They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but is there anything wrong with judging – or rather, appreciating – book covers themselves? At JBC, we definitely don’t think so. In fact, this is one of my favorite times of the year because I get to do exactly that: reflect on the intriguing, brilliant, and beautiful book covers published in the past twelve months. Here are ten standouts.
Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska
The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella
Return to Latvia by Marina Jarre, translated by Ann Goldstein
A Gift of Feathers by Ken Schept, illustrated by Romina Galotta
Stockholm by Noa Yedlin
Happily: A Personal History-with Fairy Tales by Sabrina Orah Mark
The Vegan by Andrew Lipstein
The Marriage Box by Corie Adjmi
All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky
Becca Kantor is the editorial director of Jewish Book Council and its annual print literary journal, Paper Brigade. She received a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Becca was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to spend a year in Estonia writing and studying the country’s Jewish history. She lives in Brooklyn.