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Cover Talk
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:13:48 -0600
Elizabeth Bluemle wrote:
"As a bookseller, it's pretty easy to spot trends as hundreds of ARCs come into the store, and as we shelve the season's new books. I occasionally pull together some images and commentary for PW's Shelftalker blog.
"Recently, it was a roundup of Girls in Gowns . This is a
huge huge cliche in YA right now, and it drives me batty."
This reminded me of a book I read last year as an advanced reading copy (ARC): "The Girl of Fire and Thorns" by Rae Carson (Greenwillow / HarperCollins). I HATED the ARC cover--it was, indeed a girl in a gown. Standing sort of slightly turned with chest out. I hated it even more after reading the book, which I thought wonderful. The main character, Elisa, is smart and complex and discovers the depth of her strength over the course of the story; the issues she dealing with--religion, politics, war--are rich and complicated.
While I realize I should not judge a book by its cover or a girl by her gown, I thought the image on the ARC did such an injustice to the character of Elisa. So I was thrilled when the hardcover came out and the girl and her gown had been tossed.
But the whole issue of girls and gowns and other cliched images leads to questions about marketing and who is making these kinds of decisions. (Nell Fleming's story about the two covers of "The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin" is a great example of what a difference cover art can make when it is when it is suited to the book's content and designed to appeal to the actual age of the intended audience.)
To what extent do you see a disconnect between the perceptions of those who make decisions about what will or will not help sell a book re. cover art believe and the reality? (This was a huge issue three years ago when it was revealed Justine Larbalestier's young adult novel "Liar"--about a biracial teen--was originally going to feature a photograph of a girl who appeared white on the cover, the perception being that book's with black faces on the cover won't sell. The outrage was heard around the world, and changed the outcome.)
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 09 Feb 2012 09:13:48 AM CST
Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:13:48 -0600
Elizabeth Bluemle wrote:
"As a bookseller, it's pretty easy to spot trends as hundreds of ARCs come into the store, and as we shelve the season's new books. I occasionally pull together some images and commentary for PW's Shelftalker blog.
"Recently, it was a roundup of Girls in Gowns . This is a
huge huge cliche in YA right now, and it drives me batty."
This reminded me of a book I read last year as an advanced reading copy (ARC): "The Girl of Fire and Thorns" by Rae Carson (Greenwillow / HarperCollins). I HATED the ARC cover--it was, indeed a girl in a gown. Standing sort of slightly turned with chest out. I hated it even more after reading the book, which I thought wonderful. The main character, Elisa, is smart and complex and discovers the depth of her strength over the course of the story; the issues she dealing with--religion, politics, war--are rich and complicated.
While I realize I should not judge a book by its cover or a girl by her gown, I thought the image on the ARC did such an injustice to the character of Elisa. So I was thrilled when the hardcover came out and the girl and her gown had been tossed.
But the whole issue of girls and gowns and other cliched images leads to questions about marketing and who is making these kinds of decisions. (Nell Fleming's story about the two covers of "The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin" is a great example of what a difference cover art can make when it is when it is suited to the book's content and designed to appeal to the actual age of the intended audience.)
To what extent do you see a disconnect between the perceptions of those who make decisions about what will or will not help sell a book re. cover art believe and the reality? (This was a huge issue three years ago when it was revealed Justine Larbalestier's young adult novel "Liar"--about a biracial teen--was originally going to feature a photograph of a girl who appeared white on the cover, the perception being that book's with black faces on the cover won't sell. The outrage was heard around the world, and changed the outcome.)
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 09 Feb 2012 09:13:48 AM CST
