GRACELAND - Bethan Roberts
What happens when your only son becomes The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll?
While the heat and music of the American South in
the 40s and 50s play in the background, a heartbreaking portrait of a
mother’s love and a son’s devotion takes centre stage. This is the dark underbelly of the Deep South - from the poverty and jailhouses of Tupelo to the excess of Memphis – drinking, diet pills,
loneliness and loss.
Our cover features a familiar portrait, gaudy, slick and saturated – and reveals the cracks beneath the surface, the sadness, the pain that comes with success and the vulnerability bred from superstardom.
The cover image is from the Michael Ochs Archive, Getty Images.
Graceland is published by Chatto & Windus in February 2019.
THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA - PHILIP ROTH
A populist right-wing leader. A persecuted minority race. Fear invading the households of every family on the wrong side of the fence.
Meanwhile the rest of America carries on, oblivious to the ugly changes within.
Sound familiar?
Philip Roth’s counterfactual classic feels more relevant than ever…
Our cover refers to the protagonist’s inner turmoil - as his stamp album mutates from an innocent collection of national treasures to a dreadful reminder of the ensuing troubles.
SILVER SHOALS - Charles Rangeley-Wilson
Charles Rangeley-Wilson travels north, south, east and west through
the British Isles tracing the histories, living and past, of our most
iconic fish – cod, carp, eels, salmon and herring – and of the
fishermen who catch them and care for them. Underscoring
this journey is a fascinating historical exploration of these creatures
that have shaped our island story. We learn how abundant and valued
these fish were centuries before our current crisis of over-fishing: we
learn how eels built our monasteries, how cod sank the Spanish Armada,
how fish and chips helped us through two World Wars.
Our cover was lovingly illustrated by Laurindo Feliciano - a wonderful panorama simultaneously capturing the notion of English river and sea shores.
MURAKAMI - Display at the Japan House
The Translating Murakami exhibition at Japan House gives an overview of the iconic Murakami designs by our creative director Suzanne Dean. From the new publictation of Killing Commendatore to the backlist paperbacks illustrated by Noma Bar, it’s a must for any design fan or Murakmai fan alike.
It will be exhibiting in the Japan House library until 14th October
MY WORLD - Peter Sagan
Probably the most talented and coolest man on two wheels, three-time UCI World Champion Peter Sagan gives us his unique perspective on the world of professional cycling.
Opportunities like this seldom come along – flying to Nice to art direct a Peter Sagan photoshoot – Nice!
This was a complex shoot to organise – finding a location that was easy for Peter and his team to reach, a limited time slot, budgets to balance, plus finding a studio that would be suitable for shooting portrait and full-length. The key is always the prep - knowing what shots you want, and being set up and ready to shoot as soon as the client arrives. We were told we would have an hour to get our shots, but Peter and his team were cool enough to give us longer and we ended up gathering a wealth of cover material.
Peter was the perfect gentleman, a natural in front of the camera and more than willing to spend time to chat and sign memorabilia.
As you can imagine he also has a damn fine S-Works bike…
Thanks to Sam Barker for the photography and Pauline Layre for hair and make-up.
My World is published in October by Yellow Jersey Press.
THE 2018 MAN BOOKER SHORTLIST
Thrilled with the news that two of our books are shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker prize. Congratulations to Rachel Kushner and Daisy Johnson.
TAKING IDEAS FOR A WALK
Malcolm Kennard, designer, consultant and educator visited Vintage, last week to deliver one of his inspiring talks and workshops ‘Taking Ideas for a walk’.
Generating a rich mix of curiosity and energy, the talk promoted expansive thinking with less reliance on the Mac and slick visualizing, and more emphasis on coming up with original ideas. Malcolm talked about the power of play, the importance of experimentation at an early stage in the design process, to challenge predictable outcomes, and his strong belief in the need of learning through embracing mistakes.
In the afternoon the CMYK team took part in a tailored ‘innovation workshop’, where amongst other things, we were challenged to create an egg cup out of a paper plate in three minutes!
Here’s what some of the design team thought of the day:
‘Malcolm has a truly creative mind – it was wonderful to step inside it for a day! I’d highly recommend this workshop to designers and non-designers alike’
‘Rethink how you see everyday objects. Clear your mind of visual preconceptions. Malcom’s workshop is challenging, inspirational and much more fun than running or yoga!’
‘Hearing Malcolm’s talk and seeing his work was really inspirational. I enjoyed the idea of turning something familiar into something surprising and learning that its ok not to know something, through trials and questioning you can push ideas for that extra 10%.’
THE WAR POEMS OF WILFRED OWEN
A simple design for a reissued Vintage Classic.
Using a fabric sourced from the Warner Textile Archive in Braintree, we incorporated the original poppy design to include a richer colour contrast and added barbed wire for a sense of depth. The idea was to evoke a sense of beauty in the misery of war.
The original textile designed by Vergley is called Summer Poppies. It was produced by Warner Fabrics and printed by Stead McAlpin & Co in Carlisle.
This centenary edition is published this month by Vintage Classics.
21 LESSONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY - YUVAL NOAH HARARI
I was looking for an image that would sit alongside the iconic finger prints on both Sapiens and Homo Deus. The iris is like a fingerprint. It is individual to each of us. I had just come back from a holiday and it struck me as I went through passport control, that it might be a fabulous image for 21 Lessons. We then found this wonderful iris, by artist Marc Quinn, that seemed to stand for all mankind.
21 Lessons is published by Jonathan Cape.
LITTLE WOMEN - Louisa May Alcott
Today we publish a special Vintage Classics edition of Little Women, to
celebrate it’s 150th anniversary of the publication.
The story follows the lives of four sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy during the
American Civil War. They navigate their lives through love, loss and family
tribulations, the edition including
Alcott’s novel Good Wives.
The cover is inspired by traditional quiltmaking, popularised in
nineteenth-century America. The patchwork cover is divided into four, each
quarter with it’s own subtle textures and colours, which represent the sister’s
personalities. They combine together to create the March family quilt. Textiles
created by Karen Nicol.
ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN - The Gulag Archipelago / Cancer Ward
‘Not everything has a name. Some things lead us into a realm beyond words.’
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Typographic covers for our new Solzhenitsyn classics, plus some of the original, – and admittedly rather mucky – hand-drawn lettering.
HEADS OF THE COLORED PEOPLE - Nafissa Thompson-Spires
Heads of the Coloured People is a collection of razor sharp, hilarious
and deeply poignant stories detailing the lives of black men and women
in America.
The title and the illustrated portraits on the
cover are inspired by the sketches of author, physician and abolitionist
James McCune Smith. The cover illustration is by Jordan Andrew Carter. Out now.
FLUSH - Virginia Woolf
‘The figure of their dog made me laugh so I couldn’t resist making him a Life.’
We commissioned Aino-Maija Metsola to illustrate Virginia Woolf’s endearing, witty and insightful 'biography’ of the cocker spaniel Flush, loyal companion to nineteenth century poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Flush combines sensuous imaginative description, with sharp social comment, and brings Woolf’s unsentimental humour and insight to the fore. We see Flush as loyal confidant to Elizabeth on her sickbed at Wimpole Street, and from his jealous perspective we witness her courtship by Browning, their elopement and new life in Italy.
This edition of Flush, joins the previous six Woolf re-issues, illustrated by Helsinki-based Aino-Maija Metsola.
CUZ – Danielle Allen
Black lives matter.
In this deeply personal yet clear-eyed memoir, Danielle Allen
reconstructs her cousin’s life to try and understand how this tragedy
was the end result. We become intimate with Michael’s experience, from
his first steps to his first love, and with the events of his arrest,
his coming of age in prison, and his attempts to make up for lost time
after his release. We learn what it’s like to grow up in a city carved
up by invisible gang borders; and we learn how a generation has been
lost.
Our cover concept intends to be immediate, hopeful and defiant. However it also alludes to the brutality at the core of the lives of a generation of American youngsters.
Originally published by The Bodley Head, this cover is for the Vintage paperback - due out September 2018.
