Category: 2011 Book Covers

2011 Best Book Cover

Winner of the 2011 Readers’ Choice Best Book Cover
as voted by LDS Publisher blog readers
is…

 

Author: Laura Bingham
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Megan Whittier
Here is the award image that you may download for use on your website or blog.

Winner of the 2011 LDS Publisher’s Choice 
Best Book Cover is…
Publisher: Daniel Coleman
Cover Design: Jodie Coleman
Here is your award image that you may download for use on your website or blog.

Congratulations! I’m excited to see the covers 2012 will bring.

2011 Genre Finalist Awards

Before I announce the overall 2011 Best Book Cover Winners, here is a recap of the genre finalists and the awards. Authors, publishers and cover designers may download the award image and upload it to your own blogs and/or websites, if desired.

Readers’ Choice Genre Winners
(Click on the Genre link to see details about the cover.)

Genre: Historical

Genre: Romance

Genre: YA General

LDS Publisher’s Choice Genre Winners
(Click on the Genre link to see details about the cover
& my comments about each cover.)

The Tomb Builder by E. James Harrison (tie)
Genre: Historical

Garden Plot by  Kristen McKendry

Genre: Romance

Take the Silver Award if your book was one of the five genre finalists, but is not on the list for Readers’ Choice or LDS Publisher’s Choice.

A Sermon and A $50 Amazon Gift Card Contest

Today is the last day to vote for your favorite 2011 book cover. It ends at MIDNIGHT, Mountain Time, tonight.

I’m seeing a lot of posts and tweets that say things like, “Yay, I made the finalists! Go vote for my book.” And a lot of replies that say things like, “I hope you win! I voted for you like you asked.”

While I’m grateful for the help in spreading the word, just a reminder, this should NOT be a popularity contest, as in “Because I’m your friend, I’m voting for you…”

Please, please, please…

As you spread the word, tell your friends to vote for the cover they like best. It may very well be your cover. But then again, it may not be.

I realize I can’t control this and you may not be able to control it either. I mean, your mother is going to vote for your cover even if she thinks it’s the most hideous thing she’s ever seen. Just saying, please, encourage people to vote for the cover they find the most visually appealing.

End of sermon.



Now for the Whitney Reading Contest…

LDS Women’s Book Review is sponsoring their 2nd Annual “Read ‘Em All” Challenge and I’m signing up! I didn’t get all of them read last year, but this year, I’m on schedule!

(See my sidebar? I’m more than halfway done.)

Here’s the post with the details:
How to Read 35 Books in 81 Days and a Challenge

Let me know in the comments if you’ve joined too. I want to know how steep my competition is.

2011 Best Cover Finalists

The Readers’ Choice in each of the genre categories are now going head-to-head for the 2011 Best Cover of the Year Award! They are listed below in alphabetical order. Use the poll at the bottom of the post to cast your vote.

Remember, you’re voting for your favorite COVER, 
not the story you liked best or the author who is your best friend.  
  
Voting deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2012; midnight, Mountain Time.
  

Publisher: Cedar Fort   
Cover Design: Danie Romrell

Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Cover Design: Barry Moser
 Embers of Atlantis by Tracy Hickman
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Cover Design: Mathias Kollros
Publisher:? (Temporarily unavailable;
will be back on market end of February.)
Cover Design: Jodie Coleman

 

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen

 

Janitors by Tyler Whitesides
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Book Cover: Brandon Dorman

 

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen

 

Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: Christina Marcano
  
  
  NYC: Murder Brooklyn Style by Loraine Scott
Publisher: American Fork Arts Council Press
Cover Design: Daniel Silva
Variant by Robison Wells
Publisher: HarperTeen
Cover Design: ??
Wings of Light by  Laura Bingham
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Megan Whittier
IMPORTANT—Additional voting guidelines:
The free polls will only let me list 10 answers per poll, and there are 12 finalists. (Ooops! Didn’t realize that earlier.) Although there are TWO polls posted below, I’m trusting in your integrity when I ask you to please only vote in ONE of the polls—either A or B, but not both.

Each of these books have won the Readers’ Choice Award for their category. I will post the LDS Publisher Choice Awards for genre and overall cover winners after the voting is completed.

Final Day to Vote for 2011 Covers

Today is the final day to vote for your favorite 2011 Book Covers. There are 12 genre categories. If you haven’t voted, please scroll back through the past several posts and vote in each of the categories using  the polls at the bottom of the posts.

Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, 
not the story or the author.  
    
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
     

2011 Children/Middle Grade Realistic Book Covers

Realistic, as in more realistic than straight fantasy, although a
few of these have some fantastical elements to them.

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 

Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Cover Design: Barry Moser
What I liked about this one is the traditional illustrative look and feel of it. I love the nose-to-nose of the cat and mouse which brings the focus right there. I also like the curved type of the title and subtitle. And the illustrations on the inside are darling! (Click the link on the title to go to Amazon, then click the “Look Inside!” option.)
 
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Brian Halley
I love that creepy guy behind the children. That grabbed my attention right away. The cloudy eyeball totally freaks me out—in a deliciously hideous sort of way. This would be a book that I would have stored face down when I was in elementary school. The one downside to this cover, in my opinion, is it feels a little busy. There’s too much going on for me to have chosen it as the best in this category. But still, it gives me the creepy shivers every single time I look at it, so it HAD to be a finalist.

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Rachel Sharp/Megan Whittier
This cover would really have appealed to son when he was younger. I think the cartoony look to it grabs the attention of readers who want something fun, but not too deep. I like the illustration of the boy on the front. And I love those paint splats. Fun!
 
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Cover Design: Sally Gardner
I have really enjoyed all the covers in the Splurch Academy series. I think Sally Gardner does a great job illustrating these books. This one, however, has something special to it. I love the yellow that brings your eye right to the boy. I also love all those tentacles coming out of the pool. I think this cover hits the target reader perfectly.
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Jen Boss
I haven’t read this book so I don’t know if the cover matches what is inside but the title and the cover design match perfectly! Everything about it evokes long and lazy summer days, walking barefoot, maybe splashing around a swimming hole or picking strawberries. I love the girl’s face and that big floppy hat. I love the font choices for the title, the mountains in the background, the farm, the swirly stuff. Often when you have this many items on a cover to look it, it can feel crowded and busy but this one just worked for me. I love everything about it and that’s why it’s my pick for this genre.
 

2011 Children/Middle Grade Fantasy Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
Voting guidelines & details here.  

Hazzardous Universe by Julie Wright
Publisher: Covenant
Book Art: Kevin Wasden

This is a fun cover. I like the font choice. I love the connecting lines that look sort of like alien circuitry. (Not that I really know what alien circuitry would look like, but it gives me that feeling.) I love the placement of the two kids in the center, and the stylized illustrations. I also love the two aliens. They’re fun and add to the cover without taking away from the human children. The internal illustrations are great too.

 The Horn of Moran by M.L. Forman
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Book Cover: ??

I love the colors on this one. I like the blue and purple together. I love the font choice for the title. I like the illustration and the way that face is sort of hidden in the black swoosh. (How many of you missed that? I did the first several times I looked at it.) I think this would definitely appeal to 9 to 12 year old fantasy readers. The series title, Adventurers Wanted, gets a little lost there at the top, but otherwise, this is really cool.

Janitors by Tyler Whitesides
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Book Cover: Brandon Dorman

Now this is one awesome cover! I think it’s the best one by Brandon Dorman that I’ve seen. Great colors. Great illustration. It feels very 3D to me—those muscles just bulge off the page and the steam from the mop pot seems to flow right out at me. I love the title font and the way the “T” was done, but the author’s name gets a little lost in the image. Otherwise, Totally Cool! This was almost a tie. I went back and forth for a long time between this cover and the one I finally chose, so I’m very glad it won the Readers’ Choice award for the genre.  

Return to Exile by E.J. Patten
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Book Cover: John Rocco

This is my choice for the genre winner. Why did I pick it over Janitors? Because it gives me a little more information. The boy is running, as if he’s being chased. That creepy tree and those creepy birds are pretty awesome. But the think that got it for me? The steampunk/clockworks imagery. I don’t know if the story is steampunk at all (it’s still on my To Read list) but the cover is fascinating and creates all sorts of questions in my  mind: What’s he running from? Is he the hunter or the hunted? What do those clockworks have to do with the story? And Return to Exile? Really? Why? The cover alone put it on my reading list—and that’s what a cover is for. Great job.

 Skipping Stones at the Center of the Earth by Andy Hueller
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Book Cover: Angela D. Olsen

I love this cover. It, too, has a 3D feel to it. I like the dark red clouds (I’m assuming magma) at the top and the way the building gradually appears out of them and draws your eye down to the center of the image of the boy skipping rocks. I like how the rocks and the water are bigger, giving the image the feeling of depth. The only issue I have is that it’s got an awfully long title that sort of takes over the cover. But given that, the the designer did a great job curving that top line of text down, then using the word Earth to almost point our eye down to the central image. Very well done.  

 

2011 YA Speculative Book Covers (Girls)

And by “girl” I mean these covers totally appeal to girls.
Boys probably would not be caught dead carrying them around.

& just a note…this was the hardest category for me to narrow down
because I loved so many of the covers in this genre.

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 

Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.

As I said earlier, this was the hardest category for me to pick a winner. YA fantasy is the genre I read for pure pleasure, so I am the target reader here. It was hard to pick only five covers and of these five, it was really hard to pick only one winner. Every single one of these covers caused me to look again—which is what you want a cover to do. Every single one of them are on my To Read list because the covers were so intriguing that I had to read the promo/sample chapters. I’d already purchased four of them before this contest, and I plan to get the fifth one too. That is the power of a good cover.
 

Become by Ali Cross
Publisher: Ninjas Write Publishing
Cover Design: Ali Cross/Fanye L.O.

I enjoy YA paranormal stories and this cover captures the feel of that genre. I love the central character image—beautiful, intriguing. The author’s name stands out clearly but doesn’t detract from the image. I love the purple of the title and the way it provides a bright contrast to the darker blue-green-gray image. The short, one-word title dominates the bottom of the cover but, again, doesn’t distract from the central image. I’m not sure I would have chosen the title font. I like the swirlyness of the B, but the rest of it is pretty basic script. And the bevel or outline blurs it a bit. I do like the script of the subtitle. Adds to the intrigue of the book and balances the entire image as a whole.
 

Crossed by Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Cover Design: ??

I loved the cover for Matched but I like this one even better. My eye goes right to that image of the girl breaking from the blue globe. So intriguing. It has movement and power. I like the way the fractured glass goes flying off the edges. The blue is a great color choice against the gray background, and the gradient adds interest. I like the simplicity of the title font, and that backwards R adds intrigue. Reminds me a little of some of the USSR imagery…(wonder if that was intentional). I like the Y and the I in the author’s name. Her name is so small compared to the rest of the cover but the space around it makes it stand out. This is a book that I’d buy for the cover alone. So of course, it gets my pick for this genre. 

 The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Cover Design: ??

This cover excels at fontage. First, there’s the title. AWESOME! I love the way the letters are different sizes and how the K fits into the C. That entire word is fantastic. I like the way the author’s name is handled too. It has the feel of the time travel of the story. (Oops. Spoiler. Sorry.) I love the locket itself. Beautiful. I’m not sure why we have to have the designation that this is a novel on the front of the book (LDS publishers do that a lot. Anyone know why?), but since it is there, it’s done well, filling up the space in a font that you can choose to ignore if you want. I personally don’t love the colors, but they fit the feel of the story. 

Wings of Light by  Laura Bingham
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Megan Whittier

This cover tells me everything I need to know about this story. There’s the castle in the background, giving us the time period, as well as the fantasy feeling. The bird is stylistic with a magical feel, and looks like it is both burning and rising at the same time. Cool. The colors of the title and author’s name seem to be filled with light that pull them off the page. I love the title font and the way the letters seem to move and fly, like the bird. To a fan of YA medieval fantasy, this cover rocks! I loved it.

Witch Song by Amber Argyle
Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing
Cover Design: Eve Ventrue

This is another cover that speaks directly to the targeted reader. That face! Oh my gosh! Haunting, sad, beautiful. The locket/necklace she’s wearing draws your eye straight to it. The thorns that seem to pull at her, trap her, add intrigue. I like the title placement and font choice—spectacular. But I’d have made it a little lighter so that it stood out a bit more. Not sure I like the placement of the author’s name. It gets lost in her hair. Maybe I’d have put it on the other side. But still. This is a great cover that put the book on my To Read list.

2011 YA Speculative Book Covers (Boys)

And by “boy” I mean these covers are more masculine and straightforward,
without a lot of the fluff you’ll see on books targeted to girls.

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 

Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.


The Anointed by  C.C. James
Publisher: Red Rover Books
Cover Design: ??
*This is the original cover, I think. If you click the link,
it goes to a different cover which I do not like as well.

Look at those arms. Every guy wants to have arms like those, and every girl wants a boyfriend with arms like those. Okay, my shallowness is showing, but still. Great cover image. I really like how the top of his head is cut off so I can imagine my own face. (That sounds sarcastic, but I’m serious.) I like the blue swirly smoke behind him. I love the font choice and the way the title pops in that dark black. Great cover. (And really, if you are the one making the decisions, please go back to this cover instead of the other one. Please.)

The Death Cure  by  James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte
Cover Design: Philip Straub

At the risk of re-appalling some readers, this is totally a boy cover. My grandson thinks it’s awesome! My granddaughter says, “meh.” I tested it with some neighbor kids and got the same reaction every time. Which is really too bad because I think girls who actually read it will love the story too. What I like about this cover (even though I’m a girl) is the feeling that I’m about to be crushed. Those towers are so high, and the mountain so steep. And then the title and author’s name are so solid and heavy. The fonts are solid too. I personally love it and think it’s the best cover of the series.
 

 Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by  Richard Paul Evans
Publisher: Mercury Ink
Cover Design: ??

I like the clean and isolated feeling of this cover. It matches the subtitle. I like the I in Michael that mirrors the electricity coming off the figure. I like that the young man is in shadow. I like the blues and grays together. It feels sterile and electrical. Very good choices.

 Slayers by C.J. Hill
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Cover Design: ??

I thought this cover was totally cool when I first saw it, even if I had no clue what the illustration actually was. I thought it was a spaceship at first. But when I picked up the book and studied it (yes, it was cool enough to get me to pick it up) I realized that’s a dragon in there. Awesome! I like the font work for Slayers. I like the tag line at the top that you almost miss, but not quite. Sort of a whisper of a warning. Cool. Love it.
Variant by Robison Wells
Publisher: HarperTeen
Cover Design: ??

I’m not even sure I can verbalize what I love about this cover. When I first saw it, I thought, “What? Huh?” Normally, I don’t go for the blurry stuff. And it’s all blue-ish and sort of almost creepy. But. The red in the girls sweater caught my eye. That was kind of awesome. Then I noticed that the boy seems to be running, but the girl is looking behind, like she’s afraid someone or something is after her. Intriguing. And where are they headed in that blurry forest? What’s with that? And “Variant”? What does that mean? And the title is shadowy. You can see through it. It sort of blends, but not quite. That’s cool. Is that a hint for the story? And then. And then. “TRUST NO ONE.” That got me. Hook. Line. Sinker. The tag line pulled all the other items together for me in a way that I had to go get this book. I had to know what was going on in this story. Great, great job of reeling me in!

2011 YA General Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Cover Design: Abby Kuperstock
I love everything about this cover! I love the colors—the hot pink and blue and green. I love the way the books are subdued and faded, while the illustration of the girl and boy legs pop. And the pink! I love the way the girl is up on her toe, with that one leg lifting behind her just a bit. I love those pink tennies. (I want a pair.) I love the little cloud in the middle with the title in a font that looks like a girls handwriting. I love the way the author’s name is on the stool. Everything about this cover just speaks to me. Very appealing to the target reader. And pink! Did I mention the cute pink?! 
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen
This cover is just all sorts of awesome. It was a very close call for me between this one and the one above. I love the red and black together. It’s strong and powerful. The girl’s face is strong and powerful. I love the skull in the heart. And I love the way the title is done. The author’s name is in the right spot to balance the rest of the cover. Very, very good. I bought it based on the cover. Yes, I did. 
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen
The best thing about this cover is how it goes from very soft and romantic at the top to darker and more intense at the bottom. I love that. It’s sort of like moving from the fantasy of being in love into the sometimes difficult consequences of real life. Good flow bringing your eye down to the central image at the bottom, without rushing past the title. I like the variation in the font for the title.  It’s pretty and it feels right. I like the image of the cover and the way the sun creates a halo around them. Good job. 
Publisher: Cedar For
Cover Design: Danie Romrell
I like the main image of the girl being full color and solid. There she is, rooted in the present. I love the girl. I love the expression in her eyes, that deep in thought look. I like that whispery wagon wheel at the top, a faded reality that’s already in the past. I like the torn journal page that frames the title and author name, and an image from the past is echoed at the bottom. I like the two font choices for the title, especially the “rock”—that is visually cool. 
Publisher:  St. Martin’s Griffin
Cover Design: ??
This cover prompts questions in my mind. Her face is hidden, both by her hair and the cropping of the image, but her mouth is open that makes me think she’s confused or in shock. I want to know why. She looks like a regular girl—not drop-dead gorgeous. Just plain and ordinary. But the title is Miles from Ordinary. Hmmm. Intriguing. I like that a relatively ordinary font was chosen for the title, but it’s just a little different…a little rounder on the edges, a little taller. Not quite ordinary. All of that pulls me in and makes me want to know her story. (In this image, the author’s name gets lost on the cover, but it pops just enough on the real cover.)

2011 Speculative Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.

Embers of Atlantis by Tracy Hickman
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Cover Design: Mathias Kollros

What I like most about this cover are the colors. The top is a little busy for my tastes and the title feels like an afterthought. But the colors? They are really breathtaking. I could do without the super short outfit on the woman (personal taste) but that dragon behind her is really spectacular. Love it.

The Last Archangel  by Michael D. Young
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela Olsen

I really like the colors in this cover too. Again, the top feels busy to me, and there are so many images shoved in there that my eye doesn’t really know what to look at. But the swords pop out to me. I like that they almost seem to be the hands on the clock. I like that there’s a the hint of dark wings. And I really like the way the title was handled. Intriguing.

 Monster Hunter Alpha by Larry Correia
Publisher: Baen
Cover Design: ??

I love, love, love this cover. First, the title pops. Great color against the gray blue tone of the illustration. While I don’t like to see those bursts on the front telling me how cool the author is, if you have to have one, this one is tolerable. I like the placement and type of the authors name. But the thing that really grabs me is that illustration. I love it! There’s the wolf and the monster girl. And what the heck is that thing in the middle with the metal claws? COOL! I am so tired of sparkly, sexy vampires and hot, hot werewolves. I am thrilled to see the implied violence and animal rage depicted in these monsters. But even without the comparison to wimpy monsters, this cover still totally rocks. Awesome! Love it! Love it!

Perdition’s Gateway  by Terrance Drake
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen

I love this cover. It is just awesome. I have no idea what the book is about but it looks so cool that, yes, it’s on my To Read list. Okay, where to start? I like that light at the top that reflects into the dark. Don’t know what it is supposed to be but visually? Cool. I like that it repeats just above the center mark of the cover, but it overshadowed by the title. I love the change in fonts for the title. The red for Perdition. Awesome. And the white of Gateway. Cool. And then there’s the figure there at the gateway. But are they coming or going? Good job.

Wolfhound by Kindal Debenham
Publisher: Wandering Leaf Publishing
Cover Design: Paul Hamblin

This reminds me of some of the classic sci-fi covers from a few years back—but not in a bad, outdated way. I like it. You’ve got the planets and the star ship. Then the characters. I like the colors. Not sure I would use yellow for title and author, and I’d make the title a little more distinct and bold. I really, really like that the woman looks strong, like she can totally kick butt without even breaking a sweat. (Girl power!) Good placement of elements, nice balance, great colors.


2011 Romantic Comedy Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
Publisher: Word Garden Press
Cover Design: ??
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Danie Romrell
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: Jennie Williams
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: Christina Marcano

2011 Romance Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.

Before I Say Goodbye by Rachel Ann Nunes

Publisher: Deseret Book
Cover Design: ??

Hearts Through Time by  Marie Higgins

Publisher:  Walnut Springs
Cover Design: Amy Orton

 The Kissing Tree by Prudence Bice

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen

The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden

Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??
Publisher: Distractions Ink
Cover Design: Shery L. Brady, 
MightyPhoenixDesignStudio.com

2011 Cozy Mystery/Romantic Suspense Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.

Blackberry Crumble by Josi S. Kilpack
Publisher: Deseret Book
Cover Design: ??

Garden Plot by  Kristen McKendry
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??

Identity by  Betsy Love
Publisher: Walnut Springs Press
Cover Design: Amy Orton

NYC: Murder Brooklyn Style by Loraine Scott
Publisher: American Fork Arts Council Press
Cover Design: Daniel Silva

Ribbon of Darkness by Julie Coulter Bellon
Publisher: Julie Bellon
Cover Design: Crystal Liechty

2011 Mystery/Suspense Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
   
   
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??
   
   
The Hainan Incident  by  D.M. Coffman
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??
  
    
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??
   
   
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design: ??
  
   
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Danie Romrell

2011 Historical Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.

Publisher: Cedar Fort   
Cover Design: Danie Romrell
Publisher: Covenant
Cover Design:  ??
The Frozen Trail by Lisa Dayley
Publisher: WiDo
Cover Design: Tom Milan

The Tomb Builder by E. James Harrison
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Angela D. Olsen

2011 General/Women’s Book Covers

Please vote for your favorite cover using the poll at the bottom of the post. 
Remember, we’re voting for the COVER, not the story or the author.  
Voting deadline: Midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
Publisher: Daniel Coleman
(Temporarily unavailable;
will be back on market end of February.)
Cover Design: Jodie Coleman
When someone calls something breathtaking, they don’t usually mean the lost their breath, but when I saw this cover for the first time, I literally stopped breathing for a few seconds. It impressed me that much. First the title, Gifts and Consequences. The font work is exceptional. I love the choices on those, the little doo-dahs on Gifts make it light and fun and happy. But then there’s Consequences—heavy, difficult, maybe too much to bear. Can gifts really carry heavy consequences? It made me ponder. Then the central image of the man. He looks so tired, so burdened by life. I love that we can’t see his face, only his stooped shoulders. The overall dark and gloomy colors support that. But then there are the daisies—that little hint of yellow. It made me feel that even in the most difficult of times, hope cannot completely be erased. Beautiful, beautiful cover work. Inspiring all by itself. I made the mistake of not buying the book right away and now it’s temporarily unavailable. Cannot wait until it’s back up for sale later this month. I will be getting it. I have to know the story behind that image. Have to. (And Daniel, do NOT mess with that cover! IF it comes back with a different cover, I will not buy it!)
Publisher: B10 Mediaworx
Cover Design: Adam K. K. Figueira

Another cover where I love the symbolism. The story of Mary Magdalene is one of a fallen woman redeemed, of something beautiful being created from the trials of life. I assume that by using the title Magdalene, we are to recall that and apply it to this story. It certainly fits the cover image—an item of great beauty (the rose) being created by the forge of heaven. I absolutely love it. The black background makes it pop. I love how the molten steel (gold?) is so hot it turns bright white just before it becomes the rose. That is an image for earthly trials, isn’t it? I probably would have done something different with the title font, maybe a script, but as it is, it’s plain enough that your eye can ignore it if you choose to. Great imagery; great work.
 Publisher: Torrey House Press
Cover Design: Jeff Fuller, Crescent Moon Communications
This cover absolutely fits the title. The image above the blue line is what I think of when I think of Moab—all those cave paintings. I don’t love the landscape below the blue but I like that it’s a different shade of brown. The thing that I love most about this is that blue line. It’s so attractive and provides both a base for the figure to stand on and a sense of sky above the landscape. Every time I scroll through the LDS Fiction site, I have to stop and just look at this one. Good work.
 The Shaken Earth by  Toni Sorenson
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: ??
I love the colors in this image. Beautiful, vibrant. A patchwork, like the earth when seen from an airplane. I like that the pieces of that building don’t line up, that it’s “shaken.” And I like the solidness of the the title fonts—definitely not shaken.  This is so intriguing. I first saw it at the bookstore and had to do a double take. Love it.



Publisher: Cedar Fort
Cover Design: Danie Romrell
There is something so sweet and lovely about this cover, and a bit ethereal—as is a new baby from heaven. I love the image of the baby. I love the lace work at the bottom. I love the color used in the title font. Every time I see it, it just makes me go, “awwwwwwww”. Cute!

2011 Book Cover Contest

It’s time for our 3rd Annual Book Cover Contest here at LDS Publisher—and WOW! Was it ever hard to narrow it down this year! Not only were there more book covers to look at, but there were so many covers that were really, really good.

However, I forced myself to narrow the finalists down to five per category. Anything to make your voting experience easier. (Yes, that was tongue-in-cheek.)

I’ve changed things up a bit based on the three most frequent comments I received during the past two contests. Which were:

  • Why can’t we, your faithful readers, nominate covers? Starting this year, you could. What? You missed that announcement? It was right here. Yes, you only had a week to nominate. I’ll try to give you more time next year. I gave every nominated cover extra consideration, even if it wasn’t one that caught my eye. Not every cover that was nominated made the final genre cut. To make the cut, either I agreed with you that it was a good cover, or the cover received multiple nominations.
          
  • When the genre category is so diverse, how do you possibly choose between covers? This was most often an issue for the mystery category (standard mystery/suspense vs cozy mysteries) and the romance category (traditional vs romantic comedy), although it did pop up a bit for other categories, too. So, I’ve added more categories this year. We’ll see how it works.
          
  • Eek! I didn’t have enough time to vote in every category. Can you spread it out a little instead of doing it all on one day? Sure. No problem.

Posting & Voting Schedule:

Feb 2: General & Historical
Feb 3: Mystery/Suspense & Cozy Mysteries/Romantic Suspense
Feb 4: Romance (Traditional) & Romantic Comedy
Feb 6: Speculative (Adult) & Young Adult General
Feb 7: Young Adult Speculative (Boys) & Young Adult Speculative (Girls)
Feb 8: Middle Grade Fantasy & Middle Grade Realistic
Feb 10: Genre Voting Ends at Midnight

Feb 13: Genre Winners Posted & Voting Begins on Overall Best Cover
Feb 15: Overall Best Cover Voting Ends at Midnight

Feb 17: Overall Winner Posted

For those of you who are new to this contest…

I’ve divided the covers into 12 genres, each genre with its own post page.

I’ve picked my top five favs (or nominated favorites) for each genre and posted them in alphabetical order.

Covers were picked based on how attractive I thought they were, and how well they communicated the feeling of the genre and the title. It had nothing to do with what is actually inside the book.

My personal tastes lean toward a cleaner look. I don’t like cluttered or fuzzy images. I like all styles—photographic, artistic, and clip art. I don’t care how big the title and/or author name is but it has to blend well with the image and not detract from it. I really like clever use of fonts—a dated font is usually going to nix a cover for me.

We could argue the artistic merits and complexities of these covers till the cows come home, but let’s don’t, because basically, choosing a book by its cover is an emotional response to the visual imagery and it’s going to be different for everyone.

Guidelines for voting:

  • Pick your favorite COVER, not your favorite book or author.
       
  • Vote using the VIZU polls embedded within the post. You may vote for one book in each genre category.
       
  • Feel free to leave comments stating why you liked a particular cover, or not. Be subjective—why/how did it grab you? How did it make you feel?
       
  • You may point out that I obviously have no taste because I missed THE best cover in the genre (just don’t call me names).
       
  • You may send all your friends over to vote, but please tell them to vote for the most visually appealing cover, and not for your book because you’re friends.
       
  • You may vote through midnight, Friday, February 10, 2012.
       
  • On Monday, February 13th, I’ll post the winners from each genre and then you can vote on which of those is, IYHO, the best cover of 2011.
        
  • Final voting will end at midnight, Wednesday, February 15, 2012. Winner will be announced on Friday, Feb 17th.
       
  • There will be two awards in each category: LDS Publisher Choice & Readers Choice. In some cases, the same cover may win both awards.
       
  • Prizes: Bragging rights and a WFFI* because your book won.

P.S.: Once the contest is over, I’ll post why I liked each of the covers.

P.S. #2: I’ve included the name of the cover designers when that info was available. If you know one that I left off, please let me know via email & I’ll update the post.
*warm fuzzy feeling inside

Nominate Covers for the 2011 Book Cover Contest

Work at my day job has finally (maybe, kinda, sorta) slowed down. (Knock on wood.)

So I’m back to regular posting, starting today. And it’s a good thing too because I just realized I’m behind schedule for our Third Annual Book Cover Contest. (See First Annual Book Cover Contest HERE and Second Annual Book Cover Contest HERE.)

Previously, I have chosen the finalists and let you vote on them. And that’s what we’ll be doing again this year, with one small exception. This year, YOU can have some input in the initial stage. But you have to act fast.

You have until midnight on Thursday, January 26, 2012, to nominate a book cover for me to consider. Here are the conditions for nomination:

  • Must be a fiction book by an LDS author.
  • Must be published in 2011—republications with new covers will be considered.
  • Nominate your favorite COVER, not your favorite book or author. This contest has nothing to do with what’s inside those covers.
  • I’d love for you to spread the word about these nominations but please, please, please, stress that you nominate based on your true love of the cover and not your love of the author or story.
  • Send nominees to me via email with Book Cover in the subject line.

Want to nominate but not sure what’s out there? Check out LDS Fiction. All titles tagged 2011 Releases qualify.

We will start the genre voting on Monday, January 30, 2012.

UPDATE: Yes, you may nominate a book you wrote or designed—as long as you truly, truly feel that it’s amazing.