New York Times announces “best book cover” designs of the year

The New York Times Book Review art director Matt Dorfman has selected the year’s best book cover designs, with an image by Penguin’s David Pearson making the cut. According to Matt, his covers were chosen for their ability to “lure in” the reader, “by posing questions that I don’t want to ignore.”

“Books and their covers are confronting their own awkward questions of relevance and value in the escalating competition for attention against screens the size of Jumbotrons (or, conversely, wristwatches),” he says. “To see publishers answer this concern with the craft, sophistication and pictorial wit that go into an increasing number of book covers each year reinforces the certainty that one of our oldest technologies remains one of our most perfect.”

Alongside David’s cover for Mikhail Elizarov’s The Librarian, the list of 12 book covers includes Paul Sahre’s design for Clarice Lispector’s The Complete Stories and a beautifully minimal gold and black design for Witches of America by Alex Mar, designed by Rachel Willey.