The 12 Best Book Covers of September
Art is King
Another month of books, another month of book covers. In September, the month of Big Books, it was all about the art selection. Here are some of my favorites from the month.
Jon Ronson, The Castle; cover design by Matt Dorfman (Riverhead, September 1)
Dorfman does all of Ronson’s covers, and it shows; this one is deranged in the best way. I’m also very keen on the UK cover.
Marlon James, The Disappearers; cover design by Grace Han, art by Leasho Johnson (Riverhead, September 1)
An excellent choice of art cleverly paired with text.
Chloe Benjamin, Under Story; cover design by Grace Han (Putnam, September 1)
I love the cheek of the inversion, and the iridescent dots make it feel extra special in person.
Pilar Quintana, The Bitch; cover design by Grace Han (Riverhead, September 1)
It’s Grace Han-palooza! I love the restraint here, given the title, and the combination of font and color story is perfect.
Jon Else, Frenchman Flat; cover design by Thomas Colligan (Belknap Press, September 8)
Another excellent image choice and text pairing, if in an entirely different direction.
Emma Cline, Switzy; cover design by Oliver Munday (Random House, September 8)
Instantly memorable.
Emily St. John Mandel, Exit Party; cover design by Moesha Parirenyatwa (Knopf, September 15)
I’m a sucker for these pixel stretch effects—and again, I love the inversion!
Qian Zhongshu, Fortress Besieged; cover design by John Gall (New Directions, September 15)
John Gall always finds a way to make collage look new.
Gabe Bullard, Against Convenience; cover design by Jason Ramirez (Hanover Square Press, September 15)
It may be plastic, but it pops.
Naomi Alderman, The Strangers; cover design by June Park (Little Brown, September 22)
I always like grass on a book cover.
Ben Eastham, The Floating World; cover design by Rodrigo Corral and Adriana Tonello (Astra House, September 29)
These next two are a complementary pair, coincidentally published on the same day…
Rebecca Perry, May We Feed the King; cover design by Jared Bartman (Transit Books, September 29)
…and they both delight me for the same reason: they feel, like the books themselves, both serious and funny.
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.
