A QUIET WORD - Tamasin Cave & Andy Rowell
Lobbying is a two-billion pound industry, answering to no-one and operating out of public sight.
This book shows just how effectively the voice of public interest is being drowned out by the word in the ear from the professional persuaders of the lobbying industry. And if you’ve never heard about them, that’s because the most effective lobbying goes unnoticed.
Our design echoes this dichotomy – the noise of the influence industry, driven by it’s silent mechanics. The addition of the comma in the subtitle, furthers the suggestion of two parties working together. One seen, the other unseen.
A Quiet Word is essential reading and will be published in March by The Bodley Head.
Tamasin Cave and Andy Rowell are directors of Spinwatch, a not-for-profit company that investigates corporate PR and lobbying, as well as government spin.
COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE Haruki Murakami
This was one of those rare covers where the initial idea seemed so right. The pieces fell into place and it was as if it was just meant to be. Stage one of the cover reveals an elegant abstract design, representing the five main characters and close childhood friends Mr Red, Mr Blue, Miss White, Miss Black and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. Tsukuru means to make or build, and this is an integral part of the second stage of our cover to be revealed at a later date.
Haruki Murakami’s new novel will be published in the UK this August.
BLACK MOON - Kenneth Calhoun
‘…a black moon had risen, a sphere of sleeplessness that pulled at the tides of blood—and invisible explanation for the madness welling inside.’
Kenneth Calhoun’s dark, hallucinatory and brilliantly realised debut from Hogarth books imagines a world without sleep. A world driven to the brink of exhaustion. A waking nightmare.
Designed in-house, an owl mask worn by one of the survivors is the inspiration for the final cover, and also helps to represent a world made hallucinatory and delirious with lack of sleep. The eye of the owl also echoes the 'Black Moon’ of the title.
Black Moon will be published by Hogarth in March.
PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN - Jennifer Clement
Illustrator Martin O'Neill talks about the cover for Prayers for the stolen:
‘The idea of the sunburst developed from a collage I had made a few years ago. I made the strips from a range of Mexican / Spanish themed textures and found ephemera. Collecting vintage Spanish packaging, religious prayer cards, old Mexican passports, worn out playing cards, strips of old wallpaper and some South American fabric samples around 200 strips were hand cut then edited and worked into the final wraparound background.
I also created a collage for the inlay papers, working on the premise of
an art therapy collage made by a non artist, something made in a prison
collage workshop. It was interesting to try and undo my compositional
habits and also cut things out badly or roughly to try and get a naive /
art brut feeling to the artwork.’
Prayers for the Stolen will be published by Hogarth in February 2014
YOUNG SKINS - Colin Barrett
In Colin Barrett’s stories the young live hard and wear the scars.
Each story is defined by a youth lived in a crucible of menace and desire - and each crackles with the uniform energy and force that distinguish this terrific collection.
Designed in-house using various paints and textures, we created a bold and purely typographical approach aiming to capture the impact and energy of the writing within. This approach continues across the cover incorporating the fantastic quotes on the back.
Below the final cover are some options showing the progression between textures and colours.
Published by Jonathan Cape in March 2014
THE FALL - Diogo Mainardi
This is a remarkable book - described in 424 steps.
Step 1: Diogo’s son Tito has cerebral palsy
Step 2: I blame Tito’s cerbral Palsy on Pietro Lombardo
Begininning with Tito’s disastrous birth, Diogo Mainardi and his son proceed on a journey that follows a unique arc of Western culture – Rembrandt to Neil Young, Auschwitz to Assassin’s Creed, Abbott & Costello to Dante Alighieri. It’s about Fatherhood, love, and of the hope and faith we place in our children.
The design charts each of Tito’s steps - from Tito to Father. From Napolean to Venice, from Dante to Ezra Pound and so on.
Eventually Tito’s journey takes on the form of a constellation – the main satellites of which are Tito’s family, the cities he lives in, and the hospital where the story begins. While not all of the journey is described, following the numbered steps can offer an insight into how one boy’s fate has been shaped by history.
The Fall will be published by Harvill Secker in May.
BOXER HANDSOME - Anna Whitwham
The new year will see the publication of a debut novel from a major new talent. Boxer Handsome is a bold, balsy and blood-spattered tale about boxer boys in the East End. The jacket design is inspired by posters for community boxing gyms and we created the typography at New North Press, a letterpress studio in East London.
BERNARD MALAMUD - Vintage Classics
Designed and illustrated in-house, with title type by Ruth Rowland, our new Malamud series will be publishing in April 2014.
HOW TO BE A HEROINE - Samantha Ellis
Cathy Earnshaw or Jane Eyre? Petrova or Posy? Scarlett or Melanie? Lace or Valley of the Dolls?
When working on the cover we had a few different approaches in mind. The challenge was getting across all the fantastic books mentioned, and the idea for the final illustration came from images the author sent through of her own ‘heroine’ collection, in pride of place on her own book shelves. Seeing all the books layed out, with their cracked and creased spines, added a sense of love and well-thumbed nostalgia which we wanted to pay tribute to on our jacket.
We picked some of our favourite books, and illustrated the spines in-house, trying to get as many titles on the cover as possible to help emphasise the range of books included. The titles continue from the spine across the back of the cover.
How To Be A Heroine is published by Chatto & Windus in Januray 2014

HAPPY ARE THE HAPPY - Yasmina Reza
A witty, acerbic novel about love, adultery, friendship, parenthood: the struggles of being a a couple and the pain of being alone. The new novel by the French novelist and playwright Yasmina Reza is on a knife edge between anguish and laughter.
The bold hand-painted design and lettering incorporates a detail of a photograph of an anguished-looking couple by Magnum Photos photographer and master of black and white Josef Koudelka.
ROUND THE CHRISTMAS FIRE
Featuring festive stories from Nancy Mitford, P.G. Wodehouse, Stella Gibbons, Charles Dickens and many more.
This special edition hardback features a lovingly created illustration which attempts to bring a bit of Christmas nostalgia to the cover.
We worked again with Emily Sutton who also created the beautiful chapter headings throughout the book, a small selection of which can be seen above.
VIPER WINE - Hermione Eyre
This is an historical novel with a twist. Its protagonists are two real historical figures, Sir Kenelm Digby and his wife Venetia. She was widely regarded as the most beautiful woman of her age, and the plot concerns her paranoia that she is losing her looks. Among the remedies she tries is a potent new tonic, Viper Wine.
There are startling and funny anachronisms throughout the text and a brilliant disregard for the conventions of the genre. The jacket design mirrors this with a pop art twist on a Van Dyk painting of Lady Digby (courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery).
Published by Jonathan Cape in March 2014
