The Casual Optimist

Book Covers of Note, August 2026

Published September 1, 2026

Book Covers of Note, August 2026

Hey. Here are this month’s book covers of note…

Blue Giant by Jordan Prosser; design by Design by Committee (UQP / August 2026)

Fried egg covers are a thing apparently? The cover of Gunk by Saba Sams published by Bloomsbury in May, which also features a fried egg, was designed by Greg Heinimann. (There was also Sinem Erkas‘s cover for One Sun Only by Camille Bordas published by Serpent’s Tail in January)

Boy A by Jonathan Trigell; design by Sinem Erkas (Serpent’s Tail / August 2026)

Nothing Can Save Us by Irvine Welsh; design by Matt Broughton (Jonathan Cape / August 2026)

Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay; design by Brian Moore (William Morrow / June 2026)

The fun 80s sci-fi airbrush vibe of this cover reminded me of Tyler Comrie‘s cover for Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O’Brien from last year. (And if anyone can think of another cover with a rabbit in a eye design let me know. I’m sure there is one)

Depopulation by Marina Closs, translated by Thomas Bunstead; design by Alban Fischer (Bellevue Literary Press / August 2026)

The Earth Said Remember Me by Jason Dove Mark; design by Jack Smyth (W.W. Norton / July 2026)

Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth; design by Vivian Lopez Rowe; artwork by Elizabeth Haidle (Graywolf / June 2026)

The Ego Trip by Kimon de Greef; design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday / August 2026)

Etna by Paul Yoon; design by Oliver Munday (Scribner / August 2026)

Back to back Oliver Munday covers!

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell; design by Emma Pidsley (Macmillan / May 2026)

Sorry this image isn’t the best. I’ve seen versions where the pink really pops. I’m sure it looks amazing in person. The pink and the dots reminds me of the cover for The Eternal Dice by César Vallejo designed by Pablo Delcan and published last year by New Directions (and on my notable list!).

Oh and the cover of the US edition of Fever Dream published way back in 2017(!) and which I seemed to have entirely overlooked at the time (yikes!) was designed by Rachel Willey.

Fruit Fly by Josh Silver; design by Hayley Warnham (One World / April 2026)

This just got released in the US in August, which is why it popped up on my radar. I feel like it’s a day-go counterpart to cover of The Hill by Harriet Clark designed by Na Kim!

The Hill in the Dark Grove by Liam Higginson; design by Michael Morris (Hogarth / August 2026)

Hitting all the trends here with “big”poppy” yellow type, traditional painting, and sheep!

If We Cannot Go the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop, translated by Anton Hur; design by Ella Laytham; illustration by Jisu Choi (Saga Press / April 2026)

Illusions by Ruth Rehmann, translated by Rob Madole; design by Robbie Porter (Faber / August 2026)

Meat Bees by Dane Erbach; design by Joel Amat Guell (Clash Books / August 2026)

Range by Dorthe Nors, translated by Caroline Waight; design by Alban Fischer (Graywolf / August 2026)

Nice to have a couple of new indie covers from Alban this month:

Triage by Claudia Rankine; design by John Lucas; artwork by Autumn Knight (Graywolf / August 2026)

Under the Falls by Richard Russo; design by Kelly Blair (Knopf / August 2026)

Yñiga by Glenn Diaz; design by Sarah Schulte (Coffee House Press / August 2026)

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Tinder Press Andrea Levy

Published August 26, 2026

Tinder Press Andrea Levy

These lovely covers for the new editions of the late Andrea Levy’s six books were designed and illustrated by Holly Ovenden for Tinder Press in the UK. The colour palettes are great!

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Picador Édouard Louis

Published August 20, 2026

Picador Édouard Louis

I really like this new series design for Édouard Louis created by Violet Dine with AD Rodrigo Corral for Picador (US). The custom font was created by Trent Howell inspired by Jean-Luc Godard title cards.

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Book Covers of Note, July 2026

Published July 29, 2026

Book Covers of Note, July 2026

Hey. I hope you’re keeping safe and well. Here are this month’s book covers…

Air by Christian Kracht, translated by Daniel Bowles; design by Sinem Erkas; painting by Georges Rohner (Serpent’s Tail / July 2026)

Sinem also designed the cover of Kracht’s previous novel Eurotrash.

Astronaut! by Oana Aristide; design by Utku Lomlu (W. W. Norton / July 2026)

The cover of the UK edition of Astronaut!, published by Wildfire in March this year, was designed by Jack Smyth.

Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli; design by Kelly Blair (Knopf / July 2026)

There not really the same, but the phases of the moon reminded of the cover of How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu designed by Will Staehle for William Morrow & Co. from a few years back.

Cry For Me, Argentina by Tamara Yajia; design by Mia Kwon; illustration by Haley Tippmann (Bloomsbury / July 2026)

Dad Had a Bad Day by Ashton Politanoff; design by Luke Bird (Daunt Books / July 2026)

The cover of the US edition, published by Astra House in May, was designed by Rodrigo Corral.

Doonen by Keith Ridgway; design by Paul Sahre (New Directions / June 2026)

Exhibition by Alex Hyde; design by Anna Green; photo by Juergen Teller (Granta / July 2026)

Thanks to Sarah Wasley at Granta for providing the credits for their recent covers. I probably should’ve guessed this particular photo (‘Annie Morton, Forte dei Marmi, Italy, 1995, No.2’) was taken by Juergen Teller, especially given the book is set in the London art world of the 1990s.

Famous Men by Julie Buntin; design by Oliver Munday; art by Meghann Stephenson (Random House / July 2026)

Five Novels by César Aira; design by Erik Carter (New Directions / July 2026)

Gaining Ground by Joan Barfoot; design by Sophie Harris (Faber / July 2026)

Heart Eater by Sun Yung Shin; design by Zoe Norvell (Black Lawrence Press / July 2026)

This reminds me of something but I can’t remember exactly what. Maybe the cover of Rabbit Island by Elvira Navarro designed by Gabriele Wilson? I don’t know.

Kitten by Stacey Yu; design by Saffron Stocker (Sceptre / July 2026)

Big yellow type — still a thing!

I Made you Up Inside My Head by Marta Pérez-Carbonell, translated by Rosalind Harvey; design by Grace Han (Riverhead / July 2026)

It Will Come Back To You by Sigrid Nunez; design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead / July 2026)

May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry; design by Jo Walker (Granta Books / January 2026)

I’m very late to this one, but I have been hearing great things about the book (Transit will be publishing it in the US and Canada in September) and it was just longlisted for the Booker Prize.

A Real Animal by Emeline Atwood; design by Patrick Sullivan (Catapult / July 2026)

We Were Forbidden by Jaqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz; design by Jared Bartman (Transit Books / July 2026)

There is also a Barnes and Noble special edition which has a variant cover.

The Winds of Maracaibo by María Elena Morán, translated by Madeline Jones; design by Janet Hansen (Knopf / July 2026)

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Book Covers of Note, June 2026

Published June 29, 2026

Book Covers of Note, June 2026

Hey, hello. Don’t you know there’s a World Cup on? Here are this month’s book cover selections…

As If by Isabel Waidner; design by Na Kim (FSG Originals / June 2026)

The cover of the UK edition, published by Hamish Hamilton back in February, was designed by Richard Bravery:

The Au Pair by Teddy Wayne; design by Robin Bilardello (Harper / June 2026)

OK, so two quick things about this cover: one, it immediately made me think of the Nicole Kidman “Eyes Wide Shut” poster (which it doesn’t really look like?), and two, I really like the ambiguity of which way she is looking.

Bait by Eugenia Ladra, translated by Miriam Tobin; design by Gray318 (Daunt Originals / June 2026)

Close Relationships with Strangers by Krista Diamond; design by Matt Roeser (Simon & Schuster / June 2026)

Heather by Caitlin Mullen; design by Luísa Dias (Celadon / June 2026)

Hinterlands by Hannah Lucinda Smith; design by Sinem Erkas; photograph by Jonas Bendiksen (Profile Books / June 2026)

Land by Maggie O’Farrell; design by Holly Ovenden (Tinder Press / June 2026)

Make Strange by Niamh Campbell; design by Ola Galewicz; art by Jantina Peperkamp (Weidenfeld & Nicolson / June 2026)

Monster of a Land by Lauren Hough; design Tyler Comrie (Pantheon / June 2026)

I know there are two in this month’s post, but I still need more dogs on covers please.

Pool House by Mary H.K. Choi; design by Laywan Kwan; art by Virginie Schroeder (Flatiron / June 2026)

Prestige Drama by Séamas O’Reilly; design by Jaya Miceli (Cardinal / May 2026)

A Second Sight by Sarah J. Jackson; design by Owen Corrigan (Mariner / June 2026)

The Spirit of Stone by Wyl Menmuir; design by Holly Ovenden (Aurum / June 2026)

Thrilling Tales of Modern Men by Danny McBride; design by Chris Allen (Random House / June 2026)

What Came West by Josh Weil; design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday / June 2026)

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Published June 29, 2026

Cover Designs for a Series of Highbrow Literary Novels

I’m sure Tom Gauld‘s latest cartoon for The Guardian will resonate with a few folks around here…

I liked Tom’s recent New Yorker cover too…

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Sergio García Sánchez and Lola Moral’s “The Secret Life of Books”

Published June 5, 2026

Sergio García Sánchez and Lola Moral’s “The Secret Life of Books”

I love this new cover for the Fiction Issue of The New Yorker by artists Sergio García Sánchez and Lola Moral.

Is there a history of these kinds of cutaway illustrations on New Yorker covers? There was another Sánchez-Moral collaboration “Ready to Soar” a couple of years ago, and Luci Gutiérrez’s “Inside Story” cover for the ‘Cartoons & Puzzles’ issue last December. Then there is the New Yorkeresque poster for Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch by illustrator Javi Aznarez. Where did the inspiration for that come from?

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Book Covers of Note, May 2026

Published May 28, 2026

Book Covers of Note, May 2026

Hi. Hello. I hope you’re all keeping well. This month seems to have flown by so I apologise for rather rushing this out at the last minute.

I was reminded this week there are people in the world (some of whom should know better) who think that all contemporary book covers are boring and banal. I don’t really know where to start with arguments like this. It just seems objectively false to me?

Anyway, I hope these posts help dispel some of those notions and you enjoy this month’s selections….

Attention Seeking Behavior by Aea Varfis Van Warmelo; design by Michael Salu (Graywolf / May 2026)

The cover of the UK edition of Attention Seeking Behaviour published by Peninsula Press, was designed by Luke Bird.

Carryout by Hasan Dudar; design by Kathleen Lynch / Black Kat Design (University of Iowa Press / May 2026)

Complete Works of Ricardo Reis by Fernando Pessoa, translated by Patricio Ferrari & Margaret Jull Costa; design by Peter Mendelsund (New Directions / May 2026)

This is fourth Peter Mendelsund Pessoa cover for New Directions:

Dog Days by Emily Labarge; design by Jared Bartman (Transit Books / May 2026)

The Fifth Year by Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / May 2026)

Matt also designed the covers of previous Marlen Haushofer titles, The Wall and Killing Stella, for New Directions:

*The Wall* by Marlen Haushofer; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / June 2022)

The Hill by Harriet Clark; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)

Homebound by Portia Elan; design by Jaya Miceli; art by Andrea Bacca (Scribner / May 2026)

Honey by Imani Thompson; design by Poppy Loughtman (The Borough Press / May 2026)

The cover of the US edition of Honey, published by Random House, was designed by Michael Morris. Michael did a brief Q&A with Debutiful about the design.

Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller; design by Josie Staveley Taylor; art by Thérèse Mulgrew (Fig Tree / May 2026)

The cover the US edition of Hunger and Thirst, available from Tin House next week, was designed by Beth Steidle.

Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson; design by Luke Bird (Granta / May 2026)

The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin; design by Robbie Porter (Faber / May 2026)

Mare by Emily Haworth-Booth; design Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)

The cover of the UK edition of Mare, published by Granta in March, was designed by Jo Walker.

Murder Like Clockwork by Nicola Whyte; design by Jared Oriel (Union Square & Co. / May 2026)

Nerve Damage by Annakeara Stinson; design by Linda Huang (Knopf / May 2026)

New Skin by Sarah Wang; design by Oliver Munday (Little Brown & Co / May 2026)

Nonstop Bodies by Rennie McDougall; design Eli Mock; (Abrams / May 2026)

Pink Tongue Out, Blind Cat by María Paz Guerrero, translated by Robin Myers; design by Sarah Schulte (Phoneme Media / May 2026)

Returns and Exchanges by Kayla Rae Whitaker; design by Chris Allen (Random House / May 2026)

Tarantula by Eduardo Halfon, translated by Daniel Hahn; design by Adriana Tonello (Bellevue Literary Press / May 2026)

Vilhelm’s Room by Tove Ditlevsen, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell; design by Na Kim (Farrar, Straus & Giroux / May 2026)

Na previously designed the covers of Ditlevsen’s Copenhagen trilogy.

Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler; design by Cassie Vu (Hogarth / May 2026)

Ways of Listening by Rollie Pemberton; design by Matthew Flute (McClelland & Stewart / May 2026)

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Published May 22, 2026

The Librarians by Tom Gauld

It’s Friday so I’m posting comics…

Tom Gauld for The Guardian.

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Published May 22, 2026

Distracted

Jean Jullien.

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Published May 8, 2026

New Books

Peanuts, originally published on November 3, 1998.⁠

(via the Schulz Museum)

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Book Covers of Note, April 2026

Published April 27, 2026

Book Covers of Note, April 2026

Hi. Hello. I hope you’re keeping safe and well. I’m getting this month’s post out at little earlier than usual (i.e. not the 11th hour), and on a Monday no less, because I’m going to be in NYC the rest of this week for work. Even though this is a little bit of a quick and dirty post, there are still lots of covers for you to peruse and admire. Apologies if I’ve missed anything obvious and/or spectacular. I will try to catch up next month.

American Fantasy by Emma Straub; lettering by Jessica Hische; art by Vi-An Nguyen (Riverhead / April 2026)

The Blood Year Daughter by G. G. Silverman; design by Luísa Dias (Creature Publishing / April 2026)

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke; design by Will Staehle (Harper / April 2026)

Book covers on book covers on book covers… (I posted a whole bunch of variations on this theme back in 2014. It’s probably due an update)

Gilgamesh translated by Simon Armitage; design by Jaya Miceli (Liveright / April 2026)

It’s interesting to compare this cover to the one for the Yale University press edition translated by Sophus Helle from a couple of years ago designed by Jenny Volvovski:

Go-Between Girl by Andrea Gunraj; design by Talia Abramson (McClelland & Stewart / April 2026)

Haven by Ani Katz; design by Elizabeth Yaffe (Penguin Books / March 2026)

Hexes of the Deadwood Forest by Agnieszka Szpila, translated by Scotia Gilroy; design by Linda Huang (Pantheon / April 2026)

Like This, But Funnier by Hallie Cantor; design and illustration by Rachel Willey (Simon & Schuster / April 2026)

Nice to see a new book cover from Rachel who is busy doing art directing things at the New York Times Magazine these days I believe!

My Lover, the Rabbi by Wayne Koestenbaum; design by Jack Smyth (Granta / March 2026)

If anyone at Granta reads the blog, I would love to chat to someone about getting the design credits for your covers on a regular basis.

And the (very different) cover of the US edition of My Lover, the Rabbi published by FSG Originals last month was designed by Evan Gaffney.

No Ghosts by Max Lury; design by Tom Etherington (Peninsula Press / April 2026)

No Way Home by T. C. Boyle; design by Emily Mahon (Liveright / April 2026)

The Oak and the Larch by Sophie Pinkham; design by Georgie Proctor; art by Masabikh Akhunov (William Collins / January 2026)

A bit late to this one, but the art (which I would guess is a linocut?) is really, really nice.

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher; design by Keith Hayes; cover art by Ben Turner (Little Brown and Company / April 2026)

On the Calculation of Volume (Book IV) by Solvej Balle, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell; design by Matt Dorfman (New Directions / April 2026)

Here are the first four books side by side: