Best Book Covers 2016
As a designer, I’ve always adored book covers. And while I know I shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, I’ve always collected them! Whenever I see books that catch my eye; I buy them, I borrow them, I photograph them, I screenshot them, I wishlist them, I pin them and I save them. Here is my compilation of the best book covers 2016, based on everything I’ve admired and collected throughout the year.
Some favorites from this list include the bold typography of Swing Time designed by Jon Gray, the gentle collage of The Lesser Bohemians designed by Oliver Munday and the essence of Amsterdam as captured in The Evenings illustrated by Bill Bragg with type by Clare Skeats.
My love of minimalism can be found in Against Everything designed by Kelly Blair, in Shield of Straw and Sushi Chef designed by Janet Hansen, and in Homegoing, The Emigrants and Six Memos for the Next Millennium all designed by Peter Mendelsund (with the last two both forming part of a wider series design).
Please note: I’ve tried my best to credit all the incredible designers, artists, illustrators, typographers, photographers and art directors responsible for these book cover designs. However some details are harder to find than others. If you can help with any incorrect or missing details please let me know in the comments!
Best Book Covers 2016
Adios, Cowboy by Olja Savičević Ivančević, cover design and illustration by Sunra Thompson (McSweeney’s)
Against Everything: Essays by Mark Greif, cover design by Kelly Blair (Pantheon Books)
As Close to Us as Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner, cover design by Lauren Harms (Lee Boudreaux)
Beautiful Gravity by Martin Hyatt, cover design by John Gall (Antibookclub)
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, cover design by Jaya Miceli (Random House)
Cannibals in Love by Mike Roberts, cover design by Na Kim (FSG Originals)
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, cover design by Robin Bilardello (Harper)
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien, cover design by Jaya Miceli (W. W. Norton Company)
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer, cover design by Jon Gray (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, cover design by Peter Mendelsund (Alfred A. Knopf)
How to Ruin Everything: Essays by George Watsky, cover design by Ben Denzer (Penguin)
Invincible Summer by Alice Adams, cover design by Lauren Harms (Little, Brown and Company)
Island People: The Caribbean and the World by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, cover design by Oliver Munday (Knopf)
Love Like Salt: A Memoir by Helen Stevenson, cover design by Nico Talyor, art by Sarah Gillespie (Virago)
Midwinter by Fiona Melrose, cover illustration by Raquel Leis Allion, art direction by Bekki Guyatt (Little, Brown and Company)
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub, cover illustration by Leah Goren (Riverhead)
Moonglow by Michael Chabon, cover design by Adalis Martinez (Harper)
On Living by Kerry Egan, cover design by Ben Denzer (Riverhead)
Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner, cover design by Matt Roeser (Candlewick Press)
Reality is Not What it Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity by Carlo Rovelli, cover design by Coralie Bickford-Smith (Allen Lane)
Shakespeare in Swahililand: In Search of a Global Poet by Edward Wilson-Lee, cover design by Alex Merto (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Shield of Straw by Kazuhiro Kiuchi, cover design by Janet Hansen (Vertical)
Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino, cover design by Peter Mendelsund (Mariner Books)
Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrigue, cover design by Rachel Willey (Riverhead)
Sushi Chef: Sukiyabashi Jiro by Shinzō Satomi, cover design by Janet Hansen (Vertical)
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler, cover design by Oliver Munday (Knopf)
Swing Time by Zadie Smith, cover design by Jon Gray (Hamish Hamilton / Penguin)
The Art of Reading by Damon Young, cover design by Mary Callahan (Melbourne University Press)
The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan, cover design by Matt Vee (Viking)
** The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The Breaking Point: Stories by Daphne du Maurier, cover design by Neil Gower (Virago)
The Dogs of Littlefield by Suzanne Berne, cover design and typography by Jonathan Bush, art direction by Christopher Lin (Simon and Schuster)
The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald, cover design by Peter Mendelsund (New Directions)
The Evenings by Gerard Reve, cover illustration by Bill Bragg, typography by Clare Skeats (Pushkin Press)
The Graces by Laure Eve, cover illustration by Spencer Charles, cover design by Maria T Middleton (Amulet)
The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke, cover design by Allison Colpoys (Hachette Australia)
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride, cover design by Oliver Munday (Hogarth)
The Moonlit Garden by Corina Bomann, cover design by M. S. Corley (Amazon Crossing)
The Mothers by Brit Bennett, cover design by Rachel Willey (Riverhead)
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose, cover design by Sandy Cull (Allen and Unwin)
** The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop (Atria)
The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald, cover design by Peter Mendelsund (New Directions)
The Stargazer’s Sister by Carrie Brown, cover design by Oliver Munday (Pantheon)
The Start of Something: The Selected Stories by Stuart Dybek, cover design by Suzanne Dean, cover art by Marion de Man (Vintage)
The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, cover design by Mary Austin Speaker (Granta Books)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, cover design by Oliver Munday (Doubleday)
The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson, cover design by my dear friend La Boca (Faber and Faber)
** The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Portobello)
The Winterlings by Cristina Sánchez-Andrade, cover design by Jenny Grigg (Scribe)
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, cover design by Kimberly Glyder (Little, Brown and Company)
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple, cover design by Kelly Blair, cover illustration by Geoff McFetridge (Little, Brown and Company)
Version Control by Dexter Palmer, cover design by Janet Hansen, cover art by David Szauder (Pantheon)
Vertigo by W.G. Sebald, cover design by Peter Mendelsund (New Directions)
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, cover design by Kris Potter (Hogarth)
Walking in Berlin: A Flaneur In The Capital by Franz Hessel, cover design by Nathan Burton (Scribe)
War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans, cover design by Oliver Munday (Pantheon)
** Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey (Daunt Books)
What Belongs To You by Garth Greenwell, cover design by Justine Anweiler (Picador)
What do you think of these book cover designs?
What do you think of this list of best book covers 2016? Are any of your favorites missing? Do you have any recommendations to add? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this list of best book covers 2016 in the comments below!
Looking for more on book design?
If you’re looking for more about book design, see these related articles:
- Best Book Covers 2019
- Penguin English Library: The Complete List
- Best Book Covers 2018
- Penguin Clothbound Classics: The Complete List
- Best Book Covers 2017
