They say to never judge a book by its cover, but if we're being honest, everyone does.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
What's more, publishers expect you to.
It's meant to be intriguing and the first indication as to whether you are going to click with the story. And if it misses the mark, it's almost a form of clickbait.
That's something Lessons in Chemistry author Bonnie Garmus knows all too well. During her recent appearance at the Sydney Writers Festival, part of which was recorded for ABC iView's Compass, she said there had been complaints from American readers because of the book's cover design.
Lessons in Chemistry follows Elizabeth Zott whose dream of being a scientist is challenged by the 1950s society she lives in. It's a historical drama, but Garmus received letters from angry readers, wanting to know why - if the cover looked like a romance - did it break all the rules of a romance.
![Art imitating art? Since Holly Ovenden designed Emily Henry's defining cover aesthetic, other books have been inspired by the style. Pictures supplied Art imitating art? Since Holly Ovenden designed Emily Henry's defining cover aesthetic, other books have been inspired by the style. Pictures supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/641c4b2a-292d-4e75-945e-3f17521ea00f.png/r0_0_2000_1124_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Making something intriguing and accurate can be a tricky line to walk but when the cover design is done well - and the book is hailed a success - there's a chance that the winning formula will be repeated.
Take the cover of Emily Henry's latest book Funny Story. When the joyful romance hit shelves in Australia and the United Kingdom in April, it did so with the same bold graphic aesthetic of her previous four releases - Beach Read (2020), You and Me on Vacation (2021), Book Lovers (2022) and Happy Place (2023).
The person behind these covers is Holly Ovenden, a designer and illustrator based in the UK.
![The UK/Australian (left) and US covers for Lessons in Chemistry. Pictures supplied The UK/Australian (left) and US covers for Lessons in Chemistry. Pictures supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/888c1ddb-b92c-45c9-8bc6-8537ffa11ed0.png/r0_0_2000_1124_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I remember pitching to the editor to try something more bold and graphic for the cover, rather than follow the traditional romance route of script typography and watercolour-esque/line illustrations, which were popular at the time," Ovenden says about her Beach Read cover design.
"Emily's writing was joyous and hilarious with a modern tone and I felt this bolder graphic approach was going to make her stand out from the crowd. It was a risk, in hindsight, but seemed to pay off when the publisher asked me to continue the look for the next book, You and Me on Vacation.
"When the Funny Story brief was sent to me, the publisher had a list of scenes that they wanted me to illustrate for the cover. It was important to highlight the dynamic between the two main characters and keep the bold aesthetic with a new fresh colour palette."
But it wasn't just Henry's books - in Australia and the UK, as the American market has different cover art - that started appearing with this new graphic aesthetic.
![Emily Henry books featuring the designs of Holly Ovenden. Pictures supplied Emily Henry books featuring the designs of Holly Ovenden. Pictures supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/24bdddce-e141-4efb-8f85-2e24fd8a1506.png/r0_138_2000_978_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Covers for books like Love, Just In by Natalie Murray and Abby Jimenez's Just for the Summer have taken the same approach. Both authors have been likened to the Funny Story author, and when it came to Jimenez's release, it had a recommendation from Henry on the front cover.
Another great example of a cover that inspired copycats is Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club.
The bestseller's cover was a trendsetter, with its title written in two different fonts, and its limited colour combination providing the inspiration for other covers including Ian Moore's Death and Croissants and The Cornish Wedding Murder by Fiona Leitch.
![The design for The Thursday Murder Club has inspired other cover designs in the genre. Picture supplied The design for The Thursday Murder Club has inspired other cover designs in the genre. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hU74HdTxzzWB78D7znDAb9/e9a7a24f-4426-440d-a87c-eb960eee1608.png/r0_49_2000_1076_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Richard Bravery created the cover - so great, so iconic. Now everyone does the same," Osman told The Guardian last year.
"We're working on the next series. The two of us sitting there going, 'We'll show 'em. We'll give them a different cover, a cover that makes them go: Ooooh, that's what we need to copy now."
That cover - for the first book in Osman's upcoming series, We Solve Murders - was revealed earlier this year and it does have a completely different feel. It features a character's pet cat and has a more vintage feel to the Thursday Murder Club series.
So how do copycat covers come about?
Part of it's marketing. Ovenden says it's not unheard of for a book's position in the marketplace to be part of the initial conversation between publishers and designers.
But it also comes down to trends within the designs themselves - as long as it fits the brief.
"There are lots of visual cues that publishers like to use to signal to the reader about the genre, for example a silhouette of a man running away with bold typography on a novel has been used for many years to instantly indicate 'thriller' or 'crime'. However, not always!" Ovenden says.
"There has been a shift recently into cosy crime having softer, more illustrated cover designs ... In many ways book cover design acts like any cultural art form, be it film, interiors [or] architecture, there are waves of popularity.
"As a designer it's about knowing what works now and why, but also experimenting to go against the grain and discover something new."
Looking for more reads and recommendations? Browse our books page. Bookmark the page so you can find our latest books content with ease.