Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books - Book Cover Wars + Voters Competition - Round 4 2020/2021

 

Before we close the doors for the last time on Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books, we like to take the opportunity to thank you all for the support you have shown us in the last twelve years or so. It has been a hard and very sad decision to make as it has been a fantastic journey and one that I've enjoyed very much. However, we would like to do one more fantasy tango with Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Wars. It's been a highlight for many years so let us go out with a BANG or maybe just a fizz! 

We are looking to find your favourite book cover ONCE again for 2020/2021. We do this to support the creative heroes of the children's book world; the illustrators and the creative teams behind all the books we love. So, please share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers on social media #bookcoverwars. Everyone is welcome so come and vote and share the FUN. 

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules: There will be five weekly heats (Two after this one)  with five book covers to vote for. All heat winners will make the grand final plus one more book cover (Wild Card Entry) with the highest amount votes will go through from any of the heats.

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 National Book Token (the UK only). Please leave a comment to show your interest. Good luck and let's all have some fun. 

• Round One Winner: Elle McNicoll - A Kind of Spark Illustrated by Kay Wilson - Published by Knights Of (4th June 2020)
• Round Two Winner: Nizrana Farook - The Boy Who Met a Whale - Illustrated by David Dean - Published by Nosy Crow (14th Jan 2021)
• Round Three: K. L. Kettle - The Boy I Am - Illustrated by Thomas Truong - Published by Stripes Publishing (7TH Jan 2021)

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 (or at the bottom of the post)
• Have fun, share, and tell the world or just a friend. Tweet, Facebook, Instagram and watch the voting develop, and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). 
• This poll will end on 9. 12. 2020 at Midnight UK time. 

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

BOOK ONE: Hannah Gold - The Last Bear - Illustrated by Levi Pinfold - Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books (18 Feb. 2021) - VOTE HERE

BOOK TWO: Tamzin Merchant - The Hatmakers - Illustrated by Paola Escobar - Published by Puffin (18. Feb 2021) - VOTE HERE

BOOK THREE: Sophie Kirtley - The Wild Way Home - Illustrated by Ben Mantle  -Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books (1 July 2020) - VOTE HERE

BOOK FOUR: Saviour Pirotta - The Mysterious Island (Wolfsong) - Illustrated by Davide Ortu - Published by Maverick Arts Publishing (28 Jan. 2021) - VOTE HERE

BOOK FIVE: Annemarie Allan - Breaker - Illustrated by Annie Glennie -  Published by Pokey Hat  (8 April 2020) - VOTE HERE 

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books - Book Cover Wars + Voters Competition - Round THREE 2020/2021

Before we close the doors for the last time on Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books, we like to take the opportunity to thank you all for the support you have shown us in the last twelve years or so. It has been a hard and very sad decision to make as it has been a fantastic journey and one that I've enjoyed very much. However, we would like to do one more fantasy tango with Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Wars. It's been a highlight for many years so let us go out with a BANG or maybe just a fizz! 

We are looking to find your favourite book cover ONCE again for 2020/2021. We do this to support the creative heroes of the children's book world; the illustrators and the creative teams behind all the books we love. So, please share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers on social media #bookcoverwars. Everyone is welcome so come and vote and share the FUN. 

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules: There will be five weekly heats (Two after this one)  with five book covers to vote for. All heat winners will make the grand final plus one more book cover (Wild Card Entry) with the highest amount votes will go through from any of the heats.

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 National Book Token (the UK only). Please leave a comment to show your interest. Good luck and let's all have some fun. 

• Round One Winner: Elle McNicoll - A Kind of Spark Illustrated by Kay Wilson - Published by Knights Of (4th June 2020)
• Round Two Winner: Nizrana Farook - The Boy Who Met a Whale - Illustrated by David Dean - Published by Nosy Crow (14th Jan 2021)

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 (or at the bottom of the post)
• Have fun, share, and tell the world or just a friend. Tweet, Facebook, Instagram and watch the voting develop, and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). 
• This poll will end on 1. 12. 2020 at Midnight UK time. 

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

BOOK ONE: Katya Balen - October, October - Illustrated by Angela Harding - Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books (17 Sept. 2020) - VOTE HERE

BOOK TWO: K. L. Kettle  - The Boy I Am - Illustrated by Thomas Truong - Published by Stripes Publishing (7 Jan. 2021) - VOTE HERE 

BOOK THREE: Lindsay Galvin - Darwin's Dragons - Illustrated by Gordy Wright - Published by Chicken House (7 Jan. 2021) - VOTE HERE

BOOK FOUR: M. G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman - Murder on the Safari Star - Illustrated by Elisa Paganelli - Published by Macmillan Children's Books (4 Feb. 2021) - VOTE HERE 

BOOK FIVE: Jack Meggitt-Philips - The Beast and the Bethany - Illustrated by Isabelle Follath - Published by Egmont (1 Oct. 2020) - VOTE HERE

HAPPY VOTING! #Bookcoverwars 

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books - Book Cover Wars + Voters Competition - Round TWO 2020/2021

 Before we close the doors for the last time on Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books, we like to take the opportunity to thank you all for the support you have shown us in the last twelve years or so. It has been a hard and very sad decision to make as it has been a fantastic journey and one that I've enjoyed very much. However, we would like to do one more fantasy tango with Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Wars. It's been a highlight for many years so let us go out with a BANG or maybe just a fizz! 

We are looking to find your favourite book cover ONCE again for 2020/2021. We do this to support the creative heroes of the children's book world; the illustrators and the creative teams behind all the books we love. So, please share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers on social media #bookcoverwars. Everyone is welcome so come and vote and share the fun. 

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules:There will be five weekly heats with five book covers to vote for. All heat winners will make the grand final plus one more book cover (Wild Card Entry) with the highest amount votes will go through from any of the heats.

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 National Book Token (the UK only). Please leave a comment to show your interest. Good luck and let's all have some fun. 

Congratulations: Round One Winner: Elle McNicoll - A Kind of Spark - Illustrated by Kay Wilson - Published by Knights Of (4th June 2020)

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 (or at the bottom of the post)
• Have fun, share, and tell the world. Tweet, Facebook and watch the voting develop, and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). 
• This poll will end on 23.11.2020 at Midnight UK time. 

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

BOOK ONE: Phil Hickes - The Haunting of Aveline Jones - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (17 Sept. 2020) - Illustrated by Keith Robinson - VOTE HERE

BOOK TWO: Nizrana Farook - The Boy Who Met a Whale - Published by Nosy Crow Ltd (14 Jan. 2021) - Illustrated by David Dean - VOTE HERE

BOOK THREE: Dan Smith - The Invasion of Crooked Oak - Published by Barrington Stoke (3 Sept. 2020) - Illustrated by Chris King - VOTE HERE

BOOK FOUR: Eve McDonnell - Elsetime - Published by Everything with Words (17 Sept. 2020) - Illustrated by Holly Ovenden - VOTE HERE

BOOK FIVE: P.G. Bell - Delivery to the Lost City (The Train to Impossible Places) - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (7 Jan. 2021) - Illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino - VOTE HERE

Interview with Children's Illustrator: Maxine Lee-Mackie - Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books

Good morning and welcome to Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books. Today is the first of several interviews with some of the best children's book illustrators around. So I'm delighted to be able to introduce Liverpool Illustrator, Maxine Lee-Mackie, who has been ever so kind in answering some personal questions about her career, inspirations and what makes her tick in the art world. 

If you would like to find out even more about her other illustrations and work then you can find her being artistically messy at www.maxinelee.com 

Equally, she's on Instagram: @MaxineLeeMackie or why not visit her Etsy Store. She has wonderful prints and a very interesting graphic novel which I, myself, have just purchased called The Ghost in the Window. So there's plenty to check out if you are interested. I hope you all have a great day!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to become an illustrator?
I'm a children's illustrator from England, and I've been working on children's books since 2011. My sister and I were always given beautifully illustrated books as children, the kind of books that were otherworldly and special - the illustrations from those have always stayed with me. My mum is very creative and loves writing stories and poems, and my dad used to love drawing for us when we were small. I was always drawing as a child, but it was seeing my sister's pencil drawing from secondary school that really pushed home the idea that art is a real thing that people take seriously. I wanted to draw like that.

Can you tell us anything about any of the upcoming projects that you are working on at the moment?
I can tell you that I've just completed a giant bugs book which was very challenging - I love drawing bugs, but I don't much like looking at real ones doing their thing. Illustrating books like that requires lots of research, so I had to look at lots of bugs doing lots of things. At the moment I'm working on some fairytales from around the world featuring brave girls and women, a biographical book about a prolific storyteller who EVERYONE knows, and a book cover for a spooky follow-up.

What is the most unusual project you have worked on and why?
I work with international clients and sometimes stories are told in different ways depending on where you are from. Some of the stories I have worked on haven't always worked out with a happy ending - just recently, one ended up with me having to draw some bones at the end...that was strange.

What resources and techniques do you use and do you have a favourite you enjoy working with?
My favourite techniques all involve getting messy with my materials - black ink with sticks, cardboard, sponges, and anything else I can put my hands on, is the best. That said, when I'm working on work to be published, I work digitally. I do enjoy working on my computer, it opens up lots of ways to experiment and it makes me a bit faster so I can meet my deadlines, but I do like getting my hands dirty when I have more time.

What do you find rewarding as an illustrator?
I find it rewarding when I've solved a problem. I like coming up with unusual ways to show something that might seem boring. It's also really cool to receive the first copy of your book from your publisher!

What is your favorite book cover illustration/design and why?
I have so many of these! Today though, because it's on my desk, I can tell you why I love the cover for Issun Boshi, illustrated by Mayumi Otero. Everything about this book is beautiful. It has carefully chosen colours, very strong contrasts, and pure geometric shapes mixed in amongst organic shapes. In my personal work, contrast is the thing I'm always trying to capture. I can't always do this with client work, so I make as much experimental work as I can. It's kind of my hobby.



Who are your favourite illustrators and why?
I have so many! Brecht Evens is amazing and does lots of layering and translucent paint effects which are so delicate and powerful at the same time. Annette Marnat uses beautiful strong shapes with delicate textures and creates wonderlands that pull you on. I've just recently discovered Beatrice Blue and I'm struck by the layers of detail and light in her work.

                                   (Illustration by Annette Marnat)

Where should a person start if they want to pursue a career in illustration? 
Start with concentrating on what you want to do. Try lots of things out, build up a body of work that reflects who you are and what you want to do. Don't bend to fit the idea of what you think your illustrations should look like. Think of your illustrations like your voice - you can control it, you can imitate the sounds other people make, but in the end, only one sound feels natural. Work with that sound, and hone it. Once you've accepted this part of yourself, you'll feel a lot more confident in what you produce and it will be uniquely yours.

Guest Post by Samuel Perrett - Senior Fiction Designer – Hachette Children’s Group.

Welcome to the fantastic guest post by Samuel Perrett, who is the Senior fiction designer at Hachette Children’s Group. This post takes a look at the production and design of Bex Hogan's Viper/Venom books. It shows the final choice and the process that is undertaken before the final decision is made about the resulting book cover. This decision can make or break a book, so it is vitally important to get it right. In this case, they have done a brilliant job with the design and production of each book in the series so far. 

 “So… Do You Draw the Pictures?” 

Quite often when I meet people for the first time and they ask what I do, and say “I design children’s books”, the response is usually, “So … do you draw the pictures?”. This is understandable, as often ‘children’s books’ conjures up images of picture books, however, the world of children’s publishing is so broad. Ranging from preschool board books, picture books, and activity books through to illustrated chapter books, middle-grade fiction, young adult epics, and graphic novels. 


The role of the designer is to conceptualise, commission and create; with each book bringing different challenges and requirements. It is a big task to create a book cover because as much as we are told not to, we are all guilty of judging a book by its cover. Not to mention each designer has their own way of working, different processes to visualise their ideas. To help showcase my particular process for designing a cover, I have chosen to focus on the cover for Bex Hogan’s ‘Viper’, which published in April and is the first book in the Isles of Storm and Sorrow series. A thrilling and fast-paced fantasy YA novel, that follows the story the strong and courageous, Marianne. 

Like all projects, I started with a brief from the editor. Which contains information such as the plot, the feel-and-tone of the book and any other stand-out elements. The key themes of the book were; fantasy, adventure, danger, and (a hint of) magic. From that, I created loose ‘thumbnail’ drawings of cover concepts. Thinking about the composition of the image, the structure or hierarchy of the information and how to incorporate the key themes. 

Then some of the thumbnails were worked into concepts. They are still rough and unfinished, but this is part of my process to see how the idea looks when it is more ‘fleshed out’ and less of scribble on the page. 

The first concept showcased an inky dual image of Marianne in the snake’s mouth and was discarded pretty quickly. It is the starting of a narrative-led yet abstract design that had energy and movement with the textured brushstrokes. Even at this rough stage and with some of the details missing, I felt the concept would struggle to carry across the rest of the series and would require too much decoding by the reader to understand the premise of the book. With the cover having such a big pull in shops, and especially online, having an image that requires too much work to understand will never work, particularly when designing for children. 

These two concepts are more worked-up than the first and contain elements that informed the final cover. The artwork is created using some vectors from the image library, Shutterstock, that have been edited and with extra artwork I created. Both of these take a more decorative approach whilst keeping a sense of danger and adventure. 

After presenting these concepts to the editor along with the sales and the marketing teams, I had feedback to have more focus and give a greater sense of fantasy. 

The final concept is the response to that feedback. Having a single snake hissing for focus and giving a sense of danger, wrapping it around the compass to nod towards the journey/adventure. Adding in the sea and the starts to suggest the nautical setting, whilst keeping the visuals very graphic and decorative, so the silver and gold foil that I had planned added to the notion of magic. 

All of the elements were working well together, however, the hierarchy of the title and branding still needed work. In this concept Bex’s name, the series title and the title are holding very similar weighting. It was decided to keep Bex’s name at the top and to lead with the title, rather than the series title. I needed to find lettering to really make the title stand out and be able to echo the key themes of the book. 

This is a selection of the fonts that I looked at (there were plenty more), along with the base font that I started with and then edited for the final cover. Each has a different feel to them; some felt too fussy and they would conflict with the decorative nature of the cover; whilst others were too hard to read when small. The font that I ultimately selected has a slight nod towards being ‘pirate-like’ and is strong and bold. I then edited the letters to have more fluidity and movement and add some extra flourishes. (Such as a subtle ‘fang’ on the ‘R’ to echo the one already on the top of the ‘V’. This is something that can be taken as purely decorative or potentially go unnoticed, but it’s always fun to add a little something extra when the time is right.) 


Once the type was resolved and extra elements like the border were naturally added to balance out of the overall composition, the cover was complete. Thankfully, the author was very happy with the final design and then the cover was revealed. The printed books are finished with gold and silver foil giving them a luxurious shine that really stands out on the shelves. 


As mentioned previously, when designing the first book in a new series, there is always the thought in the back of your head about how the visual language of book one will translate to books two and beyond. With Viper it has such a strong structure that creating the cover for Venom was thankfully pretty straightforward. Keeping the key elements like the compass and the border, my focus was more on finding a way to incorporate all the new elements whilst ensuring the covers look different to each other, but still part of the same family.

So, to round off, do I draw the pictures? Sometimes yes, but sometimes no. More-often-than-not I get the privilege to work with incredibly talented illustrators who are able to bring new worlds and characters to life. But, no matter how the artwork is created, every cover comes the aim to refine the authors' words into one powerful image that can capture the attention and imagination of a reader.

Mr Ripley's Book Cover Wars Final 2019/2020 + £10 Book Voucher + Mystery Book Prize

Hello Everybody. Are you ready for the final of Mr. Ripley's Book Cover Wars?
Over the last five weeks, different authors, illustrators, and publishers have battled for their book covers to be in the big final. As a result, we now have five worthy winners who have the chance to be crowned with the title 'Mr. Ripley's Enchanted book cover of the year 2019/20'. 

So without any further waiting, let the final battle of Book Cover Wars commence . . . . 

As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the opportunity to win a £10 national book voucher and a mystery book. 

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

• Vote for your favourite book cover using the poll below 
• Leave a comment through this post or poll - VOTE HERE
• Share on Twitter @Enchantedbooks. Have fun, watch the voting develop and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed) the book token/book prize. Please note that this competition is open to the UK only
• This poll will end on 15.12.2019 at midnight UK time 

So here are the FIVE winning brilliant book covers for you to vote for.

BOOK ONE: Joan Haig - Tiger Skin Rug - Published by Cranachan Publishing (6 Feb. 2020). Book Cover Designed by Annie Glennie - VOTE HERE

BOOK TWO: Nick Tomlinson - The Ghouls of Howlfair - Published by Walker Books (3 Oct. 2019). Book Cover Illustration by Kim Geyer  - VOTE HERE

BOOK THREE: Nizrana Farook - The Girl Who Stole An Elephant - Published by Nosy Crow Ltd (9 Jan. 2020). Book Cover Illustration by David Dean  - VOTE HERE

BOOK FOUR: Sita Brahmachari - Where the River Runs Gold Published by Orion Children's Book (1 July 2019). Book Cover Illustration by Evan Hollingdale/Designed by Samuel Perrett - VOTE HERE

BOOK FIVE: P.G Bell - The Brain Robbery - (A Train to Impossible Places Adventure) - Published by Usborne Publishing (3 Oct 2019. Book Cover Illustration by Flavia Sorrentino/Katharine Millichope and Team - VOTE HERE

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

Welcome to the last Heat of the Book Cover Wars. We are looking to find our favourite book cover of 2019/2020. We do this is to support the unsung heroes of the children's book world - the illustrators and the creative teams behind all the books we love. So, please share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers on social media #bookcoverwars. Everyone is welcome AND ENJOY. 

For any follower of this site, this is the chance for you to become part of the weekly book cover wars. I have selected another five book covers for you to vote from. The winner from last week has now made it through to the grand final. However, you still need to decide, over the next following weeks, which other book covers will join it and get a chance to be crowned as 'Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Winner 2019/20'.

Week One Winner: P.G Bell - The Brain Robbery - (A Train to Impossible Places Adventure) - Book Cover Illustration by Flavia Sorrentino/Katharine Millichope/Usborne - 79 Votes

Week Two Winner: Sita Brahmachari - Where the River Runs Gold - Book Cover Illustration by Evan Hollingdale/Samuel Perrett/Orion - 111 Votes

Week Three Winner: Nizrana Farook - The Girl Who Stole An Elephant - Book Cover Illustration by David Dean/Nosy Crow - 295 Votes

Week Four Winner: Nick Tomlinson - The Ghouls of Howlfair - Book Cover Illustration by Kim Geyer/Walker Books - 240 Votes

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 National Book Token. Please leave a comment to show your interest. Good luck all and have fun. 

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

• Vote for your favourite book cover using the poll - HERE 
• Leave a comment through this post or poll - HERE
• Share on Twitter @Enchantedbooks. Have fun, 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 2.12.2019 at Midnight UK time. 

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

BOOK ONE: Andy Briggs - CRTL+ S - Published by Orion (11 July 2019) - Book Cover Illustration by Tomas Almedia - VOTE HERE

BOOK TWO: Joan Haig - Tiger Skin Rug - Published by Cranachan Publishing (6 Feb. 2020) Book Cover Designed by Annie Glennie - VOTE HERE

BOOK THREE: Emma Read - Milton the Mighty - Published by Chicken House (6 Jun. 2019) Book Cover Illustrated by Alex G Griffiths - VOTE HERE 

BOOK FOUR: A M Howell - The House of One Hundred Clocks - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (6 Feb. 2020) - Book Cover Illustrated by Saara Soderlund - VOTE HERE

BOOK FIVE: K. A. Reynolds - The Spinner of Dreams - Published by HarperCollins (27 Aug. 2019) - Book Cover Illustrated by Julia Iredale - VOTE HERE