‘When one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading photographic artists provides an image for the cover of a book, it’s bound to be striking; when that book is called Shadow Worlds: A history of the occult and esoteric in New Zealand, it opens the door on a range of intriguing and eye-catching possibilities.
Despite the idiom to never judge a book by its cover, each month (Ed’s note: Yes, I am a bit behind but will catch up) Kete takes a look at the raft of recently released local books with compelling or beautiful covers and (without any science or specific design criteria — but with the eye of an enthusiastic reader) selects one we love for our Cover Story.
Then we talk to the people involved in creating and designing the book: authors, illustrators, editors, publishers and designers about the processes they go through to create a cover, and about the decisions that are made and why — what they might be trying to communicate to a potential reader about a book. July’s best cover, according to us, was Andrew Paul Wood’s Shadow Worlds. Here’s what photographer Fiona Pardington, designer Megan van Staden and Wood say about the ever-so-slightly spooky cover.’
Read the interviews here.
