As August draws to a close, we talk with Tom Etherington about his beautiful, haunting cover for the UK edition of Jacquelyn Stolos’ Edendale.
And from the psychedelic to the straightforward to the splendidly surreal, the rest of our favorite book covers unveiled or published over the past month follow!
How did you arrive at the final design of this cover, and what’s going on within it?
Once I’d read the book, I had a clear idea in my head of what I wanted the cover to do. The novel looks closely at desire, control, sexuality and power. It’s set in the shared house of four young people in LA, with a backdrop of wildfires and looming ecological disaster. I wanted to capture these aspects—the domestic and emotional somehow set against the climate/environment. My illustrative skills are limited, so I turned to other artists [for the inset image].
What was the brief for this project?
When I received the brief for Edendale, the book had already been published in the US. The US cover focuses on the eco-horror aspect of the novel, but the UK publisher, Dead Ink, wanted to be less specific with their cover. It’s a tricky book to classify—the editor said it’s “eco-thriller meets psychodrama, with a healthy dose of creeping dread,” and after reading it, I can confirm that this is an accurate description!
Tell us a bit about that inset image.
I found a few images that I thought might work. There are some amazing paintings by Andrew Savage of smoke, windows and fire. I also found a brilliant photo of sunburned shoulders by Brea Souders. But I had one of those rare occasions where I found the ideal image for a cover, like it had been made especially for the novel. It’s an artwork by Frances Waite depicting a woman in the bath with trees ablaze in the window behind her. The despair, sexuality, wildfire and domesticity all made it perfect for Edendale.
I tried a few options, including a typographic approach and collage approach, but strongly recommended the cover with the artwork by Frances Waite. Luckily the author and publisher agreed, and Frances was very happy to have her art on the cover.
How did you select the type treatment? (And did you have to fight any battles to split the title?)
The title typeface is my attempt at Southern Californian design. I hope there is a little bit of Ed Ruscha in it, and a little bit of The Colby Poster Printing Company.
There was a query about whether splitting the title would be a good idea. I tried some versions of a similar design without splitting it, and we all agreed that they weren’t as successful. Sometimes I think being a cover designer is 10% designing a good cover, and 90% persuading everyone else that it is good. But I really love working with Dead Ink; they have an intelligent and trusting way of working with designers, and it never feels like a fight. It’s all about trying to make a great cover that will attract readers and represent the book accurately.
How did you select the color palette?
I was spoilt for choice really. I thought a murky green might work, like the dying plants in a scorching city, or yellow to nod to both sunshine and a sense of warning. But ultimately we all agreed on the pink. I like how harmless and “millennial pink” it seems, but really in my mind it represents sunburn.
