The 11 Best Book Covers of October

Another month of books, another month of book covers: October was big, bold, and weird as all get out. I also threw in a couple of covers that I forgot in September but just couldn’t let go of…

Lily King, Heart the Lover; cover art by Amanda Hudson (Grove Press, September 30)

Striking, evocative, and perfect for the book. I’ve never liked orange so much in my life.

Mia Couto, tr. David Brookshaw, The Cartographer of Absences; cover design by Thomas Colligan (FSG, September 30)

Just beautiful.

Julija Sukys, Artifact; cover design by Kimberly Glyder (West University Press, October 1)

That meticulous hand-cutting! You have to marvel at it.

Brenda Lozano, tr. Heather Cleary, Mothers; cover design by Jaya Miceli (Catapult, October 7)

Deranged, in a good way.

Fredrik DeBoer, The Mind Reels; cover design by Kyle Hunter (Coffee House Press, October 7)

The placement of the numbers over the eyes gives this cover a gleeful weirdness that is woefully rare these days.

Grace Byron, Herculine; cover design by Ella Laytham; illustration by Evangeline Gallagher (S&S/Saga Press, October 7)

Color, pattern, image, style—and I love the way the title bleeds.

Ariana Harwicz, tr. Jessie Mendez Sayer, Unfit; cover design by Erik Carter (New Directions, October 14)

So simple, so brilliant.

Delaney Nolan, Happy Bad; cover design by Adriana Tonello and Rodrigo Corral (Astra House, October 14)

I love the inverted As.

Brandon Taylor, Minor Black Figures; cover design by Grace Han (Riverhead, October 14)

The depth Han creates here with just the text is masterful.

Michelle Tea, Little F; cover design by Tree Abraham (Feminist Press, October 14)

One of the best signage covers I’ve seen in a while.

Erin Somers, The Ten Year Affair; cover design by Emily Mahon; cover art by Shannon Cartier Lucy (Simon & Schuster, October 21)

A great choice of art married (haha) to the perfect text treatment.

Edward McPherson, Look Out; cover design by Arsh Raziuddin (Astra House, October 21)

There’s so much going on here, I don’t even know where to look—I find this oddly refreshing.

Hu Anyan, tr. Jack Hargreaves, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing; cover design by Rodrigo Corral; illustration by Klaus Kremmerz (Astra House, October 28)

All about the illustration here.