The 10 Best Book Covers of October
All Treats, No Tricks
Another month of books, another month of book covers. What my favorites from October lack in spookiness, they make up for in clever color stories, delicious textures, and a little bit of cheek. Here are my picks for the best book covers of the month:
Frank Huyler, The Red Dress; cover design by Emily Mahon (Bellevue Literary Press, October 6)
A brilliant approach to a descriptive title.
Kawai Strong Washburg, The Names of the New World; cover design by Rodrigo Corral (FSG, October 6)
Gorgeous colors and hand lettering.
Barbara Kingsolver, Partita; cover design by Robin Bilardello (Harper, October 6)
I love when a cover shifts almost imperceptibly from figurative to abstract as you look at it.
Nafissa Thompson-Spires, The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford; cover design by Dana Li (Scribner, October 6)
Great concept and color story, even better texture.
Anjet Daanje, tr. David McKay, The Song of Stork and Dromedary; cover design by Tom Etherington (Scribe UK, October 8)
The US cover for this novel was on my list when it came out in August; the UK version is even more mysterious. I’m crazy about the folding.
Will Maclean, Solace House; cover design by Holly Battle (Grove, October 13)
The devolution of an image into melty sludge isn’t a new idea for book covers, but is used to great effect here.
Julian Tepper, Getting Even/Letting Go; cover design by Emil Spiegel (Rare Bird Books, October 20)
I’m a sucker for a vintage patina. Bring us back! (Spiegel has redesigned Tepper’s whole backlist in this style.)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, ed. by Robert S. Levine, Nathaniel Hawthorne: Parables, Fantasies, Fragments (Library of America, October 27)
A simple idea, well executed, and perfect for the book at hand.
Anthony Roth Costanzo, Countertenor; cover design by Na Kim (FSG, October 27)
This cover looks simple, but it’s fairly daring—and incredibly charming—to place the text this way. A visual yodel!
Pol Guasch, tr. Mara Faye Lethem, Paradise Burns; cover design by Sarah Schulte (Peninsula Press, October 29)
Another UK edition—I love those blurred red shorts!
Emily Temple
Emily Temple is the managing editor at Lit Hub. Her first novel, The Lightness, was published by William Morrow/HarperCollins in June 2020. You can buy it here.
