Books Covered by Tobias

Famous Author, Cover Model

It seems when the designer of this book set out to search for a cover image, he went to the usually source: Getty. But what was unexpected and unknown at the time was the identity of the photo's subject—the man playing the accordion on the beach. It turns out, according to Paper Cuts, that the man was "none other than Daniel Handler, the well known novelist, musician and author of the Lemony Snicket books."

“They asked me if I objected,” Handler says. “I said: ‘I think you should check with the author.’ I’d be kind of annoyed if my new novel had my friend Rick Moody on the cover. Not that Rick Moody is not a good–looking man.”

Handler - who says he found Stanisic’s novel charming - thinks he knows how this all happened in the first place.

“A friend of mine, Meredith, took a lot of photos of me at one point early in my career, and I was scarcely able to pay her. I said she could sell them wherever she wanted. And some of them ended up at Getty, filed not under my name but under ‘assorted’ or something.”

A Kindle in the Wind?

CNET is reporting that online retailer Amazon is about to introduce an e-book reader, purportedly named 'Kindle'. The electronic handheld device has been rumored for some time, but it looks like Monday may be launch day in New York.

The Kindle is equipped with a Wi-Fi connection that taps into an Amazon e-book store, which users can access to purchase new electronic books--and Amazon has reportedly signed onto a deal with Sprint for EVDO access. Additionally, the device comes with a headphone jack for audiobooks, as well as an e-mail address.

Will Kindle be to ebooks what the iPhone is to cell phones? Hard to say. While ebook readers have been around for awhile, they have failed to catch on. The advantage Amazon has is customer loyalty and "a huge repository and huge track record of selling content".

The Kindle will reportedly retail for around $300.

And the Winner is...

From the press release:

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) announces today the winners of its first ECPA/Dickinson Press Book Cover Award during its 2007 Publishing University in Chicago, IL. This new awards competition, sponsored by ECPA and Dickinson Press, is open to all ECPA member publishers and recognizes excellence in book cover design.

Best Cover from a Large Publisher
(251+ titles published annually)
Technical Virgin
Baker Publishing Group,
Author: Hayley DiMarco
Designer: Christopher Tobias

"In a sense, I'm sort of in an ivory tower."

Be sure to check out Smithsonian's interview with design maven Chip Kidd. While most has been covered in previous interviews and bios about Kidd, it is a nice snapshot of him and his design outlook.

Truth about The List

The truth about the NYTimes Bestseller Lists.

'Sexy Girls' wins top honor

Haley DiMarco's Sexy Girls was named top book in the Children/Youth category and won the 2007 Christian Book Award this year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Additionally, Technical Virigin was a finalist in the same category. Congratulations to both Haley and her husband Michael (who worked on the great 4-color interiors). Check out all their stuff at Hungry Planet. Congrats also to the publisher, Baker Publishing Group, for the top honors. I am very honored to be a small part of these award-winning books.

Author Fights Back

Novelist James Bernard Frost wasn't happy with the cover the publisher had created for his book World Leader Pretend. "Don't get me wrong," Frost says, "the art is perfect for an L. Ron Hubbard book."

So what to do? Why not hire your own designer to create a vinyl sticker that can be slapped on the softcover? It is waterproof and can be colored by the reader. Frost is happy with it because it does a much better job reflecting the story.

I have to say, this is one case where the author was right. What a great solution. And a great way to get some attention for your book. [via]

For Us in Flyover Country

Those of us in the heartland must live vicariously through Ian Curry's report of Monday night's lecture on "The Art of the Book." Speakers: Milton Glaser, Chip Kidd, and Dave Eggers, with Michael Bierut moderating.

One Amazing Pig Idea

Walden Media (The Chronicles of Narnia movie) and Harper Collins is encouraging kids (and adults) to become familiar with the classic book Charlotte's Web before they see the movie. How? By attempting to break the world record of "most people reading aloud simultaneously in multiple locations." The event is scheduled fro Dec. 13, 2006 at 12 noon.

As of this posting they have 285,278 readers in 1,243 locations, 50 states and 16 countries registered.

This takes movie marketing way past the Happy Meal toy tie-in. I think this is genius. It makes Walden and Harper Collins appear not to just care about people seeing the movie, but that they put a premium on reading as well. How do you get kids and parents excited about reading? Why, try to break a world record, of course. Go to the site and you can view all the names and schools of the people participating in the read-aloud event.

Covers by You

Thanks to Barry for the info on this fascinating idea from Penguin: My Covers. Choosing from one of eight titles, you get to design the cover your way. Using art-quality paper, Penguin assures us that it can take just about any crayon, marker, inkn or paint that you fancy.

Titles available include: Emma (Jane Austen), The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde), and Magic Tales (The Brothers Grimm).

And when you've finished, submit it their gallery where it will be posted for all the world to see.

Authors fight over "Sears" homes books

This had to be planned...I mean this is more publicity than these books could have EVER dreamed of.

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