Welcome to the e-Book Cover Design Awards. This edition is for submissions during September, 2017.
This month we received:
90 covers in the Fiction category
27 covers in the Nonfiction category
Guest Judges
I’m very pleased to welcome Tamara Dever and Erin Stark of TLC Graphics to The Book Designer as a guest judges this month. TLC Graphics has been creating award-winning books for over 20 years.
Founder Tamara Dever and Designer Erin Stark are dedicated to bringing to fruition the passion of writers dedicated to quality publishing. They are the authors of the acclaimed publishing guide/journal guide, My Publishing Journey. You can learn more at TLCGraphics.com.
Comments, Award Winners, and Gold Stars
I’ve added comments (TLC: ) to many of the entries, but not all. Remember that the aim of these posts is educational, and by submitting you are inviting comments, commendations, and constructive criticism.
Thanks to everyone who participated. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Please leave a comment to let me know which are your favorites or, if you disagree, let me know why.
Although there is only winner in each category, other covers that were considered for the award or which stood out in some exemplary way, are indicated with a gold star: ★
Award winners and Gold-Starred covers also win the right to display our badges on their websites, so don’t forget to get your badge to get a little more attention for the work you’ve put into your book.
Also please note that we are now linking winning covers to their sales page on Amazon or Smashwords.
Now, without any further ado, here are the winners of this month’s e-Book Cover Design Awards.
e-Book Cover Design Award Winner for September 2017 in Fiction
James Egan submitted Charity MacCay and the Almighty Dollar designed by James T. Egan of Bookfly Design.
TLC: GOLD WINNER! We would change nothing about this gorgeous cover. The illustration is beautiful and the typography is perfectly integrated into the image. Gorgeous edge treatment, too. Wish we’d designed this one ourselves!
e-Book Cover Design Award Winner for September 2017 in Nonfiction
Steven Craig submitted Italy Travel and Adventures: Rome, Venice, The Cinque Terre and Nearby Villages designed by J.D. Smith. “Thanks!”
TLC: GOLD WINNER! Beautiful imagery, strong type, nice, warm Italian color scheme. The type is clean and easy to read. The subtitle could move up from the bottom just a bit more. Makes us want to go to Italy!
Fiction Covers
A.H. Shelton submitted Surrogate designed by A.H. Shelton. “My novel, Surrogate, falls within the genre of Paranormal Romance. I believe the cover conveys this fact very well. Both the baby and the staircase play significant roles in the storyline of the novel – A.H.”
TLC: There are too many fonts on this cover and they don’t work well together. The imagery is confusing instead of being intriguing. The layout is unbalanced, leaving your eye to focus on the more empty lower half.
Alexander Grant submitted The Lion’s Peril designed by Deranged Doctor Design. “Thank you for considering it Best regards”
TLC: Nice cover at first glance, but could use a few adjustments. The series name and book number are too large and crowd the bottom border. The rivets get cut off in places, but aren’t in others. “Peril” in the title is too close to the sides of the border and has too much space between the letters.
Alexandra Brandt submitted Adrift designed by Alexandra Brandt. “Part of continued redesign/author branding for a writer friend’s dystopian Sci-Fi short stories.”
TLC: Beautiful, clean, intriguing! ★
Alisa Kester submitted A Manifestation of Monstrosities designed by Alisa Kester. “I wanted a particular look for the model, but was unable to find a stock image that suited. So I designed and sewed the dress, then did my own photoshoot.”
TLC: Kudos on creating exactly what you had in mind! Bold colors, nice image, but type is hard to read.
Amanda Linehan submitted Lakeside designed by Amanda Linehan. “This cover is for a contemporary YA novel.”
TLC: This cover is unreadable and the imagery gives the reader no idea what the book is truly about. It needs a series logo or other graphic indicator. It will likely have trouble attracting YA readers.
Anah Tillar submitted Without Benefits designed by Yonderworldly Premade Covers.
Andrea Barbosa submitted Olympian Heartbreak designed by selfpubbookcovers.com/Daniela. “Sabrina found out that Nikos returned to Greece and is heartbroken until a surprising invitation to go to Athens gives her hope. On the cover, Sabrina and Nikos and the temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion where he takes her and they have a passionate evening.”
BJ Sikes submitted The Archimedean Heart designed by Eloise Knapp. “Eloise captured the mood of a Versailles populated by clockwork nobility. Layers of symbolic imagery float around the central face with its half-hidden machinery.”
Brian O’Sullivan submitted THE PUPPETEER designed by Elisabeth Brizzi. “Hope the cover speaks for itself :)”
Carol L. Wright submitted Death in Glenville Falls designed by CAROL L WRIGHT. “This is a cozy mystery, complete with a bookstore and a cat, set in September and October in a small, New England town.”
Chad Steward submitted Thomas Templeton and the Whispers of Branson Manor designed by Chad Steward. “This is my second fully illustrated cover design. This cover is for a middle grade mystery/horror book, so I tried to choose fonts, colors, and an artistic style that would be appropriate for this genre.”
Christy Nicholas submitted Call of the Morrigú designed by Christy Nicholas.
Christy Nicholas submitted The Enchanted Swans designed by Christy Nicholas.
TLC: This is a stunning cover, from series treatment to title typography, to illustration, everything is professional and pleasing to the eye. The series is well done. ★
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