The cover story

What’s on the cover can be as interesting as what’s in between them, argues Deepali Singh

Read any good books lately as an ice breaker is passé. Saw any good book covers is the question that’s now being asked. Suddenly, as books change into something that will be seen more often on your computer screen than in your hands in the not-so-distant future, artists and publishers are celebrating a part of the book that may well lose its importance in the years to come — its cover.

Not surprisingly, a recent exhibition on book covers — The Art of the Book — held at Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre in Calcutta evoked nostalgia from all quarters. Sunandini Banerjee, senior editor and graphic designer, had created digital collages out of covers, merging them with images and extracts from books published by Seagull. Not many who saw the pictures framed on the wall believed in the adage that books shouldn’t be judged by their covers. A good book, the experts argued, often had a good cover.

Full report here Telegraph

What's in a cover

Covers are definitely becoming more important as this Deccan Herald story reveals:
“Can I help you with something ma’am? Are you looking for anything in particular?” asked the bookstore owner. “No, thanks. I’m just looking around to see if there’s anything interesting,” she replied and reached out for a fluorescent pink book splattered with contemporary kitsch artwork. The author’s name was unfamiliar, but what had caught her attention had evidently been the cover. A common story in most bookstores today. Whoever said, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’.

With everything from soaps, phones, beverages to films being offered for sale in ‘appealing packages’, book publishers seem to have taken a firm stand to not be left behind. Today’s customers are drawn to the visually appealing and so publishers have started giving more importance to all that is included in book design — call it aesthetics, call it marketing strategy, call it whatever you want.“The book cover is the first point of interaction with a prospective buyer. With so many titles screaming for attention it becomes one of the most important marketing tools. When we re-jacket an existing title, sales tend to increase quite instantly. We re-jacketed Amitav Ghosh’s backlist last year and were delighted to have book lovers buying their favourite titles even though they owned previous editions,” says Bena Sareen, art director of Penguin Books.

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