Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - BOOK COVER WARS HEAT ONE 2019/20

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books is excited to be running another Book Cover Wars competition this year.  We do this is to support the unsung heroes of the children's book world - the illustrators and the creative teams behind them all. We are looking for our favourite children's book cover illustration. If you are returning to the site for another year, or you are new to this competition, then I send you a very warm welcome. It is FANTASTIC to have your company and support in the book cover war arena. Don't forget to share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers on social media #bookcoverwars. Everyone is welcome.

For any follower of this site, this is the chance for you to become part of the weekly book cover wars. Each week, starting from today for the next 5 weeks, I am going to select five book covers for you to vote for. The winner of each heat will then go forward to the grand final and get a chance to be crowned as 'Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Winner 2019/20'.

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules:
There will be five weekly heats (one more than normal) with five book covers to vote for. All heat winners will make the grand final. 

As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the chance to win a prize each week.  This week's prize is a £10 Waterstones Gift Voucher and a mystery book. Please leave a comment to show your interest.

If you are interested then all you need to do is:

• Vote for your favourite book cover using the poll - HERE or at the bottom of the post. 
• Leave a comment through this post or poll - HERE
• Sit back, you might want to share on social media. Have fun and watch the voting develop and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). Please note that this competition is open to the UK only.
• This poll will end on 03.11. 2019 at Midnight UK time. 

So here are the FIVE brilliant book covers to vote for this week:

Book One: Dominique Valente - Star Fell (Willow Moss and the Lost Day) - Illustrated by Sarah Warburton - Published by HarperCollins - VOTE HERE

Book Two: Jasbinder Bilan - Asha And The Spirit Bird - Illustrated by Helen Crawford-White - Published by Chicken House - VOTE HERE

Book Three: P.G Bell - The Brain Robbery - (A Train to Impossible Places Adventure) - Illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino/Katharine Millichope and Team - Published by Usborne Publishing - VOTE HERE

Book Four: Jamie Littler - Frost Heart - Illustrated by Jamie Littler - Published by Puffin Books - VOTE HERE

Book Five: Abi Elphinstone - Casper Tock and the Everdark Wings - US Book Cover Illustrated by Petur Atli Antonsson - Published by Aladdin Books - VOTE HERE

CONGRATULATIONS - FINAL WINNER OF MR RIPLEY'S BOOK COVER WARS 2018/19

Mr Ripley's book cover wars final 2018/19 has now come to an exciting end. After four cracking heats, we now have another fantastic winner ....... 

I would like to thank all the people who have supported the book cover wars. I hope that you have enjoyed it as much as we have. It's been very exciting and very nail-biting.  I would like to thank everyone who has taken part and supported this long-running competition. Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Wars was started to give credit to the unsung heroes of some of our favourite book covers and the creative teams behind them. I hope we've done that HERE. 

Altogether, over 1,600 votes were cast over five weeks. Thank you all once again FOR VOTING. The winner of the £10 Book Voucher and the Book will be announced on Twitter. 

Anyway, without further ado, I'd like to award the title of 'Mr Ripley's Book Cover Wars - Book Cover of the year 2018/19' to . . . . . . .    

Vashti Hardy - 'Brightstorm: A Sky-Ship Adventure' - Book Cover illustrated by George Ermos 

Many congratulations to the winner. This book cover will be placed in the Mr Ripley's Hall of Fame where it will accompany the following worthy past winners:

2009/10 - Jon Mayhew 'Mortlock' 

2010/11 - Darren Shan 'Birth of a Killer' illustrated by David Wyatt

2011/12 - Curtis Jobling ''Werewolf: Shadow of the Hawk' illustrated by Andrew Farley

2012/13 - Thomas Taylor - 'Haunters' illustrated by Steve Wells 

2013/14 - Niel Bushnell - 'Timesmith' - illustrated by James Fraser 

2014/15  - M. G. Harris/Gerry Anderson's - 'Gemini Force One' Black Horizon by Blacksheep. 
2015/16 -  M. G. Leonard - 'Beetle Boy' - illustrated by Julia Sarda 

2016/17 - Roderick Gordon - 'Summerhouse Land' - Book Cover by Stanley Donwood

Becka Moor - Children's Book Illustrator - Q&A Interview - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

Welcome readers.... 
What a wonderful way to start the new year. I have a fantastic interview with children's book illustrator Becka Moor - I have a lot of respect for our unsung hero of the children's illustration world. It's always amazing when an illustrator finds time out of their busy schedule to answer some questions regarding their profession, so thank you very muchly. This is a particularly good post as the questions bring out the personality of the illustrator and give's us a brilliant insight into her typical working week.

If you would like to know more about Becka Moor and see some of her recent work then please check out her website: beckamoor.com   or catch up with her on twitter: @BeckaMoor 

How did you become an illustrator? 
I was taking a course in Graphic Design and found myself doodling characters on scraps of paper and in sketchbooks any chance I got. I realised that I wanted to give these characters a story, a setting, a format for them to explore. I wasn’t very good but I was passionate about it and decided to go to University and study ‘Illustration for Children’s Publishing.’ I signed with an agent just before I graduated which was very exciting, and the rest as' they say, is history! 

Do you think an illustrator needs a style? 

It depends on what sort of illustration career you want, I think. If you want to have an impact on the market in your own way then your style is your biggest asset. Better to have one style that is unique and that you’ve honed and nurtured and are known for, especially if you’re an illustrator working in publishing. It’s a very tough industry to get into with a lot of competition, so you want to stand out. But it’s each to their own!


What is your favourite medium to draw/paint with? 

I work purely digitally on a Wacom Cintiq which helps to bridge that gap between traditional and digital artwork. I try to retain a sense of traditional media as much as possible by using textured brushes and am working on adapting my style to reflect that even more as I go. I do still love sitting with my coloured pencils and doodling in a sketchbook, though. 



Describe your typical working week? 

I’m an early riser so I get up around 6.30-7am, go for a walk, attempt to make myself look presentable, have breakfast, hop in my car and drive to work. I decided in late 2016 that I’d had enough of working from home on my own so now rent a desk in a co-working office full of other creatives. Once I get to work, I undertake the most important task of the day which is to make a brew. 

I aim to be sat at my desk by 9am at the latest, switch on my computer, check emails, have a natter and then get stuck into work. I typically spend a couple of hours on one project and then maybe switch to something else to break things up. I take lunch at 12ish depending on how busy I am. I sometimes go for another walk just to clear away the cobwebs and escape my desk for half an hour. We have a little ‘break out’ area in the corner of the office where we hangout and eat. 

I usually sit there looking at my own homemade lunch whilst yearning after somebody else’s who bought something tasty from the shop. The afternoon is spent cracking on with more work until I get to the point where I need a break/change of scenery. Sometimes I just need a time out and to carry on again once I get home where I can mutter to myself and pace without judgement. I try my best to keep ‘office hours’ but inspiration comes and goes as it pleases. Rinse and repeat Monday to Friday. 


Could you tell us a bit about any of your upcoming projects? 

Of course! I have just finished a picture book called ‘Sir Boris and the Tall Tales Princess’ written by Marc Starbuck and publishing with Egmont very soon. It’s all about a brave knight and a badly-behaved princess who causes a lot of mayhem and mischief that our poor hero has to deal with! 

I am currently working on a handful of fiction projects, the last in the ‘Violet’ series which is very bitter-sweet, also the last in the ‘Goodly and Grave’ series and getting ready to start the fourth ‘St Grizzles’ book. I’ve also just started work on a new picture book and have a non-fiction brief popping into my inbox any day, so I’m fairly busy! 


What helps you be more creative? 

Reading as much as possible, going for a walk, working with other creative folk, listening to loud music, looking at how other people create. Being curled up on the sofa with a cup of coffee and a sketchbook. Having re-runs of cheesy tv series on in the background. Watching cartoons. 



What kind of illustration projects are you most interested in? 

Anything that I can relate to and feel passionate about. I really love detail and researching different time periods, so I always get a little flutter when something comes up where I get the chance to do that. If I don’t like it and don’t feel I can do it justice, I will pass on it. I’m more known for my fiction work and that is my comfort zone, however, it’s always a lot of fun when a picture book brief hits the desk as I see it as both a challenge and as an opportunity to think differently which can be exciting.

What would you consider to be a good design or illustration? Could you give us an example? 

This is such a tough question! There are so many examples of great design out there, but I thought I’d stick to what I know – book covers. I love, love, love this cover for ‘Wildwood’ written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis. The balance is perfect. The typography is gorgeous. The details are just stunning. I can’t say enough great things about it. I remember seeing it on a shelf when it first published and I took it straight to the till and bought it. I didn’t know what it was about at that point, but the cover and the design sold it to me. 


What is a favourite piece of work that you have produced? 

This is mega boring but I don’t have a favourite. I feel like my style is currently going through a transitional period as I’m growing as a person and as an artist and realising the direction that I’d like to head next. Plus, I’ve never been able to make a direct decision in my life. Why start now? ;) 

Who are your favourite illustrators and why? 

Sara Fanelli. She’s quirky, bold, fun and has been a huge inspiration to me. Chris Riddell is a firm favourite. I first read one of his books (Muddle Earth) when I was a child and decided then that I wanted to do what he did. I just didn’t know it was a possibility! Shane Prigmore. His character designs are amazing. The late, great Jill Barklem has been a huge inspiration as well. Her attention to detail is outstanding and many hours have been spent getting lost in her beautiful illustrations.

Sarah Baker - Through the Mirror Door Book Cover - Concept Designed by Will Steele and Illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle

This is one of my favourite book covers this year. It is from "Through the Mirror Door" which has been illustrated by the talented Jessica Courtney-Tickle. I recently read this book and really loved it; (review here) it got me thinking about having the right book cover image that reflects the story inside. The overall book cover is very important as it needs to attract potential buyers and make them pick up the book. It needs to appeal to as many readers as possible. This one encapsulates the story really well, in my opinion, and gives an air of mystery about the plot; gently tickling the brain into thinking about what is behind the cover. 

The above image and the two below are progress shots which were produced by the illustrator. 

This is the second progress illustration which shows a close up of the house from the first illustration. This is similar perspective to the final book cover.

This is a stripped back version of the above illustration. It is missing the character and a lot of the foreground detail. This allows the illustrator and Will Steele to begin to think about the positioning of the title and the layout of the final cover.

The above image shows a different colour palette in order to investigate which colours will work best for the final cover.

In the image above you will see the perspective has somewhat changed and the colour palette has transformed yet again fantastically. The tweaks and changes that have been applied might possibly be due to the partnership of Will Steele and the illustrator playing around with the concept of the image. It works really well for me as it is crisper, clearer and more focused and the colour palette works really well on this. 

This image shows a swirling calligraphic font which was probably disregarded as this was not used in the final selection.

This is the final version of the book cover. I hope that you agree with me that this is a fantastic final production. A lot of thought has obviously gone into the process of such an amazing cover and, in my opinion, it has definitely been worth it. 

If you love the illustrations as much as I do please check out other work by Jessica on her website here: http://jessica-tickle.squarespace.com

SaveSave

EXCLUSIVE BOOK COVER REVEAL: Ian Johnstone - Circle of Stone (The Mirror Chronicles 2)

It's always exciting to be able to show off a book cover for the first time. In this case it's an absolute cracker; a fantastic eye catching book cover. The design of the book cover was by Matt Kelly of HarperCollins and the photograph by Eliz Huseyin what a great job they've both done. What do you think? 

Unfortunately, HarperCollins Children's Books will not be publishing this book until 2nd July 2015. I'm really SORRY to be teasing you this week with the book cover image and then next week with the chapter preview, but I hope you enjoy the quick look into what is still to come and perhaps put it on your wish list this summer. Thank you to HarperCollins and Ian/Ben for asking me to share this with everybody - it really is an honour. 

Book Reveal: Derek Landy & Tom Percival - Tanith Low in the Maleficent Seven

This is the new book cover that was unveiled yesterday by Tom Percival and Derek Landy. It's a stand alone novel set in the Skulduggery Pleasant world. Starring Tanith Low it will be published by HarperCollins on the 28th March 2013. This version (see link below) is missing both the words and the title. However, it still shows the full impact of Tom's brilliant work. You can also see both versions over at http://dereklandy.blogspot.co.uk/

Here is the released synopsis for the book:


This time, the bad guys take the stage.
Tanith Low, now possessed by a remnant, recruits a gang of villains – many of whom will be familiar from previous Skulduggery adventures – in order to track down and steal the four God-Killer level weapons that could hurt Darquesse when she eventually emerges. Also on the trail of the weapons is a secret group of Sanctuary sorcerers, and doing his best to keep up and keep Tanith alive is one Mister Ghastly Bespoke.
When the villains around her are lying and scheming and plotting, Tanith needs to stay two steps ahead of her teammates and her enemies. After all, she's got her own double-crosses to plan – and she’s a villain herself…