The author and illustrator is much revered for his own weird and wonderful books, yet his 200-plus jacket designs are virtually ignored. Steven Heller celebrates his contribution to a unique era of publishingDeliciously and subversively cryptic, Edward St John Gorey’s books, plays, postcards, toys, stage sets and costumes – indeed an entire lifetime of utterly sublime, mockingly apprehensive artistry and authorship – are celebrated and critically acclaimed by everyone from cultural pundits to goth cultists. The rare front-page New York Times obituary, on 17 April 2000, is testament to Gorey’s eclectic narrative range. “In creating a large body of small work, he made an indelible imprint on noir fiction and on the psyche of his admirers,” Mel Gussow wrote.Yet, understandably, less attention is devoted today to the 200-plus illustrated paperback covers and hardcover jackets that Chicago-born, Harvard-educated Gorey (known to his friends as Ted) created while working as a staff artist, art director, editor and freelance illustrator at various American publishing houses for a large portion of his career. In two brief sentences, his obituary tossed aside this impressive output: “After graduation he remained in Boston, illustrating book jackets. Then he went to New York and worked in the art department at Doubleday, staying late in the office to create his own books.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What adult book covers have struck you as interesting, unique, or otherwise attention-grabbing so far this year? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-04-23 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The illustrated book publisher will launch a new series of small-format titles, gift program, and book design prize, alongside unique branding, to commemorate its 75th anniversary. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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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
[ Electric Literature | 2023-12-29 12:05:00 UTC ]
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Redesign? Relaunch? Regret? Take a look at the ways publishers aimed to seduce new audiences by changing up the covers of notable books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-27 10:02:37 UTC ]
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The reign of the color-blob book cover has slowly come to an end over the last several years, and various pretenders to the throne have taken their best shot at being the next trend—sans-serif minimalism (The “Cusk”); brightly-colored paper-cut-out illustrations, usually involving women (The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-18 15:14:58 UTC ]
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It’s the festive season, which means our fourth annual book cover tournament begins today! We had a tough job winnowing the hundreds of thousands of book covers published this year to the best 32 designs, so we need your help to crown a winner via an interactive poll on our Twitter and Instagram... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-12-18 12:00:00 UTC ]
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For what is now the eighth time in a row, I am pleased to present the best book covers of the year—as chosen by some of the industry’s best book cover designers. This year, I asked 46 designers to share their favorite covers of the year, and they came back with a grand total of 138 covers […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-12 09:55:10 UTC ]
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If you use Goodreads at all, you’ve likely noticed that the platform allows you to “rate” your “reads” using “stars” (those are scare quotes). If you use Goodreads regularly, you probably know that the ratings system is, in a word, fucked. Why does literally every Colleen Hoover book have over... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-21 17:28:32 UTC ]
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The first edition of De Los|Reads features a new fiction book from Mario Vargas Llosa, a cookbook from Sandra A. Gutierrez, several memoirs and a book for children who aren't ready for bed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-16 05:37:22 UTC ]
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One of the country's best known independent bookstores plans to use the bankruptcy process to become a smaller, modern, financially sustainable business. It is in the process of closing three of its seven locations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sometimes, comics covers do such a spectacular job that they deserve a whole book to themselves. That's where these books come in. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-13 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Are you a fantasy mega-fan? Well, let's put it to the test: Can you guess these fantasy books based only on their 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-08-21 10:35:00 UTC ]
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When I began working on the design for the cover of Kyle Dillon Hertz’s debut novel The Lookback Window, I had two goals in mind: I wanted the book to be taken seriously, and I wanted to get it into the hands of readers who might not otherwise find it. Right from the beginning of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-15 09:40:29 UTC ]
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A large-format photo book reveals the toll of industrialization on the landscapes of sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-05 09:00:51 UTC ]
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You've seen every movie on Shudder and have a whole bookshelf devoted to King, but can you guess the horror book based on its 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-20 10:34:00 UTC ]
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‘The Book Cover Review’ is an unabashed celebration of what makes book covers such a singular art form. During the height of the pandemic, as many of us hunkered down with a tower of unread books, David Pearson was doing something different: He was thinking intensely about their covers.Read... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-03-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Superheroes aren't limited to comic books. Read your way into these novels starring comic book heroes. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-03 11:32:00 UTC ]
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"I hope you like calendars that you never understand" and "Dull soup": can you match the sci-fi novel to its 1-star reviews? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-02-21 11:37:00 UTC ]
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With their expressive type and bawdy illustrations, romance novels turned book covers into potent advertisements. The paperback pulp romance—birthed in the 1930s, but arguably at its height during the murky cultural soup of postwar America—exists at a unique intersection of smut and chastity.... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-02-14 09:31:34 UTC ]
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Over the holidays, we asked our social media followers to vote for the best book cover of 2022 and after an especially close competition, a crowd favorite won the hearts of book lovers. From 32 beautiful cover designs, here are the semi-finalists: Valley of Want by Ross White, cover design by... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-12-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
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