Book Cover Design Through the Eyes of Authors + the Australian Book Design Awards Shortlist
The shortlist for the 2023 Australian Book Design Awards has been released and it’s a great opportunity for authors to see the standards the industry upholds as top of the book design tops.
It’s also a smart way to find the names of book cover and book interior designers whose work resonates with you. Why? So you can recommend them to your publisher (if going the traditional publishing route) or so you can contact them to design your book cover (if you’re self-publishing). You can also create mood boards of your favourite book covers so that when your manuscript is ready, you have plenty of sources of inspiration.
Poet and journalist Thuy On has also written a great piece for ArtsHub which covers book covers from the author perspective. It was so interesting to read the experiences of authors when it came to the book cover design process… especially that of the poets whose creative perspective and direction – and the resulting covers – were so inspired and strong. Thuy also interviewed me about my experience seeking the perspective of librarians and booksellers when settling on the cover (designed by Melbourne-based designer Tess McCabe) for Look-It’s Your Book! Write, Publish & Promote Your Non-Fiction Book (A Self-Publishing Guide for Australian Writers).
You can read Thuy On’s Artshub article here: Who Judges Book Covers? We All Do (May 3, 2023)
The 2023 ABDA Shortlist is available here: Australian Book Design Awards 2023 Shortlist
You might also get some good tips from my previous blog posts on:
- Why interior cover design can be so important to your book’s success
- How cover design can affect your chances of winning awards for your non-fiction business book
- Some of the Australian book cover designers long listed for last year’s (2022) Australian Book Design Awards
Get your book cover right and you will give your book the best chance at success.