The Observer article quotes Julian Humphries, head cover designer at Fourth Estate, as saying, “Different sales channels have different sensibilities. It’s a cultural thing as taste-driven as different countries eating different things for breakfast”. Lamont goes on to say that literary fiction is easier to sell in mainland Europe than in the UK or the US, so publishers in Europe can be “less overt in their attempts to grab the attention of customers.” Hence covers with simple images and plain type. Nathan Burton, a UK designer, says, “The UK book market is more competitive, all the covers in shops shouting: ‘Buy me!’ We have to put on a bit of extra spin.” The US, they say, “signposts its literary fiction more than the UK” and the article compares the covers of Wolf Hall in the UK and US. The US one is more historical and apparently has won awards. Burton says he doesn’t like to look at other cover versions of a book when working on a cover – “It’s always best to work from fresh”. Lamont wonders whether the need for differences between countries really amounts to little more than national pride. Or more likely local publishers insisting that they know their own market better than their OS HQs do. See the original article here.
Clockwise from top left Wolf Hall Canadian edition, UK and Australian paperback, UK hard cover/Australian trade paperback and US version.
