WIA2024 Shortlist Showcase – Book Covers
This year’s Book Cover Category Shortlist harnesses the power of single image storytelling, creating dynamic covers for a diverse roster of genres and authors.
Image Credit: Yunny Qu – Bon Voyage Bunny
Eye-catching, bold and emotive. This year’s Book Cover Category showcases illustrations ability to enhance narratives and captivate new audiences. From crime novels to classics our shortlisted illustrators showcase the diversity of illustration across the publishing industry.
The Book Covers category is sponsored by the UK’s No.1 book fair, London Book Fair, showcasing the future of the publishing industry.
We’re thrilled to share a curated selection of highlights from the New Talent and Professional shortlist as well as our judges’ reflections and illustrator interviews.
Chenyu Wang
Book Cover for 3 Crime Novels of Jo Nesbo
New Talent
This self initiated project, born out of a love for Jo Nesbo’s crime novels, showcases a series of covers of their favourite books.
The sleek monochrome palette creates a uniform style. Using striking icons to hint to the narratives.
The wrap around cover designs are melancholy, showing the power of minimal yet impactful illustration.
Chenyu Wang is an illustrator based in the USA
You can view the full project here
We asked Anna Ridley, one of our Book Covers Category Judges for her thoughts on this project:
I thought this was a clever re-positioning of a crime author’s novels. The illustrations use a limited colour palette to maximum effect, and the added use of texture elevates this from a design that is purely graphic to something more nuanced. The way the landscape continues across the jacket feels very luxurious and I thought it was clever the way the illustrator aligned the horizon lines on all three to create a consistent spine design across the series.
Sarah Lang-Rybicka
A Magical Journey
New Talent
This fantastic tale showcases a story of main characters Diana and her cat Spencer as the pair go on a journey to find a magical dragon egg.
Capturing a whimsical feeling using bright colours and hints to the stories surroundings such as the under water wonderland and the vast mountains they pass through.
The cover also features a playful use of character design showing both characters with a snorkel mask on.
Illustrated using a mixture of pencil line work before being finalised digitally.
Sarah Lang-Rybicka is an illustrator based in Poland
You can view the full project here
Our Book Covers judge Tom Velčovský shared his thoughts on this project:
I love the style and ideas of this cover. It makes me want to read the book.
Meiqi Jiang Departure From That Moment
New Talent
Using colour pencil and watercolour, this project dives deep into the artist’s journey of saying goodbye to a relationship that was still full of beautiful memories.
The technique carries a lot of emotion feeling unpredictable and loose. Combined with a dynamic composition creating that sense of movement hinting to the subject matter of departing. Despite being about goodbyes, the use of vibrant colours shows this is a natural and positive end and a sign of moving towards the future.
Meiqi Jiang is an illustrator based in the USA.
You can view the full project here
We asked Book Covers Category Judge Anna Ridley for her thoughts on this project:
The illustrations are designed to wrap around the spine, which I can imagine being really effective. The negative space inside each silhouette draw attention to quite detailed line and paint work, and the use of colour is very nuanced.
Balbusso Twins – Margaret Atwood masterpieces
Professional
Designing a series of cover artwork for the iconic Margaret Atwood novels is no easy feat. But these striking covers designed for Corriere Della Sera perfectly capture the atmosphere of each of the novels.
Using a graphic style to create a graphic yet emotive design. The use of shape immediately captures the audience and gives the original covers a fresh perspective. The limited use of colour and heavy use of black also allows for the designs to hold together as a series.
The Balbusso Twins are an Italian illustration duo.
You can view the full project here
We asked Book Covers Category Judge Anna Ridley for her thoughts on this project:
A striking, contemporary design with sophisticated symbolism and an attractive package
Carla Manea – Sarò la tua memoria (I’ll be your memory)
Professional
This emotive cover captures the story of The Italian journalist Calabresi tells us the true story of J. Edwards. Illustrating themes of memory, loss and family ties the book.
The book shares the importance of the memory of his grandmother and how memory can be kept alive through story, experiences and love. The printery quality of the digital illustration appears to reflect mono prints. Evoking a sense of finger prints mapped on skin as memories.
Hints to the horrors of Auschwitz are illustrated in the background whilst the smaller figure is led by their grandmother as they walk across the large hand, passing through their experiences.
Carla Manea is an illustrator based in Italy.
Yunny Qu – Bon Voyage Bunny
Professional
This whimsical illustration was created using watercolours, pencils and pastels, depicting two fairies wishing a little bunny the best of luck on his journey in his little boat.
The symmetrical composition creates a dreamlike quality reflecting the fantasy narrative, with the bunny almost appearing as a reflection of the moonlight on the water.
Using traditional materials such a watercolour, pastel and pencil. The illustration has a soft hazy feeling that feels warm and comforting.
Yunny Qu is a Chinese illustrator based in the UK.
You can view the full project here
Our book covers judge Jenny Grigg shared her thoughts on this project:
Truly enigmatic. Clever composition, use of scale and entire tonal monochrome range.
Illustrator Interviews
We asked illustrator illustrator Carla Manea what excites her most about being Shortlisted for her project ‘Sarò la tua memoria (I’ll Be Your Memory)‘:
WIA brings an opportunity for global exposure and connecting with new commissioners and colleagues around the world. It also encourages me to keep working hard in the illustration field.
We asked illustrator Ginevra Rapisardi what she loved most about her shortlisted project Book Cover for the novel Whale:
The whale-shaped building makes me smile. As a former architect, I loved being able to expand my imagination and create this dreamlike structure through my illustration.
If you enjoyed reading this curated list, be sure to keep check out the rest of the WIA2024 Shortlist Showcase.
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