Hi. Hello. I hope you’re all keeping well. This month seems to have flown by so I apologise for rather rushing this out at the last minute.
I was reminded this week there are people in the world (some of whom should know better) who think that all contemporary book covers are boring and banal. I don’t really know where to start with arguments like this. It just seems objectively false to me?
Anyway, I hope these posts help dispel some of those notions and you enjoy this month’s selections….
Attention Seeking Behavior by Aea Varfis Van Warmelo; design by Michael Salu (Graywolf / May 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Attention Seeking Behaviour published by Peninsula Press, was designed by Luke Bird.
Carryout by Hasan Dudar; design by Kathleen Lynch / Black Kat Design (University of Iowa Press / May 2026)
Complete Works of Ricardo Reis by Fernando Pessoa, translated by Patricio Ferrari & Margaret Jull Costa; design by Peter Mendelsund (New Directions / May 2026)
This is fourth Peter Mendelsund Pessoa cover for New Directions:
Dog Days by Emily Labarge; design by Jared Bartman (Transit Books / May 2026)
The Fifth Year by Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / May 2026)
Matt also designed the covers of previous Marlen Haushofer titles, The Wall and Killing Stella, for New Directions:
The Hill by Harriet Clark; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)
Homebound by Portia Elan; design by Jaya Miceli; art by Andrea Bacca (Scribner / May 2026)
Honey by Imani Thompson; design by Poppy Loughtman (The Borough Press / May 2026)
The cover of the US edition of Honey, published by Random House, was designed by Michael Morris. Michael did a brief Q&A with Debutiful about the design.
Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller; design by Josie Staveley Taylor; art by Thérèse Mulgrew (Fig Tree / May 2026)
The cover the US edition of Hunger and Thirst, available from Tin House next week, was designed by Beth Steidle.
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson; design by Luke Bird (Granta / May 2026)
The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin; design by Robbie Porter (Faber / May 2026)
Mare by Emily Haworth-Booth; design Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)
The cover of the UK edition of Mare, published by Granta in March, was designed by Jo Walker.
Murder Like Clockwork by Nicola Whyte; design by Jared Oriel (Union Square & Co. / May 2026)
Nerve Damage by Annakeara Stinson; design by Linda Huang (Knopf / May 2026)
New Skin by Sarah Wang; design by Oliver Munday (Little Brown & Co / May 2026)
Nonstop Bodies by Rennie McDougall; design Eli Mock; (Abrams / May 2026)
Pink Tongue Out, Blind Cat by María Paz Guerrero, translated by Robin Myers; design by Sarah Schulte (Phoneme Media / May 2026)
Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker; design by Chris Allen (Random House / May 2026)
Tarantula by Eduardo Halfon, translated by Daniel Hahn; design by Adriana Tonello (Bellevue Literary Press / May 2026)
Vilhelm’s Room by Tove Ditlevsen, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)
Na previously designed the covers of Ditlevsen’s Copenhagen trilogy.
Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler; design by Cassie Vu (Hogarth / May 2026)
Ways of Listening by Rollie Pemberton; design by Matthew Flute (McClelland & Stewart / May 2026)
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