Don't judge a cat book by its cover

Publishers may think a cute animal on the cover is what sells in the supermarket, but ask around online and those who buy pet books will tell you otherwiseThe moment of receiving your first book jacket is one that every author remembers. I was so excited when I got mine – a jacket, for a book, written by me, that was going to be published – it took me a while to realise it wasn't quite right. When the time came for the smaller, mass market paperback edition of the book concerned (a memoir about my golfing adolescence, called Nice Jumper) and my agent and I suggested a change of image, my publishers were only too happy to work towards something that suited everyone. That was 12 years ago, though, and the publishing industry has changed a lot since then, with supermarkets becoming increasingly dominant and power swinging away from editorial and towards sales. It had already changed a lot by early 2009 when Simon & Schuster, the publishers of my fifth book, Under the Paw, sent me their proposal for the book's paperback edition. I instantly knew I hated the cover and instantly knew there was not a lot I could do about it.In Under the Paw, I'd written about the chaos of more than three decades living at the beck and call of several of the world's most demanding felines. I was realistic about the book's marketing: although proper writers such as William Boyd, Kate Atkinson and David Sedaris had said nice stuff about it, it was, after all, a memoir about some cats, and no... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Classic Book Covers Get Charming Redesigns for the E-Book Age

750 artists redesigned the covers of classic books. Now 50 of them are going on tour. The post Classic Book Covers Get Charming Redesigns for the E-Book Age appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2016-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Pelican Books Is Reimagining The Cover In The Age Of E-Books

Penguin's storied non-fiction brand is trying to redefine the book cover, as well as bridge the gap between physical books and ebooks.The covers of our favorite books are doors that lead into their internal literary worlds, and that's enough to make their designs important: a book's cover is the... Continue reading at Fast Company

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The News Book Riot Covered This Week

Publishers Weekly names the best books of 2024, John Green will publishing a book about tuberculosis, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

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L-WORD Stars Reveal Cover of New Memoir and More Book News!

Plus cover reveals, the Booker Prize shortlist, and the trailer for HEARTSTOPPER Season 3 . Continue reading at Book Riot

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Industry Professionals Talk Racism in Book Cover Design

The pros are here to remind us that racism persists in publishing. Plus: an adaptation from a queer icon and an MCU-style romance enterprise. Continue reading at Book Riot

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4+ YA Cover Makeovers: YA Book Talk and News, August 8, 2024

What do you think about these YA paperback cover redesigns? That, plus this week's YA book news. Continue reading at Book Riot

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The first US Book Prize judged entirely by incarcerated people has announced a winner.

The inaugural Inside Prize has named its first recipient—the author Imani Perry. The new book award is “a collaborative project of Freedom Reads, the National Book Foundation, Center for Justice Innovation and Dallas bookstore owner Lori Feathers.” And in a novel move, all the prize judges are... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-08-02 17:05:17 UTC ]
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True Crime and Transcendentalists: When Designing a Book Cover Takes You on a Long Strange Trip

Designing a book cover is always something of an emotional roller coaster. There’s the excitement of nailing it on the first try (rare!); there’s the low of working hard on an idea, only for it to be discarded; there’s the struggle (every time) and the self-doubt (ever present) that come with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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Behind the Cover: BookTok’s Favorite Book Designer

Designer Elisha Zepeda has become a TikTok star for sharing his book cover design process. Are publishers are paying attention? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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All the News Book Riot Covered This Week: July 6, 2024

The bestselling books of the week, the indie bookstore shipping LGBTQ titles to states where they're banned, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

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In London: Penguin Books UK’s 2024 Cover Design Awards

The Penguin Books UK competition in book cover design for a third year was open to all applicants: 30 percent are not students. The post In London: Penguin Books UK’s 2024 Cover Design Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

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The News Book Riot Covered This Week

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8 little-known book cover designs that should be classics

A new book by designer Jesse Reed gives unsung book covers their due. In the age of fickle online trends, font horoscopes, and tiny mics, what room is there to engage with the humble mass-market paperback of yesteryear? A new book, Second Hand, dusts off should-be-classic book covers that have... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2024-05-17 09:00:00 UTC ]
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I invented the abstract colorful blob book cover.

A satirical confession, from an imagined designer who unleashed the style of book cover with “amorphous shapes of suggestive colors” on the world. I’ve created a monster. I’m the designer who first created the colorful blob book cover. You know the ones: the vaguely egg-like, kidney-bean-like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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The 11 Best Book Covers of April

Another month of books, another month of book covers. It’s been gloomy in upstate New York, but according to a certain saying, all this endless rain will pay dividends one day soon. In the meantime, here are some nice things to look at: The audacity, indeed. I love a book cover that feels goofy... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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24 of the Best 2024 Book Covers So Far

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Judge Weighs Preliminary Injunction in Alaska Book Banning Lawsuit

The hearing comes nearly year after administrators in the Mat-Su district, located just north of Anchorage, responded to a handful of parental complaints by pulling 56 titles from school libraries without any formal review. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Tor Books Criticized for Use of AI-Generated Art in 'Gothikana' Cover Design

The use of AI-generated assets in the cover art for the dark academia novel 'Gothikana' by RuNyx, originally self-published and reissued by Tor Books' romance imprint Bramble, has set off a debate about the role of AI in publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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In Key Win, Judge Says Escambia County Book Banning Lawsuit Can Proceed

After a January 10 hearing, judge T. Kent Wetherell denied a motion by the Escambia County School Board to dismiss the case, suggesting that school officials cannot simply pull books they find objectionable from library shelves. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Announcing the Best Book Cover of 2023

Last week, we asked our social media followers to vote for the cover of year from the best 32 designs of the year. This year’s tournament was fierce, with surprise twists and crowd favorites that bowed out early. The winner edged out the competition by a mere 6 votes. From 32 cover designs, here... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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