Are the girls ok?
Something is going on with our leading ladies lately.
They’re overwhelmed and unraveling. They’re collapsing onto sofas or hiding beneath them. They’re disappearing behind curtains and under the covers. They’re banging their heads against the wall.
These are Women on the Verge! And they’re all over today’s best-selling book covers.
‘Women in peril’ are nothing new to book cover art, of course. Publishers and designers have long understood the visual appeal of a damsel in distress. Readers browsing in bookstores are left wondering, “What’s happened to her and will she be okay!?” Or, more often: “Shit’s going down and I can relate.”
Keeping up with the times, today’s troubled cover girl has evolved! She doesn’t need to be tied to the railroad tracks or fleeing a shadowy figure in the night to sell copies. Sometimes all it takes is a strategically placed bowl of fruit and the general sense that she has absolutely had it for a design to stick in our minds forever.
We’re hardly the first cover junkies to notice this trend, since troubled protagonists have been on the struggle bus for a few years now.
And what beautiful struggles they are! These book covers turn anxiety, exhaustion, desire, and domestic chaos into clever visual concepts—often with a healthy dose of humor.
But one thing is clear: whether our heroine is literally trapped, figuratively trapped, or just having a spectacularly bad afternoon…things could be going better for them.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite book cover designs featuring women on the verge of mental collapse. We wish them all a speedy recovery.
*blog post cover image featuring art by Wayne Thiebaud
*Follow INABC on Instagram for collections just like this one!
Clutch by Emily Nemens
Designer: Beth Steidle • Artist: Wayne Thiebaud
Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen
Designer: Amanda Hudson
Lucky Girl by Allie Tagle Dokus
Designer: Beth Steidle
Like This, But Funnier by Jan Saenz
Designer: Rachel Wiley
Hot And Bothered by Jancee Dunn
Designer: Sandra Chiu
How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson
Designer: Let us know!
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Designer: Let us know!
Mess by Michael Chessler
Designer: Joanne O’Neil
Discontent by Beatriz Serrano
Designer: Madeline Partner
No Hard Feelings by Genevieve Novak
Designer: Mietta Yans
Careering by Daisy Buchanan
Designer: Let us know!
Checkout 19 by Claire-Lousie Bennett
Designer:
The Dilemmas of Working Women by Fumio Yamamoto
Designer: Let us know!
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Designer: Amy Daoud
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Designer: Joanne O’Neil
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
Designer: Katie Tooke
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way by Diane Negra
Designer: Let us know!
There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
Designer: Let us know!
Awake Awake by Fiona Mozley
Designer: Keith Hayes
Other Women by Nicola Maye Goldberg
Designer: Andy Pressman
Sophie, Standing There by Meg Mason
Designer: Let us know!
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Designer: Let us know!
3 different “Sorrow and Bliss” by Meg Mason cover variations
What fun see the same concept delivered as a painting, a photograph, and as a graphic illustration!
Happiness & Love by Zoe Dubno
Designer: let us know!
All’s Well by Mona Awad
Designer: Kate Sinclair
Juliet The Maniac by Juliet Escoria
Designer: Beste Miray Dogan
What a Shame by Abigail Bergstrom
Designer: Jo Myler
A Smart Girl’s Guide to Second Chances by Steph Vizard
Designer: Maya Abraham
Famesick by Lena Dunham
Designer: CHIPS
The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat
Designer: Tree Abraham
Worry by Alexandra Tanner
Designer: Alicia Tatone
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Designer: Alicia Tatone
Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan
Designer: Rachel Ake
Agnes Lives by Hallie Elizabth Newton
Designer: Let us know!
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Designer: Mumtaz Mustafa
How to Find a Professional Book Cover Designer For Your Damsel in Distress
Many people claim to be book cover designers, but then there are those who are being hired again and again by the same major publishers.
But how do you find those truly professional book cover designers? The INeedABookCover Designer Directory has made it easier for authors to find and collaborate with talented, professional designers like the ones listed in this article.
Use the Jobs Board to share your project’s creative brief with our vetted listserv of designers!
Designers seeking book cover jobs and book cover designer jobs can apply to join our private listserv for the opportunity to bid on lucrative book cover design jobs.
If you enjoyed this listicle, be sure to check out the “Design Devices” series to explore other elements commonly used on book covers such as paintings or eyes.
