Ep. 154: Behind the Scenes of Book Cover Design with Karen Horton (Former Art Director at Henry Holt) + Book Recommendations

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

In podcast episode 154, we’re diving into the world of book cover design with Karen Horton, graphic designer and former Art Director at Henry Holt. Karen takes us behind the scenes of the process of book cover design, who makes key book cover related decisions, and the role of marketing budgets and author’s reputation in this process. Plus, Karen shares her book recommendations!

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CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Highlights

• The high-level book cover design process.
• When and why publishers reach out to designers before a book’s launch proposal.
• The dynamics of deciding which books a designer works on.
• Freelance vs In-house: Factors that determine who gets to design the top titles.
• The lesser-known “silent auction” approach some publishers adopt.
• Whether book cover designers really read the whole book.
• Who holds the final decision about a book cover.
• The author’s role in the decision-making process and the factors that impact how that can play out.
• How marketing budgets and an author’s reputation influence design choices.
• The influence of ongoing design trends and when publishers decide to break away from them.

Karen’s Book Recommendations [35:58]

Two OLD Books She Loves

• A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:11]
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:04]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• Thicker Than Water by Kerry Washington | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:36]
• We Were Once a Family by Roxanna Asgarian | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:45]

One Book She DIDN’T Love

• A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole | Amazon | Bookshop.org[42:46]

NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez (April 2, 2024) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:12]
• Other Books Mentioned:
  • Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett [46:56]

Last 5-Star Book Karen Read

• A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:25]

Additional Books Mentioned

• Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent [15:34]
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus [26:45]
• Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld [31:04]
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert [31:17]
• When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain [32:11]
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid [32:20]
• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller [32:25]
• The Push by Ashley Audrain [32:32]
• The Whispers by Ashley Audrain [33:00]
• The Mothers by Brit Bennett [34:49]
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett [34:50]

About Karen Horton

Website | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter)

Karen Horton is an Art Director and graphic designer with more than 15 years of experience working in the book publishing industry. She previously was the Art Director at Henry Holt and Company + Metropolitan Books. Prior to moving over to the Henry Holt imprint in 2016, she was the Senior Designer at Flatiron Books. Over the years she has worked as a freelancer and consulting Art Director for a variety of publishing clients. Additionally, Karen was a co-founder and the Editorial and Social Media Director for the startup design:related. Karen was also an Art Director on staff for a range of New York Times bestsellers at Little, Brown, and Company. Before working at Little, Brown, she managed a small team of designers as an Art Director at Oxford University Press. She first got her start in book publishing at St. Martin’s Press (Macmillan Publishers). When she’s not designing book covers, she spends much of her time wandering neighborhoods in Queens and researching all things design.