Today, Penguin Books has announced the winners of its popular Cover Design Award, which sees aspiring designers and illustrators reimagine the covers of bestselling Penguin titles. The judges went through over 1,800 submissions this year, choosing one winner for three different categories (children’s, adult fiction and adult nonfiction), plus second and third-place awards.
For the children’s cover design award, creatives had the wonderful opportunity to recreate the City of Stolen Magic by Nazneen Ahmed Pathak. It’s a spellbinding fantasy adventure with threads of magic, secrets, and colonial history. The brief was to “engage the book’s core audience of children aged 9 to 11 and imaginatively convey the book’s key themes”.”
Charlotte Jennings scooped the top spot for her entry that focused on colour and shape language to convey the protagonist’s journey from beginning to end. Charlotte used a spiral composition to guide our eye around the cover. “I used orange hues to depict the warmth and familiarity of India along with its connection to Chompa’s fiery magic,” she explains. “All is silhouetted by the complementary blue colour of the sea and the date palm, pointing directly at the mysterious, cooler-toned city of London. At the centre of it all is Chompa, wrapped up in this chaotic adventure full of intrigue and magic.”
Anna Billson, art director at Penguin Random House Children’s, adds: “A very much deserved win for a very accomplished design. The smart use of colour and the considered balance between the multiple illustrative elements combine to make a striking and inviting cover which opens up the world inside the book. The development from the initial submission to the final design has been really well executed, showcasing a strong design eye for both illustration and typography.”
Second and third place went to Evan Connolly and Karin Keratova, respectively.
George Griffiths, winner
James Gregory (2nd) & Craig Ferdinando (3rd)
Nazneen Ahmed Pathak, author of the book, admits choosing the winners was difficult. “I was really touched by the amount of care and attention everyone shortlisted had devoted to the world and characters – and there were so many original, creative approaches to the brief. The winning entry, however, stood out immediately for me. It’s such a strong, graceful cover, and I loved Chompa’s expression of serious intent, which encapsulates her character and draws me in.”
For Adult Fiction, designers and illustrators had the chance to reimagine the cover for Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. The Sunday Times bestseller turned into a smash hit Amazon Prime series; the novel follows the inner workings of an iconic rock band. The brief asked entrants to create a cover that nods to the heady haze of the ’70s whilst making it clear to the reader that the book is entertaining, aspirational and something that exists within the world of popular culture.
Cadi Rhind’s entry impressed the judges the most. On her inspiration,