If you’re a fan of James Frey you might be interested to know a bit more about how his new book is being published. My colleagues and I at John Murray - James’ UK publishers, are going to blog about the creative processes involved and the different stages in the life of the book.

I’m kicking off with a bit about the cover. Sara Marafini, our Art Director, commissioned the brilliant Jon Gray to design it, with a simple brief: something cool and brash. Jon has produced some amazing covers including Everything is Illuminated and A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, and we reckon this has classic written all over it too. He hired The Neon Sign Store in east London to make a … well, a neon sign:

… and photographed it for the book jacket. The result is highly colourful, but in a kind of sinister, almost seedy way which is totally in tune with the feel of the book. Sort of explosive and unsettling at the same time.

In May it was featured on the The Book Design Review blog, which regularly features comparisons between UK and US jackets. Click here to see the US version - a very different look, by celebrated artist Richard Prince

Let us know what you think …

James Spackman, Sales & Marketing Director, John Murray