A book cover featuring a high-contrast, grainy black and white image of a person’s face. Bright pink lines radiate from the nose across the eyes and forehead.

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

Words: Emily Gosling
—
Date: 14 December 2015; Work
Graphic Design

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.

An animation of a book cover featuring neon signs on a black background. A pink neon hand points downwards as the blue text “The Musical Brain” and “César Aira” flicker on and off. — Above
Left
The Musical Brain by César Aira
Designed by Rodrigo Corral and Zak Tebbal
Right
Imperium by Christian Kracht
Designed by Adalis Martinez

The cover of a book titled “Imperium” by Christian Kracht. A blue illustration of a palm tree, a skull and a balloon is layered behind the red typography. Smaller blue text reads “A fiction of the South Seas” and “Translated by Daniel Bowles”. — Above
Imperium by Christian Kracht
Designed by Adalis Martinez

The cover of a book by Nikolaus Wachsmann titled “A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps”. Large, bold red letters spell “kl” over a background of faded archival documents. — Above
Left
A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps by Nikolaus Wachsmann
Designed by Alex Merto
Right
The Librarian by Mikhail Elizarov
Designed by David Pearson

A book cover with a cream background and bold, fragmented typography in dark brown and red. The title “The Librarian” is broken into geometric shapes that cascade down the page. The author’s name, “Mikhail Elizarov”, and the publisher, “Pushkin Press”, are written in a smaller, vertical font. — Above
The Librarian by Mikhail Elizarov
Designed by David Pearson

A book cover featuring a watercolour illustration of dark birds and swirling teal and purple feathers. The handwritten text reads “Everything That Rises Must Converge”, “Stories” and “Flannery O’Connor”. — Above
Left
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor
Designed by Charlotte Strick
Illustration by June Glasson
Right
Making Nice by Matt Sumell
Designed by Gray318

A book cover with a dark teal background reads “MAKING NICE” at the top and “MATT SUMELL” at the bottom. In the centre, a blue bird perches atop a chaotic pile of colourful paper strips and white text fragments. — Above
Making Nice by Matt Sumell
Designed by Gray318

The black cover of a book features a white line drawing of a person with short hair. Text at the top reads “TRANS A Memoir” and the name “Juliet Lacques” is written at the bottom. — Above
Left
Trans: A Memoir by Juliet Jacques
Illustration and lettering by Joanna Walsh
Right
Voices in the Night by Steven Millhauser
Designed by Janet Hansen

The cover of a book features bold black and white horizontal stripes that curve into wave-like shapes. Text reads “Steven Millhauser”, “Winner of the Pulitzer Prize”, “Voices in the Night” and “Stories”. — Above
Voices in the Night by Steven Millhauser
Designed by Janet Hansen

The cover of the book “The Liars’ Club” by Mary Karr. An illustration shows a child sitting on a bar stool among three adults, with bottles of beer on the counter. — Above
Left
The Liar’s Club (20th Anniversary Edition) by Mary Karr
Designed by Paul Buckley
Illustration by Brian Rea
Right
Witches of America by Alex Mar
Designed by Rachel Willey

The cover of a book titled “Witches of America” by Alex Mar. A black silhouette of a bird flies above two overlapping gold circles, one of which contains a solid black disc. — Above
Witches of America by Alex Mar
Designed by Rachel Willey

Further Info

www.nytimes.com

About the Author

Emily Gosling

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Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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

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