We judged books by their covers for this gallery of 2018’s best designs, and the results are stunning.
The reality is that a striking design can influence whether we’ll pick up a title or leave it untouched on a shelf, so talented designers and artists craft images that will catch our eye as well as communicate a book’s content. With this in mind, we’ve selected 18 gorgeous covers that weave creativity and practicality into memorable designs. These are by no means the only exceptional covers released this year, but they are our favorites.
If you want to view even more book covers, you can check out our gallery of the best covers of 2017. We also recommend visiting both Spine Magazine’s and The Casual Optimist’s websites, as they introduced us to many of our favorite designs this year. And if you’re looking for reading recommendations, check out our lists of the best novels, best nonfiction books, best fantasy novels and best Young Adult novels of 2018.
Rather than rank the covers, we listed them in an aesthetically pleasing order.
1 of 18
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Hippie by Paulo Coelho
Designed by Tyler Comrie
2 of 18
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The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Designed by Peter Mendelsund; photographed by Nan Goldin
3 of 18
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Ink by Alice Broadway
Designed by Andrew Biscomb and Elizabeth B. Parisi; illustrated by Jamie Gregory
4 of 18
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Godsend by John Wray
Designed and illustrated by Adrian Tomine
5 of 18
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Liveblog by Megan Boyle
Designed by Nicole Caputo
6 of 18
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The Pisces by Melissa Broder
Designed by Rachel Willey; illustrated by Tim O'Brien
7 of 18
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Feel Free by Zadie Smith
Designed by Gray318
8 of 18
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Notes from My Captivity by Kathy Parks
Designed by Heather Daugherty; illustrated by Helen Crawford-White
9 of 18
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Smoke and Mirrors by K.D. Halbrook
Designed by Karl James Mountford and Chloé Foglia
10 of 18
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Muck by Dror Burstein
Designed by Na Kim