ada Limón; design by Mary Austin Speaker; art by Enikő Katalin Eged (Milkweed / April 2024)

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Book Covers of Note, March 2024
Published March 28, 2024

Book Covers of Note, March 2024

Hello! I hope you’re safe and well wherever you are.

Before we get to the covers, a couple of brief admin things. First up, there have been a couple of behind-the-scenes changes at the CO this past month. They’ve solved a few tech issues for me and hopefully no one else has noticed. Secondly, I’ve been tinkering with the RSS. I’m not sure that’s quite right yet, so apologies if it’s not been working as expected. Let me know if you’re experiencing any weirdness.

I also wanted quickly mention that the deadline for the DPI mentorship scheme has been extended to April 12th. I’m not involved with the DPI, but some really great people are so if you are a designer from an under represented background living in the UK or Ireland, you should think about applying!

Anyway, it’s a really big post this month! The are lots of great covers with the UK, Australia and Canada all represented, as well as the usual folks from US. There are some compare-and-contrasts, a couple of covers from indie presses, a couple of covers for translations, and a couple of poetry covers too. There’s even a meandering digression in the middle (sorry). Enjoy!

Anxiety by Samir Chopra; design by Karl Spurzem (Princeton University Press / March 2024)

Candy Darling by Cynthia Carr; design by Alex Merto (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / March 2024)

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

Fourteen Days edited by Margaret Atwood & Douglas Preston; design by Nathan Burton (Harper / February 2024)

Free Therapy by Rebecca Ivory; design by Luke Bird (Vintage / March 2024)

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

So this cover sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole. It reminded me of a cover design from a few years ago. It didn’t really look the same but, in my mind at least, this other cover featured a blue-red capsule shape (possibly a stretched illustration of a planet and its core) centred on a white background with black Swiss-style sans serif type. It was not exactly minimalist, but clean and precise. I think I saw it on Twitter back in the day. I thought it was maybe literary sci-fi or pop science, and published by one of the big American imprints. I was also pretty convinced that it was designed by Alex Merto or possibly John Gall. One of the dudes.

This is not the first time I have thought about this cover, and I can, or at least could, picture it quite clearly. The problem is that I can find no evidence of this cover ever existing, and the more I think about, the more the details shift and doubt creeps in. I don’t seem to have posted it anywhere, and I can’t find it in the usual places. It’s possible that I am getting some of the crucial details wrong, mentally combining a couple of covers into one, or it was something other than an actual book cover. But maybe this is some kind of Visual Mandela Effect thing, and this design that I’ve believed existed for years is actually a figment of my imagination.

My search has felt a bit like the online equivalent of walking into a bookstore and asking for the book with the blue cover. It has made realise that we have very few tools to find cover designs in a systematic way, especially since the Book Cover Archive stopped being a going concern. You just kind of have to browse and I hope you eventually look in the right place (or risk slowly lose your sanity).

Anyway, if this mystery cover is ringing any bells with you, please let me know and put me out of my misery. I have been going slightly crazy. (This sort of thing happens more than I care to admit by the way, but it is particularly bad this time! And, no, I do not have much of a life. Why do you ask?)

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel; design by Lynn Buckley; photo by Jenna Garrett (Viking / March 2024)

Two boxing covers in one month…

The History of My Sexuality by Tobi Lakmaker; design by Arneaux (Granta / January 2024)

(Thanks to Jon Gray for helping me with the design credit for this and the other Granta title Three Births below. Publishers: post the design credits with your cover reveals!)

The Hive and the Honey by Paul Yoon; design by Craig Fraser (Simon & Schuster / March 2024)

The cover of the US edition of The Hive and the Honey, published by S & S in October last year, was design by Oliver Munday.

How to Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone by Cameron Russell; design by Arsh Raziuddin (Random House / March 2024)

I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both by Mariah Stovall; design by Jack Smyth (Soft Skull / February 2024)

Lobster by Hollie McNish; design by Jack Smyth (Little, Brown / March 2024)

The two Jacks

The Manicurist’s Daughter by Susan Lieu; design by Juliana Lee; art by Justin Metz (Celadon Books / March 2024)

While looking for the other, possibly imaginary, book cover, I came across the cover for the New Directions edition of The Musical Brain by César Aira designed by Rodrigo Corral and Zak Tebbal a few times. It was on one or two best of 2015 lists, including mine.

Is neon-style lettering on covers a bit of thing? (see also Candy Darling above)

No Judgment by Lauren Oyler; design by Tree Abraham (HarperOne / March 2024)

Those curvy “u”s are fun.

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

Two very nice, poster-like covers from Arsh Raziuddin this month:

Pelican Girls by Julia Malye; design by Joanne O’Neill (Harper / March 2024)

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

Beci Kelly designed the covers of the UK (left) and Australian (right) editions of Piglet:

Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash; design by Joanne O’Neill (Harper Perennial / March 2024)

And two contrasting covers from Joanne O’Neill too this month:

Sorry for the Inconvenience But This Is an Emergency by Lynne Jones; design by Steve Leard (Hurst / March 2024)

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

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

The slightly more gothic cover of the Australia and UK editions of Thirst was designed by Luke Bird. Scribe are publishing it in October.

Three Births by K Patrick; design by David Pearson (Granta / March 2024)

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

The cover of the UK edition of The Understory, published by Peirene Press in October last year, was designed by Orlando Lloyd. The illustration is by Miki Lowe.

Your Absence is Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson; design by Jason Arias (Biblioasis / March 2024)

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Book Covers of Note, February 2024
Published February 27, 2024

Book Covers of Note, February 2024

Hey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well wherever you are. I’m going to keep this very short as there’s lots going on, but there some great covers, and a couple of tenuous comparisons this month (hey, I can’t help how my brain works!) . Enjoy!

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

Na Kim also designed the cover of Sheila Heti’s novel Pure Colour.

American Mother by Column McCann with Diane Foley; design by Greg Heinimann (Bloomsbury / February 2024)

Antiquity by Hanna Johansson; design by Nicole Caputo (Catapult / February 2024)

This reminded me of Akiko Stehrenberger‘s poster for the movie Funny Games. They don’t really look alike, and the tone is very different, but I think it was the close crop and the hair that brought it to mind.

The Blueprint by Rae Giana Rashad; design by Robin Bilardello (Harper / February 2024)

Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner; design by Kapo Ng (Graywolf / February 2024)

Dirtbag by Amber A’Lee Frost; design by Rob Grom (St. Martin’s Press / December 2023)

This brought to mind Peter Mendelsund’s cover for The Woman Destroyed by Simone Beauvoir, published by Pantheon, which in turn reminded me Gunter Rambow‘s Gitanes, Un Hommage à Max Ponty poster…

Fire So Wild by Sarah Ruiz-Grossman; design by Joanne O’Neill (Harper / Feburary 2024)

The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers by Sarah Tomlinson; design by Dave Litman (Flatiron Books / February 2024)

Love Novel by Ivana Sajko; design by Jason Arias (Biblioasis / February 2024)

The image is taken from the 17th Century painting ‘The Torture of Prometheus’ by Giovacchino Assereto (thanks for letting me know, Jason!). The tight crop (which is great!), reminded me of Peter Hujar’s 1969 photograph ‘Orgasmic Man’, which was used on the cover of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara designed by Cardon Webb a few years ago. Art imitating art, kind of?

Jacket design by Cardon Webb; jacket photograph Orgasmic Man by Peter Hujar 1987

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra; design by Dave Litman (Pamela Dorman Books / February 2024)

I swear all Dave’s covers come in pairs….

Ours by Phillip B. Williams; design by Lynn Buckley; illustration by Damilola Opedun (Viking / February 2024)

Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright; design by John Gall (New Directions / February 2024)

John also designed the cover of the New Directions edition of Carpentaria by Alexis Wright, also published this month.

Sinking Bell by Bojan Louis; design by Tom Etherington (Cinder House / February 2024)

US edition of Sinking Bell, published by Graywolf in 2022), was designed by Adam Bohannon.

Splinters by Leslie Jamison; design by Gregg Kulick (Little, Brown & Co / February 2024)

The cover of the UK edition of Splinters, published this month by Granta, was designed by Jack Smyth. It’s interesting to see to a torn author photo in both…

Tartarus by Ty Chapman; design by Zoe Norvell (Button Poetry / February 2024)

I am really starting to wonder whether yellow type is a thing. Or am I just noticing it now because I’m looking for it?

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

The cover of the UK edition of Wandering Stars, which is being published by Vintage next month, was designed by Suzanne Dean.

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

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Book Covers of Note, January 2024
Published January 24, 2024

Book Covers of Note, January 2024

I hope you’re staying healthy and optimistic about the new year. As this is the post about new 2024 covers, it inevitably includes a few from 2023 that I missed at the time. There are also a couple of indie covers, one from a university press, and, continuing a theme from last year, one from a Canadian publisher. Keep warm, friends.

The Age of Deer by Erika Howsare; design by Nicole Caputo (Catapult / January 2024)

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

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James; design by Dave Litman (Simon & Schuster / January 2024)

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

Nice to see my home town looking so… apocalyptic.

Come & Get It by Kiley Reid; design Vi-An Nguyen (G.P. Putnam’s Sons / January 2024)

Vi-An also designed the cover of Kiley Reid’s previous book, Such A Fun Age, also published by Putnam.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid; design by Vi-An Nguyen (Putnam / December 2019)

The End of Nightwork by Aidan Cottrell-Boyce; design by Jack Smyth (Granta / January 2024)

Filterworld by Kyle Chayka; design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday / January 2024)

I mentioned Kyle Chayka in the introduction to my post looking back at 2023. I didn’t realize that he had book coming out. I guess I will have to read it now!

The General and Julia by Jon Clinch; design Laywan Kwan (Atria / November 2023)

How We Named the Stars by Andrés N. Ordorica; design by Beth Steidle; art by Sarah Callen (Tin House / January 2024)

Font wizards correct me if I am wrong, but I *think* both of these covers use Manofa from Inhouse Type? (And I think saw it on the cover of a forthcoming book too recently. Maybe a typeface inspired by Lydian is becoming the new Lydian?)

Kindling by Kathleen Jennings; cover art by Kathleen Jennings (Small Beer Press / January 2024)

Magus by Anthony Grafton; design by Jaya Miceli (Belknap Press / December 2023(

Mountains of Fire by Clive Oppenheimer; design by Holly Ovenden (Hodder & Stoughton / August 2023)

The New Life by Tom Crewe; design by Jaya Miceli (Scribner / January 2024)

Jaya also designed the cover of the hardcover published this time last year.

(Also hat-tip to Australian bookseller and reader of the blog Bowen who noted that yellow type is very much in vogue at the moment)

Pig by Sam Sax; design by Matt Dorfman (Scribner / September 2023)

The Sun Sets in Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe; design by Sarah Congdon; pattern illustration by Yehrin Tong (Grand Central / October 2023)

It’s always great to see a Yehrin Tong pattern on a cover.

Witchcraft by Marion Gibson; design by Sarah Bibel (Scribner / January 2024)

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Notable YA Covers of 2023
Published January 17, 2024

Notable YA Covers of 2023

Happy New Year! I hope you’re safe and well. As is now the tradition, the first post of the year is a look back at some of the young adult covers of last year. The usual caveats apply of course. Not much YA crosses my desk at work, which is mostly indie publishing, and it is not a category I follow closely apart from what my kids are reading, so my insight here is limited. Still, I think at some of the stuff I wrote about the industry in my 2023 post on adult covers probably holds true for YA too. The toll of the past few years has led to a certain amount of risk aversion from both publishers and designers (albeit for different reasons), and my sense is that folks are bracing for more of the same in 2024. I would guess that genre expectations within the broader YA category have limited the room for experimentation too. Some things need to look the same it seems. But even if there is some conservatism in the current design approaches (if it ain’t broke…), and things in general feel pretty grim, there is a remarkable amount of diversity and representation on the covers of YA books — and perhaps even among the designers and illustrators themselves — and that feels like something that should be celebrated. I’ve tried my best to get all the credits for the covers, but please let me know if I missed anyone out — I’ll be happy to update the post where necessary.

All That’s Left To Say by Emery Lord; art direction by Jeanette Levy; illustration by Adele Leyris (Bloomsbury YA / July 2023)

All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyer; design by Micah Fleming; illustration by Rachelle Baker (Harry N. Abrams / September 2023)

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Max Reed (Wednesday Books / May 2023)

Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake; design by David Curtis; art by Tomasz Majewski (Quill Tree Books / September 2023)

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

Daughters of Oduma by Moses Ose Utomi; design by Greg Stadnik; illustration by Laylie Frazier (Atheneum Books for Young Readers / February 2023)

A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen; design by Greg Stadnik; illustration by Bose Collins (Margaret K. McElderry Books / March 2023)

Ever Since by Alena Bruzas; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; art by Suzanne Dias (Rocky Pond Books / May 2023)

Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni; design by Corina Lupp; illustration by Otesanya (Balzer & Bray / September 2023)

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell; design by Catherine Lee; illustration by Yejin Park (Harperteen / March 2023)

The Girl Next Door by Cecilia Vinesse; design by Erin Fitzsimmons; art by Tomasz Majewski (Quill Tree Books / May 2023)

Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite; design by Maria T. Middleton; art by Jeff Manning (Walker Books / September 2023)

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim; art direction by Angela Carlino; art by Tran Nguyen; lettering by Alix Northrup (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers / August 2023)

Tran Nguyen and Alix Northrup also worked on the covers for Elizabeth Lim’s previous books Six Crimson Cranes and The Dragon’s Promise, which appeared on the 2021 and 2022 lists respectively.

A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Page O’Brien; design by Micah Fleming; illustration by Corey Brickley (Harry N. Abrams / September 2023)

This is the first of many covers featuring Corey Brickley’s lovely work on the list!

I feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea; design by Kathleen Breitenfeld; art by Rich Deas; lettering by Jordan Metcalf (Henry Holt BYR / August 2023)

I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu; design by Laura Eckes (Simon & Schuster BYR / March 2023)

Immortality by Dana Schwartz; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Zach Meyer (Wednesday Books / February 2023)

The cover for Anatomy by Dana Schwartz was on last year’s list. I wonder what vital organ shaped dress we will get next?

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee; design by Kirk Benshoff; art by Deb JJ Lee (First Second / March 2023)

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson; art by Chuck Styles (Random House BYR / June 2023)

The Isle of the Gods by Amie Kaufman; design Angela Carlino; art by Aykut Aydoğdu (Alfred A. Knopf BYR / May 2023)

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst; design by Catherine Lee; illustration by Elena Masci (Harperteen / April 2023)

The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan; design by Kelley Brady; illustration by Michael Rogers (G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR / August 2023)

Coincidentally these two covers combined would have a complete face…

Never a Hero by Vanessa Len; design by Jessie Gang; art by Eevien Tan (Harperteen / August 2023)

The cover for Only a Monster by Vanessa Len was also on last year’s list.

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi; design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell; art by Nettrice Gaskins (Balzer & Bray / May 2023)

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin; design by Katie Klimowicz (Tor Nightfire / June 2023)

(Technically this isn’t YA, it’s categorized as “Fiction / Coming of Age,” but I figure there’s crossover here so I’m including it anyway)

The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie; design by Theresa Evangelista (Dutton BYR / September 2023)

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen; design by Rich Deas; art by M.S. Corley (Henry Holt / May 2023)

Rook by William Ritter; design by Laura Williams; illustration by Corey Brickley (Algonquin YR / August 2023)

Algonquin also reissued the whole Jackaby series in paperback with new covers to match:

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker; design by Kathleen Oudit & Gigi Lau; photography Lillian Liu (Inkyard Press / October 2023)

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran; design by Thy Bui; illustration by Elena Masci (Bloomsbury YA / Feburary 2023)

Something Like Possible by Miel Moreland; design by Julia Bianchi; illustration by Bex Glendining (Feiwel & Friends / May 2023)

The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk; design by David Curtis (Quill Tree Books / October 2023)

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White; illustration by Evangeline Gallagher (Peachtree Teen / September 2023)

Evangeline Gallagher also provided the cover illustration for Andrew Joseph White’s previous book Hell Followed With Us.

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou; design by Kristie Radwilowicz; illustration by Corey Brickley (Razorbill / May 2023)

The Twenty-One by Elizabeth Rusch; design by Paul Zakris; illustration by Will Staehle (Greenwillow Books / September 2023)

The Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth; design by Debra Sfetsios-Conover; illustration by Marcela Bolivar (Margaret K. McElderry Books / October 2023)

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley; design by Rich Deas; art by Michaela Goade (Henry Holt / May 2023)

Where There’s Smoke by E. B. Vickers; design by Ray Shappell (Alfred A. Knopf BYR / December 2023)

Wise Creatures by Deirdre Sullivan; design by Nick Stearn; illustration by Corey Brickley (Hot Key Books / September 2023)

Zhara by S. Jae-Jones; design by Kerri Resnick; illustration by Sija Hong (Wednesday Books / August 2023)

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Published October 31, 2023

Book Covers of Note, October 2023

I am lost for words in the face of so much tragedy this month, so I am just going to let the covers speak for themselves. Keep safe.

All The Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in Fifty Shows by Ray Robertson; design by Jason Arias (Biblioasis / November 2023)

The type is Lithops from Velvetyne Type Foundry.

The Annual Banquet of The Gravediggers’ Guild by Mathias Énard; design by John Gall (New Directions / December 2023)

Bathhouse and Other Tanka by Ishii Tatsuhiko; design by Oliver Munday (New Directions / November 2023)

The Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman; design Nicole Caputo (Catapult / November 2023)

The Dimensions of a Cave by Greg Jackson; design by Kate Jensen / Rodrigo Corral Studio (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / October 2023)

The cover of the UK edition published by Granta was designed by Jamie Keenan.

Dust by Jay Owens; design by Eli Mock (Abrams / November 2023)

Family Meal by Bryan Washington; design by Grace Han (Riverhead / October 2023)

The Future, The Future by Adam Thirlwell; design by Alex Merto (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / October 2023)

Going Infinite by Michael Lewis; design by Pete Garceau (W. W. Norton / October 2023)

Good Men by Arnon Grunberg; design by Anna Jordan (Open Letter / May 2023)

Hope by Andrew Ridker; design by Tyler Comrie (Viking / July 2023)

The Last Bookseller by Gary Goodman; design by Kimberly Glyder (University of Minnesota Press / October 2023)

The Marvels of Youth by Tim Bowling; design by Peter Cocking (Buckrider Books / October 2023)

Menewood by Nicola Griffith; design by Na Kim; art by Anna and Elena Balbusso (MCD / October 2023)

The cover of Hild, the previous book in the series, also features art by the Balbusso twins (design by Charlotte Strick)

Mister Mister by Guy Gunaratne; design by Jack Smyth (Pantheon / October 2023)

Palace of Shadows by Ray Celestin; design by Nathan Burton (Pan Macmillan / October 2023)

Sonic Life by Thurston Moore; design by Michael J. Windsor (Doubleday / October 2024)

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly Stone; design by Rodrigo Corral (Auwa / October 2023)

Vengeance is Mine by Marie Ndiaye; design by Jack Smyth (Quercus Publishing / October 2023)

The cover of the US edition of Vengeance is Mine, published by Knopf, was designed by Jamie Keenan.

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Published September 29, 2023

Book Covers of Note, September 2023

Hey. I hope you’re safe and well and caught up on your podcasts, shows, and TBR pile.

I thought this was going to be a short post this month, and then it turned into a long one — or longer than expected at least. I don’t have too much to add to the covers. I’m busy, you’re busy. It’s almost October, literally no one has time for this! But there are some lovely covers this month. There’s a bit autumnal orange and ennui, some nice type, and a couple of Canadian covers (for those keeping count), and a couple of appropriately off-beat ones from our friends at New Directions.*

American Gun by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson; design by Rodrigo Corral (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / September 2023)

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll; design by Kaitlin Kall (Simon & Schuster / September 2023)

The Circle by Katherena Vermette; design by Jennifer Griffiths; art by KC Adams (Hamish Hamilton Canada / September 2023)

Creep by Myriam Gurba; design by Clay Smith (Avid Reader Press / September 2023)

Disruptions by Steven Millhauser; design by Janet Hansen (Alfred A. Knopf / August 2023)

Fear by Robert Peckham; design by Tom Etherington (Profile / September 2023)

Goth by Lol Tolhurst; design by Timothy O’Donnell (Quercus Publishing / September 2023)

This whole thing is ridiculously in my wheelhouse. The cover photo is by the author (of course!), and there’s a fun note about trying to source the type in Timothy’s Instagram post about the design.

Grand Tour by Elisa Gonzalez; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

I’m not sure it was the intention, but I like the trippy film title / goth art project quality of this.

How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto; design by Lucy Kim (Little Brown & Co / September 2023)

The Lights by Ben Lerner; design by David Pearson (Granta / September 2023)

Hopefully you’ve all had chance to listen to David on the Cover Meeting podcast by now. It’s really good!

The cover of the US edition published by FSG was designed by Thom Colligan. It’s interesting that they’re similar and yet different. I wonder if it was brief or just a creative coincidence?

The Love of Singular Men by Victor Heringer; design by Pablo Delcan (New Directions / September 2023)

Love the red type on green.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova; design by Alex Merto (Zando / March 2023)

This gives me decidedly 1990’s New York publishing vibes.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi; cover art by Tristan Elwell (Tor / September 2023)

This just makes me think of a corporate Behemoth.

Time Without Keys by Ida Vitale; design by Tyler Comrie (New Directions / September 2023)

We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama; design by Mia Kwon; illustration by Grace J Kim (Bloomsbury / September 2023)

This is the paperback cover. Mia also designed the jacket of the hardcover published last year.

Wound by Oksana Vasyakina; design by Nicole Caputo; art by Jenny Barron (Catapult / September 2023)

The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright; design by Kate Sinclair; art by Darek Grabus (McClelland & Stewart / September 2023)

I’m sure I’m not the only one to get Edward Hopper vibes from this cover.

The cover of the UK edition was designed by Suzanne Dean with a cover illustration by Anna Morrison.

*A bit of admin from last month: I finally managed to spend some time browsing a bookstore and I was able to ascertain that the cover of the US edition of Bridge by Lauren Beukes was designed by Kirin Diemont. Apologies to Kirin for not crediting her at the time in last month’s post. It’s updated now)

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Published August 31, 2023

Book Covers of Note, August 2023

I hope you’re safe and well wherever you are. What do we have this month? A few British covers for a change, a bit of Canadian content, a couple of indie presses, and even something from a university press, not to mention covers from all the usual suspects. Enjoy!

Anam by André Dao; design by Tiana Dunlop (Pan Macmillan / August 2023)

The Apartment by Ana Menéndez; design by Jaya Miceli (Counterpoint / June 2023)

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / August 2023)

Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor; design by Michel Vrana; photograph by Joe Cohen (Biblioasis / August 2023)

Bridge by Lauren Beukes; design by Lauren Wakefield (Penguin / August 2023)

Lauren also designed the cover of Afterland by Lauren Beukes which was on my list of notable covers back in 2020.

I like the cover of the US edition of Bridge published by Mulholland Books too. Let me know if you know who designed it and I’ll add in the credit! It was designed by Kirin Diemont.

Caret by Adam Mars-Jones; design by Jonathan Pelham (Faber / August 2023)

Jonny also re-designed the previous books in this series to match. They’re a lovely set that somehow feel very British, and very Faber. They sort of remind me of postwar pub signs and vintage lettering on canal barges. Anyway, I like them a lot.

A Dictator Calls Ismail Kadare; design by Matt Broughton (Vintage / August 2023)

(If anyone at PRH in the UK would like to send me a higher quality image, I’d be happy to replace the not quite sharp one above)

The cover of the US edition of A Dictator Calls, available from Counterpoint next month, was designed by Farjana Yasmin.

Everything / Nothing / Someone by Alice Carriere; design by Strick and WIlliams (Spiegel & Grau / August 2023)

Hangman by Maya Binyam; design by Alex Merto; art by Belkis Ayón (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / August 2023)

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim; design by Cassie Gonzales (Hogarth / August 2023)

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / August 2023)

I love the colour palette of this one. The lettering is fun too.

Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue; design by Lucy Kim (Little Brown and Company / August 2023)

I wonder if there is a post in book covers with dots? Maybe even one of dots in circle pattern? that might be a bit niche…

Lost Believers by Irina Zhorov; design by Emily Mahon (Scribner / August 2023)

Another nice palette / lettering combo.

Manor on the Viridian Sea by Eleanor P. Sam; design by Dorian Danielsen (Isalea Publishing / August 2023)

My Name is Iris by Brando Skyhorse; design by Richard Ljoenes (Avid Reader Press / August 2023)

Prophet by Helen MacDonald and Sin Blache; design by Dan Mogford; lettering by Martin Naumann (Vintage / August 2023)

Sublunar by Harald Voetmann; design by Jamie Keenan (New Directions / August 2023)

Hilarious,

Trialectic by Peter A. Alces; design by Jenny Volvovski (University of Chicago Press / August 2023)

Triangles are my favourite shape.

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Published August 28, 2023

Two Designers, Two Covers

Lit Hub has posted an interesting conversation between designers Pablo Delcan and Jamie Keenan. Nominally it’s a discussion of their respective US and UK covers for Ingrid Robeyns’s Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth, but the best stuff is about the way they work and the job itself.

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