WIA2023 Longlist Category Highlights: Book Covers – Sponsored by London Book Fair

Meanapas.c 
Noah Ark Memory

Professional

This commission is for a book about Yeehok, who finds support for her trauma in the Noah Ark project. The illustration is inspired from Yeehok’s favourite drink, a bittersweet mix of lychee rose tea with espresso. The flavours and colours represent her stages of happiness and distress in one glass.

The illustration began life as a pencil sketch on paper, and then colours were added digitally.

Meanapas.c is a full-time Design Manager and freelance illustrator living in Thailand.

Niels Blaesi 
ABC Swiss

Professional

Commissioned by Bergli Books / Helvetiq, Niels created this illustration for an A to Z picture book with 26 double pages showing Switzerland from its most beautiful side. His use of basic geometric shapes and strong colour compositions characterise his clear, reduced style.

Niels Blaesi is a Swiss illustrator, designer and children’s book author based in Switzerland.

Patrik Svensson 
Refined

Professional

Commissioned by Deacon and Roth Publishing, this is a book cover for Refined, a memoir by Louisiana based Tracie Breaux. Tracie grew up in an abusive environment. A few blocks from her home was an oil refinery, serving as a kind of resting point for her to run away to during her young years.

Patrik Svensson is an illustrator and graphic designer who works from his studio in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Jan(Zixuan) Zhou 
The Woman in Black

New Talent

The illustration is based on the book and the West End musical The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. The artist undertook this project to explore the possibility of narrative Illustration, and think about how it translates across multiple products, such as a book cover or a musical poster.

They began by sketching on paper, and the finished outcome used Procreate.

Jan(Zixuan) Zhou is studied at Central Saints Martins in London, and is currently based in the UK. 

Col McElwaine 
To the lighthouse

New Talent

Re-designing this book that was originally published almost a century ago, Col explores the themes of introspection within the setting of the rocky isolated Scottish coast. This cover was illustrated digitally in a limited palette with hand lettered titles. 

Col McElwaine is an Australian illustrator and designer with a focus on editorial, packaging and motion. They are currently based in Meanjin and studying at the Queensland College of Art.

Rainbow Wu 
The Neapolitan Novels

New Talent

The Neapolitan Novels are a four-part series of fiction by Elena Ferrante.

The artist likes to depict female friendship in her illustrations. For this first book, she has illustrated characters Lila and Lenon watching the sea and reading Little Women together.

Rainbow Wu is a self-taught illustrator based in China.