By PJ Parrish
Good morning, crime dogs. I am probably somewhere over Lake Erie as you read this. Or maybe catching the bus from lovely Newark airport into Manhattan. It’s Edgar Awards time, and as banquet chair, I am going to be out of touch today through Thursday night.
So, as I usually do, I thought I give you a look at some of the nominees this year. I focus on cover design because — obviously! — I have not read all the books under consideration. I like following trends in book design and it’s important to talk about it here because many of you, being self-published, design your own covers or have a lot of input into whomever you chose to design your book.
Your cover design is one of the most important decisions you have to make. It’s your mini-billboard to get readers’ attention, whether in a thumbnail-size on Amazon, on an iPhone, or, if you’re lucky, on an actual book shelf somewhere.
A cover creates the first impression, and encourages readers to buy your story. That’s why it’s essential to invest in it. Please, please, I beg of you, don’t hand this important task over to your nephew Jerome who just aced his sophomore art class. Hire a pro.
Two quick things to always keep in mind: Pay close attention to genre standards to signal to potential readers that your book is what they seek. If you’re writing dark, hardboiled stuff, you need all your cover elements — color, fonts, graphics — to convey the MOOD of your book. And if you’re writing in the grand tradition of Mary Higgins Clark, you’re going to want to go for something less gruesome or gritty. Something like this year’s nominees for the MHC Award:
Second, pay attention to what’s hot in the market these days. Yeah, there’s room for you to be yourself, but it doesn’t hurt to know what’s catching the eye these days.
That said, predicting what will be effective is not easy. Last year, the trend was toward bold typography (mainly sans-serif), nostalgic revival, and very abstract graphics. I see this in many of the Edgar covers this year and experts predict this will continue.
In cozies and juvenile mysteries, large serif or cursive sans serif fonts depicted in bright hues are popular. In fantasy and thrillers, animated GIF covers are hot — images like drifting clouds or flickering flames.
Eye-popping color is a big thing across every genre. As one designer put it:
The era of muted tones and grayscale snooze-fests is officially over. Bright, bold colors are everywhere, and it all started with contemporary romance covers that looked like they were designed in a candy shop. But now, these vibrant palettes are invading every genre—fantasy, thrillers, even horror (the horror!).
That gritty crime novel? It might have a shocking pink accent. Your post-apocalyptic sci-fi epic? Say hello to vivid oranges and electric blues. Why? Because readers want their bookshelves (and eReaders) to feel like an art gallery—not a funeral procession. And let’s be honest, a pop of color is way more inviting than 50 shades of beige.
Other mini-trends: BIG TYPE that takes up the whole cover space, like this:
Collages are big right now. Oddly enough in young adult — botanicals! Also, stock photography is yesterday’s news; the fresh look is illustrations.
Now let’s look at some of the Edgar covers to see if what I just said holds water.
BIG BOLD SPACE-HOGGING TYPE
ILLUSTRATIONS INSTEAD OF PHOTOS
COLLAGES!
BOLD TYPOGRAPHY
AND A FEW COVERS I JUST LIKE
I find this nominee for Best First Novel just haunting. No screaming colors, almost black and white. (only trendy thing is sans serif font). Yet the cloud image around the woman’s profile amplifies the title and makes me want to read the story.
Another winner, I think. This Best Young Adult nominee could have done the usual stock photo of an amorous Asian couple in a clinch. But the illustration conveys a modern mood (look at their expressions — is that love or hate?) with a nod to traditional Asian art. Did you notice the half-hidden crane?
An interesting example of illustration rather than photograph. Not sure this one works, however, because the creamy background and water-color illustration might read too vague on anything other than a large format.
I’m conflicted on this Best Novel nominee. The setting is right there in the title but the combo of the green type and the murky street scene reads a bit muddy. BUT…then you see that one lighted window at the top of the building. Not bad.
Well, that’s all I have room for this year. If you’d like to see all the nominees and their covers, click here. Congratulations to all the Edgar nominees. This year marks Mystery Writers of America’s 80th anniversary. By the way, the 80th anniversary is designated as OAK. Which isn’t very interesting. Unless you’re thinking in terms of coffins or maybe Poe’s Cask of Amontillado.
Can’t even imagine the work that goes into being banquet chair, Kris! Hope you have time for a little fun, too.
Always enjoy seeing the covers of nominations. I like the MHC examples and The Paris Widow>/i> and Cold to the Touch for attractive and readable. Harlan Coben’s looks like shouting but that’s cuz his name sells. Can’t even see the author’s name on Find Her>/i>.
With aging eyes, easy readability is paramount. See-through letters and ones with low-contrast against the background are a turnoff.
I need a refresher on HTML. Or more coffee.
Ah, Debbie… you’re missing your “less-than” signs. These start the HTML tag (and the “more-than” closes it). You’ll get it eventually.
Thank, Harald!
All good stuff here. But the main take-away for me is usually the same as always: CONTRAST for the main title. All those shown above have it except “A Crane Among Wolves,” which doesn’t cut it for me.
For my books, I use the grayscale test. If it pops in grayscale, it pops.
That’s a great reminder, Harald.
Yes indeed to the gray scale test!
Great rundown of current cover trends with lots of great examples. This post is a very instructive reference. Have a wonderful time at the Edgars, Kris!
Very interesting set of covers. Thanks for letting us see them, Kris.
Although I almost always prefer colorful covers, I like “Cold to the Touch” very much. I almost shivered when I looked at it.
I really enjoyed this article. Great stuff. But as I read it a different thought tickled my brain. It was something a race car driver once said (It might have been Dale Earnhardt Sr.). It is this. If you follow the leader you will never be a winner.
That’s what following the trends does. You are always following the leader. I think covers are hugely important. It is the first impression you make on a potential reader. What impression does it leave when the cover look like all the others?
Think of this. You are a reader looking for a book in a neighborhood book store. You look at several books. The covers are all alike, big letters, same type face, and a hard to make out image that tells you nothing about the story. Even worse when you are cruising Amazon and flash through a couple of dozen covers in minutes. All similar to each other. No reason to linger over one or another. Then you come across one that is different. The image jumps out at you. The title tickles your mind. You know immediately if this book is for you or not.
These trends are determined by cover designers and maybe a reader’s pole or two. I think it is like a fashion show, all glitz and glitter but nothing you would could wear to work.
If I am buying a book, I want the cover to tell me something about the story, something that will jump out at me. Give me a hint about the story it is selling me. It needs to be unambiguous sends a simple message.
Most of these covers didn’t do that for me.
You make an excellent point about the sameness of the big type bold colors covers. But one sure thing I learned about publishing is that when there’s a trend they run it to death!!