Edward Gorey: cover star of book design

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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Is the next book cover trend . . . rainbows?

As I was scrolling through Lit Hub’s massive 2021 preview, I noticed something: Rainbows. Specifically, several books featuring full-cover, highly saturated, blurrily blended rainbows. I can only assume, considering that rainbows are generally considered to be a) pretty b) gay and c) paths to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-08 18:00:44 UTC ]
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Announcing the Winner of Electric Lit’s Book Cover of the Year Tournament

This week, readers on Electric Literature’s Twitter and Instagram voted to narrow a field of 32 beautiful book covers down to their favorite of the year. Some of the margins were razor-thin—in particular, both Sin Eater vs. The Exhibition of Persephone Q in round one and Animal Wife vs. Follow... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-12-07 12:00:36 UTC ]
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Help Us Pick the Best Book Cover of 2020

This hasn’t been an easy year for sustained, careful reading. But you know what doesn’t take any attention at all? Judging a book by its cover! That’s why we’re doing our first ever “best book cover of the year” tournament—and we want you to weigh in. Vote for your favorites on Electric... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-30 12:00:30 UTC ]
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What a Book Cover Can Do

As a physical component of the book, the cover is a skin, a membrane, and a safeguard: paper jackets protect hardback boards from scuffing and sun damage, while paperback covers not only hold the book together but also keep its sheets clean and safe from tearing. In the past, paper jackets were... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-25 09:49:15 UTC ]
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Tory-shaming Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is launching a children’s book club.

As many on this side of the pond may not know, Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford is currently all that stands between the United Kingdom and compete moral ruination. In a year where a particularly grotesque grotesquerie of Brexiteer Tories consolidated power,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-17 19:04:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #children’s book #children's book #literary hub #united kingdom #manchester united #book club


Lone Star Stories: The 10 Best Books About Texas

a great book about Texas should not only contain historical fact, it should give readers an impression of the Lone Star state—its scents, sights, and sensations—as well as what it feels like to be a human being of fragile flesh and blood in that immense, brutal, and beautiful land. The post Lone... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2020-11-13 11:00:16 UTC ]
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Beautiful Book Cover Posters For Your Walls

Movie posters have always had a space on walls. Why not also add some rad book cover posters, too? Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-11-11 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Easing the Path for Black Book Designers

Dominique Jones has long been the only Black designer on her team. Enter Black Book Designers, which Jones founded this summer as a way to reach other designers in publishing who shared her isolation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 10 Best Book Covers of October

Another month of books, another month of book covers. Disproving—somewhat—the theory that we can’t have nice things, this month of the ongoing apocalypse brought us quite a few very good book covers, from the frankly gorgeous to the inescapably charming. My favorites, which I will be using to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 08:49:55 UTC ]
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'Strictly' star Oti Mabuse waltzes into two-book deal with Walker

Walker Books has signed a deal for two picture books from "Strictly Come Dancing" professional Oti Mabuse. The first title, Dance with Oti, will be published in summer 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-06 03:03:05 UTC ]
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2020 is the year of enormous pink lady faces on book covers.

This year has brought a lot of things, and most of them have been bad. One good thing, though, is there has been quite been a lot of innovative, beautiful, and fascinating book cover design, including, I’ve recently noticed, a book cover trend that I’d like to call “enormous pink lady faces.” In... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-01 15:33:42 UTC ]
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BBC2's Between the Covers book choices unveiled

Matt Haig's latest novel, The Midnight Library (Canongate), and Bolu Babalola's story collection Love in Colour (Headline) are among the seven books that will be featured on the new BBC2 book club programme "Between the Covers", hosted by Sara Cox. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-08 09:58:36 UTC ]
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Rugby star Joe Marler's first book to Ebury

Ebury has landed the first book from Harlequins and England loosehead prop Joe Marler, promising the “unfiltered truth” about being a rugby player. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-13 21:21:21 UTC ]
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Lockdown diaries: the book designer

The weekend before the government announced the lockdown I was due to go to Bristol to visit a friend, and a few days earlier we’d been notified at the office that we would be working from home for the next few weeks (of course little did we know, five months later we still would be!). I... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-13 19:28:24 UTC ]
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Tennis star, fashion designer, integration advocate . . . spy?

Robert Weintraub explores the mystery of the glamorous, groundbreaking Alice Marble. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-07 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The 12 Best Book Covers of July

Another month of books, another month of book covers. Another month of pandemic, another month of staying inside. Another month of anxiety, another month of taking delight where we can find it. And so, to that end, here are my favorite book covers from the past few weeks, which it seems we’re... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-30 08:49:50 UTC ]
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A former Mueller prosecutor’s upcoming book will cover “mistakes” the team made.

Andrew Weissmann, who served as a prosecutor for Robert Mueller during an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, is releasing a book this fall—and says it will include details on the investigation’s “mistakes.” Random House will publish Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-14 17:26:22 UTC ]
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Star guests to join British Book Awards virtual ceremony today

The best authors, publishers and retailers will be crowned at the British Book Awards in a virtual ceremony today. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-28 17:13:02 UTC ]
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We’ve Got Your Kids Covered: 20 of the Best Kindle Books for Kids

We're bringing you the 20 best Kindle books for kids. All are either free for all or free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-12 10:33:52 UTC ]
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Wicked! Daniel Radcliffe kicks off a star-studded reading of the first Harry Potter book

David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Eddie Redmayne and "Harry Potter" himself, Daniel Radcliffe, have all signed on to read chapters of "The Sorcerer's Stone." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-05-05 18:07:58 UTC ]
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