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 I’m sure there are other examples (David Gee’s unpublished cover for Lolita.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.
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)