Is it just me, or are Christian publishers producing better cover art? Here’s ten of my recent favorites from just released or to soon-to-be released novels. Any you would add to the list?
Nightmare, Robin Parrish (Bethany House)
Hot, Laura L. Smith (NavPress)
Dark in the City of Light, Paul Robertson, Bethany House
The Falling Away, T.L. Hines, Thomas Nelson
Rooms, James L. Rubart (B&H Books)
Back on Murder, J. Mark Bertrand, (Bethany House)
Broken, Travish Thrasher (FaithWords)
City of Refuge, Ashley King (Bridge-Logos Foundation)
Nursing a Grudge, Chris Well (Barbour Books)
The Mailbox, Marybeth Whalen (David C. Cook)
Nothing from Marcher Lord Press?
I like some of Marcher Lord Press’s covers, especially the older ones. I’m just not sure which recent one would oust one of these.
I have some interest in this as a graphic designer who already designed my first book cover (whether or not this will be used is TBA).
Book designs have only recently caught up with design trends — there’s usually a delay and books that come out today look like they should have come out a decade ago. This is from a designer’s point of view, though; the layman might not even know or care. But good design IS important, and I don’t mean just from a marketing perspective.
I have to disagree with you Jay. Some of the best and most innovative design coming out has been from book designers. Although, the Christian market tends to be quite a bit behind whatever trends are going on. Unfortunately, many Christian publishers get stuck in dated trends and are reluctant to break out of them. All that being said there has been some amazing book cover designers working in the Christian market. Chris Tobias, Studio Gearbox and Dogeared Design to name a few.
I agree, those are good. Each one has some element of mystery to make me curious about the story, and most of them include a detail that will stick in my memory. The party hat, for instance. The windmill.
Great observations, Meg. The toppled party hat is provocative. What does it mean? Someone’s party has been interrupted, I’m guessing. But by what? And is there a “Grudge” involved? What I especially like about the “Falling Away” wind turbine is the sense of motion conveyed by the entire cover, not just the running man but the windswept ground and the vortex behind the title.
Ah, a wind turbine, not a windmill. I knew I didn’t have quite the right term. 🙂
At first glance, the wind turbine looks almost like a cross with broken arms. That might have some significance, given the title, but I’m only guessing. I think that’s what a good cover should do: It makes you try to guess what’s inside until you can’t stand it anymore and you buy the book.
These covers are HOT! I’m proud. Great artistic work.
Wow. All these covers are fantastic — I wonder who designed them if whether (or when?) any publishers’ expectations have changed. Just once, though, I’d like to see a novel cover that looks more like a movie poster, with a painting of characters on front that more directly match the novel’s plot. Or perhaps that’s my own naive thought of how it “should” be …
I think this is a good selection of covers–very intriguing for the most part. I only thought one didn’t belong because it was too same-ol’ same-ol’ for me.
Becky
Most of them are intriguing, and I always judge a book by the cover–uh, almost always. The title counts, too. I do think the Dark in the City of Light is an almost exact replica of Nicola Morgan’s Flesh Market book cover, however. But, there’s nothing new under the sun.
It’s great to see BACK ON MURDER making the cut! I can’t speak to the process where other titles are concerned, but with mine there was a lot of internal discussion about the desired look and tone of the cover, after which Bethany House put the project in the hands of the designer best suited to delivering it. Not only did I love the result, but it’s served as the template for all the subsidiary material created to promote the book, such as the website at http://www.backonmurder.com.
This is a great cover and was designed by my co-worker, Tim Green.
http://designrelated.com/profile/TimGreen
Wow! Tim Green’s covers are really fantastic! Thanks for the link Charles.
Mark, I think all that internal discussion paid off. Your cover and your website are distinctive, and they really capture the feel of the excerpt that I read.
great picks, Mike. I agree. Christian Fiction has been turning it up a notch on the covers. robin’s cover is breath taking to me. the mailbox is so inviting. j mark i’m ready for the hunt for some reason. love them all.
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