Sunday, January 13, 2019

Historical fiction cover trend for 2019: bold colors that pop!

In putting together another visual preview post for 2019, I came upon some historical novel covers with bright colors and designs that refuse to be ignored.  And then I found a few more.  Here are ten, below.  You can make almost a full rainbow with all of these.  What do you think - does the effect work on you?  Just the settings and the book's publishers are listed below... head on over to Goodreads for more.



A family saga set during the Depression-era Dust Bowl. Central Avenue, June 2019. [see on Goodreads]




A scientific race across Russia in 1914, at the time of a major solar eclipse. Grand Central, May 2019. [see on Goodreads]



A controversial art scandal involving Van Gogh's paintings, set in decadent and dangerous 1920s Berlin. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, July 2019. [see on Goodreads]



Glamour, passion, and coming of age in New York's exciting theater world in the 1940s. Riverhead, June 2019.  [see on Goodreads]



Historical fantasy involving aerial adventure in WWI France; second in a series.  Simon & Schuster, July 2019. [see on Goodreads]



The female divers of the Korean island of Jeju, spanning from the 1930s through 1950s. Scribner, March 2019. [see on Goodreads]



Two American sisters' lives, from the 1950s going forward. June 2019, Atria. [see on Goodreads]



Events from the life of future poet Elizabeth Bishop, during her time in Paris in 1937. Simon & Schuster, June 2019.  [see on Goodreads]



Espionage and scandal in the Bahamas in 1941, when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor are in residence there. William Morrow, July 2019.  [see on Goodreads]


An independent African American woman in small-town North Carolina, between 1941 and the 1980s.  Bloomsbury, June 2019. [see on Goodreads]

13 comments:

  1. Loving the bold colors -- makes them feel fresh and dynamic. I get the use of muted palettes/sepia but this is doing it for me.

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  2. They make me wonder if the protagonists will be as bold as the designs - not a bad thing! And if it gets more people reading historical fiction, that's also good.

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    1. Exactly!! I'm so onboard -- hope this continues!

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  3. This is a lovely change!

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    1. I'm curious to see what other designs will be developed if the trend continues!

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  4. Lovely - and will look great on the New Books display :)

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    1. Yes - I'll be interested to see how well these circulate. HF isn't always a hot item at my library, at least among the students - but these books could appeal to them.

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  5. The covers are certainly eye-catching, and from the publisher's point-of-view that's what they want I think. With so many books published every day, having someone give a second look at a book is a good thing. These all sound very good too!

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    1. A friend on FB pointed out that the bright colors, plus the large fonts, help the covers stand out on a phone screen. Makes perfect sense! We may be seeing lots more of this in the future.

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  6. I am an artist so I love those colors. I am more likely to pick up a book and look at it to buy if it has an attractive cover.

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    1. It's true how that works - and if a book's cover is unattractive or unprofessional, I'm tempted to pass it by.

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  7. These look lovely and bright! They make for an interesting change and they're definitely something that will catch your eye when you're wandering through a bookstore!

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    1. Yes, I agree. I'm looking forward to seeing how patrons at my library respond to them after they're on the display shelves!

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