literature book cover

The 25 Most Iconic Book Covers of All Time

Isabelle Popp

Isabelle Popp has written all sorts of things, ranging from astrophysics research articles and math tests to crossword puzzles and poetry. These days she's writing romance. When she's not reading or writing, she's probably knitting or scouring used book stores for vintage gothic romance paperbacks. Originally from New York, she's as surprised as anyone that she lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Moreover, why do we seem to celebrate only the covers for books considered literary masterpieces of the 20th century, with a focus on midcentury design? Certainly there are iconic book covers from that era, and you’ll see some below. But there’s more to lionize in the history of design than this singular period and genre. I want to take a wider view.

I’m also not afraid to assert that some of the most iconic book covers have just come out. Because if we don’t believe that at least some of the best things ever to be made are being made right now , be they book covers, movies, music, or literature, then what is the point of making anything? I’d rather take a brave stance here and be proven wrong in the future than go with the same old choices everyone makes. Believe me, there are still plenty of safe choices on this list. So without any further ado, and in no particular order, the most iconic book covers of all time.

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

How recognizable is this cover design by S. Neil Fujita, with illustration by John Kashiwabara? So iconic that you can buy any number of T-shirts that spoof its design. To name a few, you can acquire a shirt to claim you are: The Rodfather (with a fisherman casting instead of marionette strings), The Dogfather (bones as marionette sticks), The Gabagool (for the fans of cured meats), or The Godmother (it’s pink).

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Here’s a classic from R. D. Scudellari. His work makes bold use of typography. The O’s tucked up against the L sort of make a face. Toni Morrison’s name lacks the dots on the i’s. The stacked S’s make a visual play on the assonance of the sounds. The wings are a little angelic perhaps and nod to the biblical title. Overall, this design is less about reflecting the book itself and more about creating something akin to a recognizable logo that proclaims this book to be capital-I Important. Which, to be fair, it is.

Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges

The cover of the 1964 paperback of Labyrinths from New Directions includes a photograph by Gilda Kuhlman on the cover. She was the Production Editor and Art Director for New Directions in the 1960s. This is one of my favorite books, and the cover is perfectly mysterious. I like that all at once it is sharp and curved, full of distinct shapes that form a curious collective. It merits being studied. It’s a perfect match for a book that’s always making you question reality.

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews 

Talk about iconic! Milton Charles designed the paperback, whose silver foil-embossed cover has a die-cut hole representing the house’s attic. When the cover is opened, a full page painting called a stepback reveals the creepy family, illustrated by Gillian Hills. It’s lurid and voyeuristic in the best possible way. The rest of the Dollanganger series received a similarly iconic treatment. If you come across an old copy that has the cutout and the stepback — later printings don’t have the hole in the cover — you’re a lucky duck.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Janet Halverson designed this cover in 1969. Its simplicity is striking, and the colors are vivid. I’m no ornithologist, but I’m guessing the fork-tailed bird on the cover is a swallow. Maya Angelous read the Bible twice as a child, and incorporated Biblical mythology into her heartwrenching autobiography. The Bible uses swallows building nests near the sanctuary as evidence of God’s love. Plus, their agility in flight makes them a bird especially emblematic of freedom. It’s a lovely and fitting choice for this cover.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 

Did you know this iconic cover of The Hobbit is Tolkien’s own work? You can read more about the changes to it over the years, but what a gem. The mountains are too pointy to be real. The runes hint at what kind of mythology we’re in for, and hey, don’t those birds look awfully big? Do you like this first cover the best, or did you prefer when they colored the sun in red?

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Edward McKnight Kauffer, who designed this cover, was known mostly for his poster art. It makes sense, therefore, that this cover is so eye-catching. The face on the cover is bathed in both light and shadow. The way the light appears to be falling from above as well as the criss-cross over the face perhaps allude to the beginning of the book. In it, the unnamed narrator describes his underground room lit with electricity stolen from the city’s grid.

Tender is the Storm by Johanna Lindsey

A list of the most iconic book covers without a Robert McGinnis cover is no list at all, if you ask me. I had to choose this romance cover because it was ultimately too hot to handle! The first printing really has the hero’s buttcheeks hanging out like that. But the next one put a red starburst over his loins proclaiming the book a “coast-to-coast best seller.” McGinnis is known for long, leggy figures and dramatic scenes, and at age 96, he’s still working! Check out Hard Case Crime for his recent work.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Jason Ramirez and Nayon Cho designed this cover that makes excellent use of the elegant and classic Lydian font, which has been a popular choice for book covers in the past few years. The gold lines refer to the art of kintsugi, in which broken pottery is repaired using gold. This powerful image shows that in making her name public and telling her story, Miller’s trauma is part of her history, but certainly not all of her.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

You know a book cover is iconic when it can be ported from book to movie franchise to theme park rides with ease. This cover by renowned designer Chip Kidd is a quintessential example of this. There’s a great episode of the Spark & Fire podcast about the creation of this cover. The image of Michael Crichton’s fax to proclaim “Wow! Fucking Fantastic Jacket” is not to be missed.

The Animorphs by K.A. Applegate 

This whole series has unforgettable covers, predominantly designed by David Mattingly. First published in 1996, Animorphs quaintly shows what computer graphics were capable of, regarding digital morphs between images. These books traumatized a generation with their depiction of the horrors of war and the loss of innocence that comes with it. Aimed at kids on the brink of puberty, these book covers do a great job showing how scary and confusing it is to go through big changes.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

There are those lamenting the “book blob” era of cover design, but I’m never going to be mad at bold, colorful covers. I think The Mothers , published in 2016, somewhat ushered in this era. With lines that perhaps suggest a human profile, or maybe not, Rachel Willey’s cover design eschews making an obvious and reductive choice for what motherhood looks like. The book explores the slipperiness of the concept as well. It’s an enigmatic and intriguing cover.

Night Shift by Stephen King 

No cover more terrifying! This cover has haunted me since I was a child, and Dom Brautigam is responsible for this nightmare. ( LeVar Burton is responsible for others. ) The first printing had a cover showing the eyes floating against a blue background. That cover had holes cut where the eyeballs were, like Flowers in the Attic ’s attic, so upon opening it, one witnessed the ( shudder ) bandaged hand. I’m sure that was a hell of a reveal, but I find the full hand image on the cover the iconically scary one.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Maybe it’s a cop-out to include a picture book in this list, but this one’s cover really does a lot of work. With the traffic light, we are instantly placed in an urban setting, a rare sight in picture books when this was published. Meanwhile, the child looking at his fresh footprints in the snow evokes the sense of wonder snowy days create. Creating magic out of the ordinary is something children are so good at, and this classic book celebrates that. 

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Talk about the line between pain and pleasure. This cover photograph by Peter Hujar is titled “Orgasmic Man,” in case you were wondering what’s really going on. Devoid of that context, it truly is impossible to say what the person on this cover is experiencing. Hanya Yanagihara’s books are for readers who, counterintuitively, enjoy books that will destroy them, so this image couldn’t be more appropriate.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 

A Farewell to Arms was the first work of fiction to be given the Penguin paperback treatment, and the iconic status of this design is quite undeniable. Only the general fiction in the series was orange, but that color certainly eclipsed the purple of essays and the green of crime novels, etc. Edward Young created the design, including the original penguin logo. That penguin has undergone changes over the years, and my personal favorite has a little roll of pudge and a jaunty foot in the air. What makes these covers so iconic is their collectability. They were color coded and numbered, making them something you wanted to line up on a shelf rather than discard.

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy 

This book made a huge splash, partially due to its brash title, and I think also partially due to this genius cover design by Faye Orlove. The pastel colors and square-within-a-square design call up a nostalgia for ’90s books. It’s a little Baby-Sitters Club, a little Judy Blume. The same way people have nostalgia for iCarly . But the title undercuts that wholesome vibe entirely. The pink urn and Jennette’s bemused, indifferent expression is icing on a messed up cake. Truly unforgettable.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This cover, by Greg Stadnyk, uses birds to represent Red and Blue, the time-traveling spies in this epistolary novella. They’re organic, but also a little glitchy. What a perfect way to show that even in a futuristic time war, the human desire to love and be loved cannot be denied. The cover is distilled to only these two characters, with no background detail, the way this novella takes such an expansive context to craft an intimate story.

Face Of An Angel by Dorothy Eden

As a die-hard lover of gothic literature, I had to include a “women running from houses” cover on the list of iconic book covers. It’s hard to choose a single cover to encapsulate this trend, so I picked one cover that includes many of the important features. This one, by Lou Marchetti, features a flowing white gown, a creepy castle/manor, and a conspicuously phallic turret with its light on. There are so many wild and wonderful variations on this theme, and we have other artists, including Victor Prezio, Elaine Duillo, Robert McGinnis, Walter Popp (no relation), George Ziel, Charles Geer, Renato Fratini, Allan Kass, and Harry Bennett, among others, to thank.

Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom

It’s rare for nonfiction book covers to get a lot of love, so let’s show some for this one, designed by Bookbright Media. As the author states in the book, “thick” is a descriptor in sociology to mean that a description is given plenty of context to situate it. The cover shows the other meaning of thick, with that wide H forming something like a torso whose figure is not an hourglass. It implies we will indeed be examining bodies and beauty standards. Thick is a work by a Black author whose work engages with race a lot. The stark black color centers that Blackness. Lastly, the handwriting look of the subtitle and author’s name lend a personal touch, letting us know not to expect stodgy academic prose.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Of course Frankenstein has received countless covers over the years, some of them iconic in their own right. But I chose this one to recognize the amazing era of pulp covers. The early days of the pulp paperback included reprints of classic titles in cheaper editions. And plenty got pulped-up covers that were, like this one, a little misleading about the content. This art style is undeniably striking. While I couldn’t find the artist of this particular cover, some artists known for their pulped classic covers are James Avati, Mitchell Hooks, Charles Binger, Ken Riley, Stanley Meltzoff, and Tom Dunn.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I think this book cover, designed by Ben Wiseman, is iconic for similar reasons that I’m Glad My Mom Died is iconic. They both call to an entire genre of literature with their cover design. Unlike I’m Glad My Mom Died , however, this one embraces rather than subverts that genre. Giving the title and the author’s name nearly equal real estate on the cover calls up dishy books by authors like Jackie Collins, Judith Krantz, and Danielle Steel. The author’s name is meant to tell more about what you’re in for than the title does. With this cover design, Kevin Kwan joins the ranks of authors you associate with breezy but gripping poolside reading. This book promises to be rife with excess, drama, and plenty of name-dropped fashion brands.

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Okay, so John Carter, the protagonist of this book, never took off as a cinematic franchise the way, say, Star Wars has. But tell me, how do we even have Star Wars without book covers like this? Anyone who’s lusted after Princess Leia in the gold bikini can thank artist Frank Frazetta. The way this 1970 cover blends sword and sorcery imagery with outer space imagery, in a pulpy style, sets a visual standard for an adventurous style of sci-fi. And you know a book cover is iconic when the original oil painting sells for $1.2 million at auction!

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

The hardcover release of Shatter Me had a cover that was a little generic, if I’m honest. It was a girl in the gown, not hard to find in YA fantasy, in 2011. This paperback cover features art by Colin Anderson, inspired by a photograph by Sharee Davenport and cover design by Cara E. Petrus. Now we’re talking. Eyes are reliable for grabbing attention, featured on so many of these covers. This eye motif carries into the rest of the covers for the series, making them a cohesive and arresting set. But then the details pull you in. Mafi’s use of strikethroughs, as seen on the cover’s tagline, creates an instant turbulence challenging readers to discover the truth for themselves.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I don’t think this cover is iconic because everyone reads this book in high school. It’s iconic on its own merit, embodying the melancholy jazz age style found in the book. Francis Cugat designed the cover, and he was a true one-hit wonder in this field, as this was the only book he designed in his career. Fitzgerald describes Daisy as a “girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs.” Turns out, he may have been inspired to write that by receiving early versions of the cover before the book was complete. It certainly would explain how the text and cover are so perfectly integrated.

I fully recognize that this list doesn’t get into all eras of book design. I’ll toss out there that I think yellowback books are iconic, I think mapback books are iconic, and I barely scratched the surface of genre fiction cover art. But I hope I’ve convinced you to broaden your scope when thinking about the most iconic book covers. Furthermore, do you think any of the best book covers from 2022 make the cut?

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• Tags: Book Cover Design , Self-Publishing , Traditional Publishing

While the famous saying goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, how can we ignore when the best book covers entice us with their amazing colors, patterns, and magnetic displays? We automatically pick up the book wanting to know more about it. Beautiful book covers have been attracting readers and book enthusiasts for years and years. 

Bestseller novels and books like The Da Vinci Code and The Alchemist are also known for their famous book covers. The fantastic storylines, powerful elements, and themes depicted on the covers are the things that make a book unforgettable. In this article, we have compiled a list of 50 best book covers of all time from different eras and genres.

1. Pride and Prejudice (The Peacock Edition)

The beautiful peacock feathers all across the cover look very enchanting. Illustrated by Hugh Thomson, this cover is one of the many popular book covers designed for this book. The peacock can be seen admiring his flock of feathers proudly. This edition of the book was published in 1894.

2. A Clockwork Orange

Published in 1962, this book cover announces the movie tie-up with the book. Penguin UK’s first edition of the novel introduced the iconic ‘cog-eyed droog’ book cover, which has since become a widely recognized and famous design. The designer did a clever thing by using a cog as an eye, which cleverly connects to both clockwork and the main character Alex. It went on to become one of the best book covers of all time.

3. The Grapes of Wrath

The cover of this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel depicts the main characters of the story, the Joad family, and how they have to leave their home in search of work. The book cover design showcases themes of the novel like human dignity, injustice, and the strength of community. The cover also represents the challenging times of the Great Depression.

4. American Psycho

The book cover art of this 1991-published book was based on a painting by American illustrator and artist Marshall Arisman, who made the book cover himself. The cover is a haunting representation of Patrick Bateman who is shown without eyes, also depicting a lack of conscience.

5. Brave New World

A dystopian novel published in 1932, the story is based on a world where people live in a superficial state of happiness. Being one of the best book cover designs, it portrays the aspects of dystopia and technology in the storyline. A peculiar globe can be seen on the cover to represent the futuristic world written in the book.

6. Animorphs – The Stranger

This well-known fantasy series revolves around 5 humans, the Animorphs, who can turn into any animal they touch. David Mattingly, the artist behind Animorph book covers used a special editing software from the early ’90s, Elastic Reality, to transform children into animals to make captivating book cover art.  

7. Fahrenheit 451

The first cover of this novel published in 1953 was illustrated by Joseph Mugnaini. The cover shows the main character, Guy Montag who burns down houses in which books have been found as a job. The book cover symbolizes fire and paper which are prevailing elements of the story.

8. When You Are Engulfed in Flames

The cover shows a literal skeleton smoking a cigarette. It represents the title that comes from a tourist advice card, author Sedaris discovers in Japan, where he’d gone to quit smoking. The first-edition cover was designed by Chip Kidd and features a painting by Vincent van Gogh.

9. Face of an Angel

The story follows a young woman who moves into an old mansion and discovers its dark and eerie secrets. The themes of this story are exceptionally showcased on the book cover in a gothic lady with a scary backdrop. 

10. The Catcher in the Rye

Illustrated by the author’s friend, E. Michael Mitchell, this iconic cover prominently showcases a horse image. It directs the reader’s focus to the significant symbolism of horses woven throughout the novel. 

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11. The Divine Comedy

This appealing book cover signifies Dante’s travels through hell, purgatory, and paradise in an alluring manner. The visuals of hellfire, souls, and free birds very clearly show the three elements. The cover indicates the theme of the poetry within. 

Famous book covers having minimalistic typography are not very common. The cover design of this book by Tony Palladino justifies the horror theme of the book through the distressed texture and ‘cut in the middle’ typography.

13. Frankenstein

Frankenstein has many iconic book covers. One of the best book cover designs is this cover which shows gothic and dark aesthetics featuring the famous monster representing the eerie tone of the book. The scene shows how the monster that Frankenstein created killed his wife .  

14. The Great Gatsby

This cover features the painting of a face floating above New York City lights by the artist Francis Cugat is one of the most celebrated and best book covers in literature. Gatsby’s misplaced idealism is represented by the renowned green light shown in the form of a descending tear.

15. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

The cover of this 2011-published book depicts the core of the book which is based on the experiment devised to test psychopathic behavior and how the brain works immaculately.

16. Night Shift

The eerie cover of this book which is a compilation of horror short stories, embraces the book’s scary and unsettling theme. The cover makes it clear to the reader that they are about to embark on a journey into the supernatural and unknown.

17. River Sing Me Home

Extremely pretty book covers that make us want to know more about the book are not seen very often. This book cover has beautiful hues of orange, blue, and red with a woman’s silhouette representing the main character of the story, Rachel. Around her are birds, representing freedom, adding a layer of dynamism to the cover.

18. Invisible Man

The first edition of the book cover was designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer in 1952. The cover incorporates a man appearing to be in shadows and darkness while looking at something in the light. The scene depicts the theme of the book in which the main character, scientist Griffin has learned how to make himself invisible.

19. A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea

One of the most beautiful covers, it portrays the Earth and Sea in pictorial form as mentioned in the title. The female silhouette depicted as a cave or erosion through which the sea can be viewed is a fascinating representation of an Iranian girl who is the center of this story.

20. A Princess of Mars

Frank Frazetta designed the captivating book cover of this science-fiction novel. The red backdrop and brown tones clearly show the setting of the planet Mars. Giant green creatures, a beautiful Martian princess, and the lead character John Carter, direct the readers toward the undeniably interesting plot of this book.

21. The Unbearable Lightness of Being

This cover has all the qualities, great book covers have. The philosophical themes, play of light and shadow and the hat picked up in the air evoke a sense of weightlessness or lightness in the viewers’ minds.

22. The Godfather

If you know classic book covers, you surely have seen this cover designed by S. Neil Fujita. Fujita’s famous logo design, which portrays a puppeteer orchestrating events, from, behind the curtain resonates with the concluding moments leading up to the last scene. The cover depicts power and control.

23. The Priory of the Orange Tree

The alluring elements of best fantasy book covers are incorporated into this cover designed by David Mann and illustrated by Ivan Belikov. The cover shows a beautifully designed orange tree imposed by a magnificent dragon displaying the power, magic, and fantasy in the story within. On the cover is a magnificent beast, the dragon Fyredel, who is a relevant part of the plot. 

24. The Wealth of Nations

The simple, classic off-white aesthetics of this book cover make it signify the historical relevance of this book. The cover represents the Industrial Revolution that took place in 1750 -1760 in England. Illustrations of people doing manual work with gears on the cover symbolize the industrial processes and the industrial capitalist system. It’s a unique representation of Adam Smith’s ideas about markets, economy, and wealth.

25. The Master and Margarita

One of the iconic book covers, this cover artistically displays the devil who, accompanied by a black cat comes to Moscow. The depiction tastefully showcases how the boundaries between the good and the evil are often blurred.  The illustrator of this 2016 cover was Christopher Conn Askew.

26. The Maiden

Based on a real-life case, The Maiden’s book cover has all the elements of beautiful book covers. Setting the historical thriller theme of the book, the backdrop with vines, plants, flowers and peacocks amidst the deep blue shade tells that the story might be more than what meets the eye. 

27. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

One of the most famous book covers of all time, this cover is well-known by people of all ages. The cover reveals an iconic scene from the fictional book, Harry Potter playing Quidditch. Harry floating on the broomstick with Hogwarts in the background gives all the feels of magic, fantasy, mystery, and adventure to the readers.

28. Intuition: Access your inner wisdom. Trust your instincts. Find your path.

Tuning your inner self to develop your mental, emotional, and spiritual awareness is the theme comprehensible from the artistic and mindfully designed cover. Illustrated by Eiko Ojala, this book cover is an amalgamation of different shades of blue drawing out a woman’s silhouette. The cover has elements required to be the best book cover design. 

Designed by artist Paul Bacon, the original hardcover first came out in 1975. This legendary black-hued cover chills our spines. The unaware swimmer in dark water and the monster killer shark approaching silently are what nightmares are made of. 

30. The Ghost Ship

Beautiful illustrations of the ship, dark blue colored background, and drawings of sea waves smoothly paint a picture of the aquatic setting of the story. The dark hues on the cover convey the piracy, mystery, and revenge themes in the book to the readers.

31. The Handmaid’s Tale

Very prominent in the story and covering half the book cover space, is a very tall wall. It stands out compared to the smaller human figures below. This strongly shows that the wall is impossible to overcome, representing how the handmaids are trapped both physically and mentally. This striking cover was published in 1986.

32. Instructions for a Funeral

The coffin-shaped letter cover is more than enough to gain relevance with the title. A creative and genius way to show the short story with the same title in the book. When asked about the title, the author said that the story itself has nothing to do with the title.

33. Jurassic Park

Designer Chip Kidd’s dream assignment, this iconic book cover tells its own story. Creating an atmosphere of thrill, fear, and awe, the book cover features a T-Rex Skeleton which points towards the narrative within the novel. The dark black skeleton and title of the book against the plain white background create a striking contrast.

34. Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings

The intricate and mysterious play of shadow and light on this iconic book cover is what makes the book, thought-provoking. The cover design displaying the labyrinthine patterns, is as enigmatic as the book itself. 

35. Pineapple Street

The novel revolves around a family with old money, living in New York City. The fun and captivating, colorful illustrations on the cover take the readers on a ride to the vibrantly decorated household of the family in the story. 

36. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

A free bird flying in the sunrise hues gives a sense of freedom, exploration, and resilience which the novel follows. The different shades of red and yellow add depth to the design. This cover design showcases a symbolic representation.

37. Get in Trouble

The cover art reflects the magical and extraordinary feel of Link’s short stories. It often shows a surreal image of an upside-down scene that suggests something unusual or otherworldly, pulling readers into the book’s world of unique and engaging stories.

38. Goldfinch

Based on the original 1654 painting, The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius, this is one of the best book covers of all time. According to the story, the main character steals the painting and hides it in a paper. The cover visual distinctly shows a part of the painting which is visible through a small tear in the wrapped paper.

39. The Performance

The Performance is a novel that explores the lives of three women who go to a theatre to see a play. The unique play of colors with the faces depicts the different shades of the women’s characters and the theatre reference is visible. It shows an abstract formalism.

40. Children of Blood and Bone

The book presents a world of magic, power, and danger. Rich Deas designed the cover to reflect the resilience, beauty, and Black heritage of the main young character. The white hair symbolizes Maji, a citizen who can summon magical powers. The cover offers a sneak peek at important issues like racism, oppression, and inner strength. 

41. Cat’s Eye

The creepy book cover by Richard Newton shows a cat’s face on a child’s body who is in the arms of a woman. The eerie cat-baby and its ferocious expression with the big green eyes send chills down our spines. It is quite evident from the cover that horror, supernatural, and thrill are the themes of this story.

42. Ghost Forest

The soft colors and symbols used on the cover show the cultural influences in the book. The undrawn face also illuminates a sense of an incomplete identity. It’s a gentle but strong picture that brings you into the artist’s feelings, giving you a hint of the moving stories you’ll find inside the graphic novel.

43. Winning Minds: Secrets From the Language of Leadership

The brain is the most complicated organ of the human body. These intricate details of the brain are represented by a tangled ball of yarn. A hand pulling the string from this yarn is trying to unwind a mess and show the influence of neuroscience. 

44. Despair

This strange book cover serves as a visual gateway into the unsettling, dark, and mysterious themes of the book. The uncanny image of a human body with a disfigured face attracts the reader’s attention quite quickly. The cover was designed by John Holmes who was known for his captivating style.

45. Little Rivers: A Book of Essays in Profitable Idleness

This cover falls into the pretty book covers category. The dark blue background and the beautiful natural elements like fireflies, vines, and flowers in golden and green embellishments are a reflection of the book’s essence.

46. More Than This

The yellow door amidst the cross pattern in the background symbolizes the death of the main character. Surprisingly, yellow symbolizes death and the novel makes us think about what being alive means. This strikingly variable book cover piques the interest of the viewers.

47. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

This book, written by the popular author Gabrielle Zevin, comes with a captivating book cover. The book’s title stands out on the cover in bright yellow, pink, and blue, giving a lively and optimistic feel. The vibrant background with a dynamic wave illustration perfectly represents the video game design base of the story. Also, the similarity in the font colors represents second chances.

48. A Small Fortune

Designed by Nicole LaRoche in 2012, this book has a minimalistic book cover design. A beautiful, fresh shade of blue as the background, and a kettle pouring colorful drops of what can be deciphered as tea show the different shades of the human life depicted in the story.

The mystical eye illustration in dark shadows and the use of black and red colors make it a bold display. The eye symbolizes the idea that “Big Brother is watching,” indicating how the government keeps an eye on citizens, watching their actions and words to avoid any political rebellion. Designed by Shepard Fairey, this book cover captures the essence of George Orwell’s dystopian classic.

50. Flowers in the Attic

A house with a captivating girl, Cathy peering from an attic window, a striking image makes this one of the best covers of the book world. The scared expression on her gives us the sense of being trapped. This unsettling cover perfectly echoes the haunting and dark themes of the story and attracts readers. 

We hope you are inspired by these book covers to make your own. Book cover design contains complex processes and an artistic vision which can be tricky. But if you need help in creating an enthralling cover for your book, professional self-publishing services are always there. 

Here are some more resources that you might find useful: 

• A Step-By-Step Guide to Self-Publishing – PaperTrue

Frequently Asked Questions

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The 50 Best Book Covers of 2021

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There is a common misconception that books are all about the words printed on their interior pages. That is, in fact, a falsehood that we are here to rectify. It’s our firm belief that the most critical part of any book is its cover, upon which the book’s merits should solely be judged.

Sorry, writers.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a roundup of the 50 best books—err, best book covers —of 2021. From typography-centric to fluffy, 2021 was a banner year for book cover designs, with our list encompassing an eclectic mix of styles, aesthetics, and vibes.

The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen – cover design by Na Kim

Dead Souls by Sam Riviere – cover design by Jamie Keenan, paper engineering and photography by Gina Rudd

O Beautiful by Jung Yun – cover design by Young Jin Lim 

Languages of Truth by Salman Rushdie- cover design by Jon Gray

Aquarium by Yaarza Shehori – cover design by Thomas Colligan

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue – cover design by Jaya Miceli

Black Girl Call Home by Jasmine Mans – cover design by Dominique Jones, photo by Micaiah Carter

White on White by Aysegül Savas – cover art by Lauren Peters-Collaer

The Plague by Albert Camus – cover design by Sunra Thompson

O by Steven Carroll – cover design by Jon Gray

I’d Like to Say Sorry, But There’s No One to Say Sorry to by Mikolaj Grynberg – cover design by Arsh Raziuddin with Oliver Munday

A Calling for Charlie Barnes by Joshua Ferris – cover design by Gregg Kulick

Antonio by Beatriz Bracher – cover design by Janet Hansen

Girlhood by Melissa Febos – cover design by Katya Mezhibovskaya

Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy by Adam Tooze – cover design by Jason Ramirez

Novel 11, Book 18 by Dag Solstad – cover design by Peter Mendelsund

A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke – cover design by John Gall

The End of Everything by Katie Mack – cover design by Tom Etherington

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner – cover design by Na Kim

Rabbit Island by Elvira Navarro – cover design by Gabriele Wilson

The Ghost Sequences by A.C. Wise – cover design by Vince Haigh

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So – cover design by Elizabeth Yaffe

A Shock by Keith Ridgway – cover design by Jamie Keenan

My Darling From the Lions by Rachel Long – cover design by Jakob Vala, photograph by Louisa Wells, modeled by Janine Tondu

Three Rooms by Jo Hamya – cover design by Kelly Winton

Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin – cover design by Luke Bird

The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams – cover design by Emily Mahon

Are You Enjoying? by Mira Sethi – cover design by Janet Hansen

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno – cover design by Sara Wood and art by Howie Wonder

Nectarine by Chad Campbell – cover design by Dave Drummond

Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin – cover design by Kelly Blair

Nobody, Somebody, Anybody by Kelly McClorey – cover design by Allison Saltzman

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian – cover design by Stephanie Ross, illustration by Misha Gurnanee Gudibanda

Outlawed by Anna North – cover design by Rachel Willey

Mona by Pola Oloixarac – cover design by Thomas Colligan

My Year Abroad by Rae Lee – cover design by Grace Han

After the Sun by Jonas Eika – cover design by Lauren Peters-Collaer

Field Study by Chet’la Sebree – cover design by June Park

Harrow by Joy Williams – cover design by Kelly Blair

Mrs. March by Virginia Feito – cover design by Jaya Miceli

The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman – cover design by Tristan Offit

Pessoa: A Biography by Richard Zenith – cover design by Yang Kim

New Teeth by Simon Rich – cover design by Lucy Kim

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood – cover design by Lauren Peters-Collaer 

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder – cover design by Jaya Miceli

The Atmospherians by Alex McElroy – cover design by Laywan Kwan

LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin – cover design by Tamara Shopsin

Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth by Wole Soyinka – cover design by Linda Huang

With Teeth by Kristen Arnett – cover design by Lauren Peters-Collae

Night Bitch by Rachel Yoder – cover design by Emily Mahon

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Last updated on Jun 29, 2021

The 45 Best Book Covers of 2020 — Feast Your Eyes!

While 2020 pumped the brakes on many of us, the publishing industry didn't show any signs of slowing down. With countless new publications this year came a bounty of gorgeous book covers for us to peruse and obsess over . To celebrate a great year in book design, we've enrolled the help of Reedsy's talented book designers to compile a list of the best book covers from the past 12 months.

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The Best Fiction Book Covers of 2020

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

We’ll start off with  Deacon King Kong , a release from Riverhead (an imprint of  Big 5 publisher Penguin Random House). It investigates inter-racial experiences in a housing project in 1960s and 1970s New York. Framing the title with a minimalist brushstroke illustration, designer Jaya Miceli accentuates the vibrant colors that signify these uproarious decades.

Verge by Lidia Yuknavitch 

While we’re on the topic of vintage throwbacks, Verge ’s stream of colors is another book cover that’s hard to miss. The design is bold and slightly psychedelic — just the right amount of complexity to hint at Yuknavitch's spectrum of short stories centered around people pushed to the limits of life.

The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

Designer Euan Monaghan shares with us his favorite picks of this year: two editions of The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld. One offers a pop of color, the other plays with negative spaces. “Both are intriguing and eye-catching,” says Monaghan, “and though two radically different approaches, they each manage to capture the uneasy, almost gothic nature of Wyld's story.

Cleanness by Garth Greenwell 

In contrast to the bursts of colors we’ve had so far, Cleanness makes good on its title with a stark photographic image presented in high-contrast black and white. The sans-serif typeface works harmoniously with the peculiar orientation of the photo and the deceptive lighting to create a stunning cover that clearly shows physicality as a central element of this novel. 

Cat Step by Alison Irvine 

Continuing on with the monochromatic aesthetics, we have Cat Step , an experimental novel from an indie publisher about a mother trying to find her way as a parent. Utilizing fragments of an image (one of the trends we’ve spotted in 2020 book covers), Luke Bird 's fiercely contemporary cover design really brings out the internal and external conflicts that Irvine's protagonist must face. 

The World, Silently Spinning by M. B. Maskovas 

Author M. B. Maskovas commissioned this bold design for The World, Silently Spinning by Matthew Revert after meeting him on Reedsy. Intertwining his text with a tight glimpse of antlers engaged in a bloody duel, Revert creates a chilling, mysterious atmosphere that contrasts the violence of the image with the silence of the title. It’s a little different from his usual, more colorful designs, but it brings the same sinister energy as his hallmark mystery titles. 

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Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars. by Joyce Carol Oates 

This book cover of Joyce Carol Oates's latest novel is all about the typography. Jason Anscomb , who recommended this design to us, pointed out how, along with the typeface, “the subtle interplay of the model, the shadows, and the lighting all make this book cover so memorable. It’s like a puzzle that takes a little bit of time to solve.”

Jamie Keenan , the designer behind this masterpiece, happens to be another professional you can meet on Reedsy! 

The Party Upstairs by Lee Conell 

You can almost see how much fun Stephanie Ross had when she made the cover for  The Party Upstairs , which features the kind of paper dollhouse you'd imagine Wes Anderson made as a precocious child. The level of details — from cardboard floors and the different wallpapers, to the intricate decorative paintings on the wall — makes it impossible not to love this design. 

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Pizza Girl ’s cover lives up to the NYT’s review of the story itself: “fresh, funny, and bittersweet.” The color palette’s allegiance to neon adds a burst of energy to the design, itself an ode to the 90s Southern California and its vibrant, pop-culture T-shirts. Simply put, this dust jacket has everything you need to zhuzh up your preppy bookshelf.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell 

The color scheme used in this version of  My Dark Vanessa is outstanding — a rare overlaying of blue on orange that can't help but attract the eye. By intertwining the blocky texts with the flowy locks of ginger hair, Jo Walker balances the different design elements while also creating a peculiar sense of mystery. 

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

This book cover for Rebecca Serle’s In Five Years was picked by one of Reedsy’s most requested designers, Vanessa Mendozzi . She shared that “the combination of gold and blue colors, along with the typography, is excellent.” It’s a dreamy cover fitting for the dream-like tale told behind it. (And how beautiful are those fine line drawings of NYC?)

Apartment by Teddy Wayne

If you check out Hokyoung Kim’s portfolio , you’ll notice that modern, almost cinematic illustrations are a specialty of hers. In her artwork for the cover of Apartment , her chosen perspective and use of shadows brings to life an urban tenement that holds a multitude of experiences, including a sense of isolation, which is exactly what the novel explores. Designer Patti Ratchford goes along with this, tilting her type and thereby creating a unique and unsettling cover. 

Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge (translated by Jeremy Tiang) 

There’s something about the cover for Strange Beasts of China that makes it impossible to look away. From the big feature in the foreground to the magnetically tilted shadows, the cover design seems to illustrate the point of view of the mysterious creature that Yan Ge's cryptozoologist protagonist is on a quest to find. 

Natural History by Carlos Fonesca, translated by Megan McDowell

Natural History doesn’t sport what you’d call a typical book cover — it features a manila folder, a very sophisticated drawing of a bird, several mysterious shapes, and scraggly writings. In the hands of an amateur, these elements wouldn’t comprise a whole; but with an expert’s skills, they come together to provoke curiosity with a razor-sharp edge. (That's our way of saying that working with a professional cover designer can make all the difference . 😉)

Luster by Raven Leilani

We have another duo for you with these two different editions of Luster . While they employ radically different approaches to color and composition, both versions pull the reader's eye towards physical features unique to Black women in ways that mirror the novel's exploration of the lead character's sexuality.

Weather by Jenny Offill

Weather ’s eye-catching collage cover isn’t just pretty. This sophisticated design parallels the fragmentary narrative style of the book — as John Gall shares in  his interview with Spine Magazine . 

All the Acorns on the Forest Floor by Kim Hooper

All the Acorns on the Forest Floor looks homely and delicate: from the little bird to the lower-case text, the whole book cover gives off a welcoming, heart-warming feeling that pairs well with the theme of family love that runs through the book. It’s just one of those designs that you can easily see hanging in a cozy living room. 

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 

This novel  has been taking the world by storm since its release in May, and the book cover is as beautiful as the book itself. Erin Fitzsimmons’s artwork is like a poster — it’s perfect for its young adult target audience, and also extremely effective at giving us a glimpse of the dual narrative of the book. 

The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao 

While this book was technically already published in Australia in 2018, it had a different title — Under Your Wings — and book cover. The 2020 edition published by Atria Books features a stunning yet faceless oil painting (portraits are a thing this year, as you may have noticed) against a bright yellow background. It elegantly alludes to the multitude of mysteries and the identity crisis that this volume uncovers — and it certainly wouldn’t look out of place on a museum wall.

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi

Let’s take a ride to the other side of the color wheel: Burnt Sugar ’s in-vogue purple cover. Against this backdrop, the deeply contrasted thorny leaves can easily catch the eye of passers-by. (To clarify, Burnt Sugar was published in July 2020 in the UK. Folks in the US will be able to get this lovely book cover — and Booker-shortlisted novel — on their shelves from January 2021 onwards.) 

Prosper’s Demon by K. J. Parker

If you’re looking for something a bit darker, Prosper’s Demon is right up your alley. From the historic attire to the smoking head, everything on this cover is intriguingly bleak. The style is not quite what Reedsy designer Christine Foltzer usually works with, but she does brilliantly nonetheless. It’s hard not to pick this up just to know what happened to the person in the portrait (spoiler alert: it’s got a lot to do with demonic possession). 

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

With all the detailed, delicately drawn objects laid out in it, the cover of Writers & Lovers almost makes you think of a curiously unmelted Dalí painting. Whimsical and laconic, it makes you want to look closer just to see what message each item may be holding. 

Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey

Featuring one of Maria Svarbova’s signature swimming pool photos, the cover of Topics of Conversation exudes a mellow air from the get-go. The white type that sinks into the photo, like it was etched into the tiled walls and dropped into the rippling water, ties everything together, making a harmonious cover. We can almost smell the chlorine. 

Ledger by Jane Hirshfield

As you’ll have discovered if you follow John Gall’s work, he takes a liking to putting books into his book covers (#meta). For this poetry anthology , he’s inserted a neatly opened (wait for it) ledger into the design. He’s also added some spice to the design by curving the lines of the bottom page and drawing attention to the author’s name. Clever, no? 

Rendang by Will Harris

Another poetry book with a different approach to cover design is Rendang by Will Harris. This was published in the UK by the publishing division of the literary magazine Granta, featuring letters in bright primary colors and a tape-like typeface on the cover. It's a testimony to the effectiveness of designer David Pearson’s “type as image” philosophy. 

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Kelly Blair’s minimalistic design for Transcendent Kingdom is gracefully simple without being forgettable. The tilted axis dividing the two planes of color also adds some dimension to the whole picture. 

The American Fiancée by Eric Dupont

This book ’s cover could have been chaotic, with the sprawling type layered on top of the detailed painting, but it is anything but that. Stephen Brayda skillfully pulled everything together and made a coherent design in which the text and the picture complement each other, making anyone who sees it wonder what the girl hugging a deer is up to.

Little Girl Lost by Cheryl Bradshaw  

The cover design for Little Girl Lost sparks curiosity. The title eludes the eye just the right amount, coming in and out of the background, while the golden hair right at the edge teases readers, urging them to flip the page and find out what’s inside. And that’s everything you want in a mystery book cover. 

The Woods by Vanessa Savage

The Woods ’s book cover reminds us once more of the importance of typography in book cover design: the text is in and of itself the art. In overlaying the title with scraggly tree branches and giving the letters different sizes, the designer creates a quirky but creepy sense of disorder that matches the book’s mystery genre while still maintaining harmony in the whole spread. 

Follow Me to Ground by Rue Rainsford 

The 2020 edition of Follow Me to Ground opts for a more elaborate design than its previous covers, featuring ornate flowers intertwined with the title itself. Despite the flowers, the design has a mysterious aura that goes hand in hand with the magical realism that the story brings. As for the closed eyes of the mannequin, that’s a clear nod to the disruption of the senses that’s about to go down as soon as the reader opens the book.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

If you want to instantly step into another world, do nothing more than pick up this book. The cover design is quite literally out of this world. From the deep dark background emerges the mysterious electric blue of another life source — which is what this science fiction epic is all about. Add to that the precision and control of a sans-serif type, and the cover leaves you in total awe.

The Best Non-Fiction Book Covers of 2020

Pelosi by molly ball .

Reedsy designer Stewart Williams ’s top pick for non-fiction is the biography of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. “This is a clean design with elegant type and a sensible, muted color palette that is still evocative, highlighting the central image. It’s a simple design: a no-BS book cover for a no-BS public figure.” 

Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener 

Here’s another suggestion from Stewart Williams: Uncanny Valley . (If, like us, you think he has impeccable taste, you should to check out his Reedsy profile!) It doesn’t feature many elements, but each is made with a lot of deliberation. The anaglyph 3D graphics and the neat typography immediately set the tone for the memoir, which is a story of a writer discovering the start-up environment of Silicon Valley. 

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given 

Ironically, the book cover for Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is astonishingly pretty. This hardcover version features a very bold combo of red and yellow for the title, which stands out effortlessly from the more mellow pink and orange backdrop. (And doesn’t this warm color scheme and fun typeface remind you of a delightful vintage ice cream parlor?)

We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper

Book covers are supposed to be memorable, and Alex Merto’s utterly haunting work on We Keep the Dead Close is as memorable as they come. The darkroom atmosphere brings us back to the 1960s, when the murder investigated in this book took place, while the shadowed photo of the victim sends chills down our spines. It’s the perfect cover: striking a balance between serious questions about justice and the thrilling real-life investigation that occured. 

Carry by Toni Jensen

The woodcut print-style illustration on the cover of  Carry is simply beautiful, with a red-and-blue color scheme that does a great job of letting the title shine through. Instead of obscuring this piece of art, the overlaying of the type on the illustrations actually nicely highlights the title while also incorporating it into the whole design. 

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall 

Sometimes less is more, as you can see with the cover for Hood Feminism . Instead of letting the illustrations stand in the foreground, the designer chose to let it sink beneath the cover, peeking through from the cut-out letters that make up the title. It plays directly into the book’s subtitle about forgotten women in the fight for equality. 

Mad at the World by William Souder 

If you love John Steinbeck’s books as much as we do , you may have seen this one before. Mad at the World ’s cover does everything just right: from the sepia-toned photograph to the elegant type, everything makes the reader think of nostalgia and literary classics. The image of a man’s back also makes a brilliant pair with this book’s intriguing title: it tells the reader that this biography will look inward, at this literary giant’s inner psyche and his attitude toward the world. Paradoxically, then, by turning his back to the reader, the man on the cover (presumably Steinbeck) invites the reader in.

The Inner Coast by Donovan Hohn

Donovan Hohn’s specialty is writing about humans and the environment, and this book is a collection of his latest essays. This cover design, beyond its brilliant composition with the text falling into a pyramid shape, is an apt representation of Hohn’s writing: the place where the wide ocean meets our man-made homes. 

The Art of War by Sun Tzu, translated by Michael Nylan

Here we’ve got another new edition of a classic text, The Art of War , and Jaya Miceli scores again with an uncomplicated design. The armor and strong, bold type that nestles in it does the job beautifully, though Miceli also played with the lighting to keep the cover from being one-dimensional. 

HumanKind by Brad Aronson  

HumanKind ’s book cover is just heart-warming, despite its use of cool colors. The illustrated cover art gives it a lovable, child-like quality that makes this non-fiction somewhat more approachable. It’s also perfect for this incredibly loving story about friends and family coming together to support a woman in her struggle with leukemia. 

World of Art collection published by Thames and Hudson

To cap things off, we have the new editions of the World of Art collection , each of which provide an overview of a style or artist. These are elegantly simple, allowing for the art featured in the middle to strike an impression with passers-by. They’re also very pretty on the inside, thanks to the handiwork of Reedsy’s Adam Hay .

As you can see, it has been a relatively busy year for the cover design world, and we by no means could’ve captured all of that creativity within a single post. But we do hope that these managed to give you some inspiration (perhaps even the names of some designers you want to reach out to) or even just get you evermore excited about books.

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