Wednesday Cover Story, Author at Allison & Busby

Wednesday Cover Story: Morganville and Cupcakes!

10 October, 2012

Spotted in Kingston a few days ago…. the font we used for our fabulous Morganville Vampire covers also used for the brand name of a cupcake shop, Sweet Revenge. The swirly Gothic ‘n’ and ‘g’ are the dead giveaway. Perhaps the shop will see an influx of customers who also happen to be Morganville Vampire […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Unpacking little A&B gems…

3 October, 2012

As we busied ourselves unpacking crates filled with books from the A&B archive, (see pic from yesterday’s post) we pulled out a copy of our 1993 edition of Behaving Badly, by Catherine Heath. Originally published in 1984, the book apparently inspired the 1989 TV series starring Judi Dench which is why we were delighted to […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Arnaldo Putzu’s Legacy

26 September, 2012

Bring the proud publishers of Ted Lewis’ cult novel Get Carter (about a ruthless gangster who was immortalised on screen by Michael Caine), today we must pay tribute to the great illustrator Arnaldo Putzu, renowned for painting book and magazine covers and, most famously, film posters, including the one for the 1970s Get Carter movie […]

Wednesday Cover Story: The Home Front Detective gets a new look for paperback

19 September, 2012

We’ve talked in the past about how paperback covers are often completely different from the respective hardback covers. Designs that work well for a hardback book won’t always transfer well to a smaller paperback edition. And here is a perfect example. The cover to A Bespoke Murder, by Edward Marston (the first in his new […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Word on the street about Devoured cover

29 August, 2012

We’ve said this a million times over how lovely it is to hear from our readers who take the time to tell us how much they enjoyed one of our books. And whilst the focus is usually the content of the book, it’s a thrill when we get told how much they love the packaging […]

Wednesday Cover Story: A little about the image for Elegy for Eddie

22 August, 2012

We’ve already waxed lyrical about illustrator Andrew Davidson who produces the beautiful woodcut artwork for Jaqueline Winspear‘s Maisie Dobbs covers. But we have a new favourite now – the sombre tone and striking image for the cover to Elegy for Eddie (out next month). We had the extra pleasure, in this case, of seeing his […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Garment of Shadows cover revealed! (And the winner is…)

15 August, 2012

Two weeks ago we asked you to guess the colour of the border on the cover to the upcoming Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes book Garment of Shadows, by Laurie R King – to get in with a chance of winning a copy of the book. Since then we’ve been inundated with a diverse range […]

Wednesday Cover Story: In light of World Cat Day…

8 August, 2012

As you all of course know today is World Cat Day! Or perhaps I’m the only one who’s accidentally strayed across this fact… And in spite of being a little allergic to cats, I do think we should take the opportunity to celebrate our feline friends in this week’s Wednesday Cover Story. To begin, take […]

Wednesday Cover Story: The Mary Russell Colour Competition

1 August, 2012

For those of you anxiously awaiting the next instalment in Laurie R King‘s hugely successful Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series, you won’t have to wait much longer. Garment of Shadows will be out in October with the most suspenseful of plots yet… for Sherlock Holmes finds himself searching for his wife who has mysteriously […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Out of the mouths of babes

25 July, 2012

Our Wednesday Cover Story blogs are a simple but excellent in their premise: we talk about the design of books, what they say, what response they elicit from us. It all boils down to whether they pull their weight as a sales tool but on many levels we’re not all that different from this six-year-old […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Christopher Buckley’s new look

18 July, 2012

Presenting my new favourite covers of the moment – the gorgeously retro design for the reissues of Christopher Buckley‘s brilliant satires Thank You For Smoking (which was made into a very good film starring Aaron Eckhart) and Little Green Men. I’m a big fan of Buckley’s books and already have all his titles gracing my […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Silhouettes and Circuses

20 June, 2012

“Roll up, roll up! Come, take a seat, turn the page and discover what astounding stories await you behind these two covers…” My last two reads were The Somnambulist by Essie Fox and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. One is tied to the Victorian Music Halls of East London, the other to a mysterious […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Reference books for working mothers…

6 June, 2012

Today marks Lara’s first day back in the office (wahey!) after nine months away on maternity leave. Whilst we’re overjoyed to have her back, I’m sure the feeling is slightly less clear-cut for her. I have many friends who have recently returned to their workplace after having a baby and they all have mixed feelings […]

Wednesday Cover Story: New cases (and covers) for Sherlock Holmes

30 May, 2012

Sherlock Holmes has certainly been enjoying a revival of late. And it’s no surprise as why should we ever tire of great characters? We’ve played our own part in keeping Holmes’ spirit alive by publishing Laurie R King‘s acclaimed Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series (The Pirate King, and the long-sought-after earlier title, O Jerusalem, […]

Wednesday Cover Story: How do you illustrate a book about God?

23 May, 2012

Some book covers work because they are sumptuous, colourful and detailed. Others work because of their simplicity. And none more sothan this design which I came across yesterday. So how do you illustrate a book about God? The answer is, you don’t. I can’t think of a better design for a biography about God. Those […]

Wednesday Cover Story: The unveiling of the upcoming Hatton & Roumande book covers

16 May, 2012

This summer we will be launching an exciting new Victorian crime series featuring London’s first forensic detectives. Devoured, by D E Meredith is the first book in the Hatton & Roumande series and will be out in August, to be followed by The Devil’s Ribbon next year. The likes of CSI and forensics may be […]

Wednesday Cover Story: A taste of Unrest for Rachel Caine

9 May, 2012

This bank holiday Monday, I spent the day with Morganville Vampire author Rachel Caine and her husband Cat, as they headed to the next stops on the Black Dawn Book Tour. We had a lovely booksigning at Waterstones Oxford, had planned to enjoy a pub lunch at The Turf Tavern (wonderfully signposted with the strapline […]

Wednesday Cover Story: The Marriage Plot

2 May, 2012

When I first came across The Marriage Plot (in the form of a very large poster in the London Underground) I thought, ‘Here we go, another cover design trying to ride on the back of One Day‘s success’. They had blown up the silhouette of the girl and the boy on the poster for a […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Where would you find Barnard’s mansion?

25 April, 2012

A few days ago, reader John Milner from Essex, submitted this review about Mansion and Its Murder, by Robert Barnard and the following comment about the cover: ‘An enjoyable book, mainly as a result of the highly unusual life, personal and professional, given to the main character and narrator. A deft touch with the changing […]

Sneak peek: New look for Charlie Fox

11 April, 2012

This summer sees the launch of the new paperback in Zoë Sharp‘s Charlie Fox series, Fifth Victim. And with this new release comes a brand new look for the cover. Our heroine, Charlie – ex-Special Forces soldier turned bodyguard – continues to excite critics and readers in the know, who constantly proclaim her to be […]

Wednesday Cover Story: Narcopolis, by Jeet Thayil

4 April, 2012

Yesterday I tweeted the link to 10 books featured on Flavorwire. They were highlighted as must-reads for April, but to me, they were mostly interesting because of their original covers. And one cover in particular stood out the most for me: Narcopolis, by Jeet Thayil. This is the hardback American edition (very different to the […]