From Rachel Willey’s gorgeous interpretation of The Pisces to Corina Lupp’s clever take on Undead Girl Gang, the 10 book covers in this gallery deliver some of May’s best designs. Browse our top picks, and enjoy celebrating the designers and illustrators whose work leaps from the shelves.
If you want to view even more stunning 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 month.
Rather than rank the covers, we listed them in an aesthetically pleasing order.
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The Pisces by Melissa Broder
Cover design by Rachel Willey and illustration by Tim O'Brien
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Come West and See by Maxim Loskutoff
Cover design by Oliver Munday, title hand lettering by Oliver Munday, author's name hand lettering by Joel Holland, painting by George B. Boorujy (titled Appalachian)
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The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah by Benjamin Zephaniah
Cover design by Jack Smyth
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Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons
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The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Cover design by Peter Mendelsund and photograph by Nan Goldin
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So Lucky by Nicola Griffith
Cover design by Boyang Xia and Rodrigo Corral
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Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
Cover design by Corina Lupp and photograph by Michael Frost
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The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas
Paperback cover design by Keith Hayes and illustration by Kemi Mai
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Tomb of the Unknown Racist by Blanche McCrary Boyd
Cover design by Nicole Caputo
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Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
Cover design by Faceout Studio / Charles Brock, symbol design by Charles Brock, illustration by Jozsef Hunor Vilhelem
(Click through to see Vilhelem's illustration on the hardback.)
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Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
Illustration by Jozsef Hunor Vilhelem
(Photo of the hardback without the jacket by Danielle Siess.)