The Penguin Blog

A fresh approach to cover design.

Penguin design guru Richard Bravery talks about the unique approach to designing the Penguin Essentials

Classic (backlist) books generally take the cover approach of marrying the period of the book with the aesthetic of the age. So a 1920's book is generally twinned with Deco styling/artists. But with the Essentials we wanted, where possible, to break away from that approach, and package the books as if they were new texts, using contemporary artists to appeal to a new generation of readers.

We wanted to use a core of international artists and designers who hadn’t worked in publishing in the traditional sense before; from tattoo and graffiti artists, to paper sculptors and gig poster designers, as we wanted the designs to feel fresh, different and unexpected.

Like most things when you try something new, you fail as much as you succeed. It’s a delicate balance, to move something on but not stretch too thinly the link (be it cultural or aesthetic) between the book and the design, after all, what’s the use of a great looking contemporary package if it alienates the very people you were hoping would read the book? So it was really important to us that the artists themselves were as enthusiastic about the project as we were, as most of the books took time, patience and commitment to get to the finished design.    

It was a joy to work with such a varied group of artists, constantly bouncing ideas around and developing the designs, some of my personal highlights were keeping my fingers crossed one anxious night whilst RIPO went hunting for a suitable piece of Barcelona on which to daub the Steppenwolf painting. Working with Anders Nilsen and Parra and watching them bringing two very difficult books to life. And the sheer delight of seeing Kristian Hammerstad’s ideas for A Clockwork Orange for the first time.

Richard Bravery
Senior Designer

Four Attempts To Enjoy My Own Film

A guest blog post by Joe Dunthorne

 

 

1.
The first time I watched the film of my novel, Submarine, was a strange experience. We were at the world premiere as part of the Toronto Film Festival and it felt, to use the director, Richard Ayoade’s words, like a “ninety-minute heart attack.” Okay, maybe not quite that bad. A ninety-minute anaphylactic shock. (I have a peanut allergy, so I can say that.) Only as the credits rolled was I filled with a wave of relief and pride — much like the feeling of being injected in the glutes with an Epipen full of adrenaline.

2.
The second time I saw the film was at the London Film Festival, with my parents, sisters, friends and famous people all in the audience. This time, being more able to concentrate on the film, I’d even go so far as to say I enjoyed it. But there was still this meta-narrative, whereby I was conscious of all the different versions of the story that exist. Not just the film and the book, but all the different drafts of the book, and all the drafts of the script, and everything that got cut out, and all the scenes that I’d watched being filmed — so, although I really enjoyed the film, I was still a little self-conscious. Although that could have been because I was sat next to Alex Turner and Alexa Chung. Did I mention I was sat beside Alexa Chung and Alex Turner? It probably slipped my mind because I was totally relaxed about sitting beside Alex Turner and Alexa Chung.

3.
The third time I watched it was at the Welsh premiere in Swansea, my hometown. At this screening, there was my family, my oldest friends, my first girlfriend, all my parent’s friends. I sat on my own, at the side of the audience, sweeping my eyes across all these people from my childhood, trying to read their expressions. I don’t think I’m letting the secret out if I say that my novel, Submarine, was a little autobiographical — so this was an audience made up of people who had been turned in to characters in my book. My experience of the film was through them, which was lucky, because they seemed to really enjoy it. Afterwards, me and my first girlfriend compared notes about how similar the sex scene in the film had been to the, shall I say, source material.

4.
The fourth time I watched it was the breakthrough. Associate Producer (and my housemate), Ally Gipps, had smuggled me a copy of the DVD and we watched it, at home, on the projector, with tea. This was the true moment of revelation. It’s a great film. Really, properly great. I instantly wanted to take full responsibility for its greatness. So I did. The acting, the casting, the music, the sets, the shot choices, the lighting, cinematography, production, the PR, the posters, the costumes… All me! I even did all the on-set catering. I’ve always been passionate about the sort of food that suits being warmed by a heat lamp. Reminds me of school dinners, which I also loved. What joy to play lunchtime-football with a stomach full of beans, chips and turkey burger. What was I saying? Oh yeah — the film. It’s really good. Go see it. Though you should probably read the book first.

Joe Dunthorne

 

Penguins on the March for World Book Night

Last Saturday 5^th was World Book Night and Penguins were out in force, giving away some of the million free books, attending events on the night and the night before, and looking after some of the authors chosen. Here’s just a taster of what they did ... 

 

Eleo Gordon, Editorial Director

I was meant to cruise the Market Place of Andover handling out my wares - 48 copies of All Quiet on the Western Front.  What happened was somewhat different.  I  was invited to a Christening of a baby with a good group of people attending.  So here is where the copies went, with enormous pleasure on their behalf: 

12 copies to the House of Commons

3 copies to the Australian Embassy

10 copies to a school in Ladbroke Grove to give to parents and staff

5 copies to a  nursery school in Fulham to give to staff and parents

10 copies to random people at the Christening

4 copies to people on the tube

3 copies left in the boot of my car still to be given out.

An enjoyable experience! 

 

Lija Kresowaty, Publicity Assistant

I went to the WBN party at Royal Festival Hall on Saturday night to watch Penguin authors Joe Dunthorne and Rebecca Hunt in action. As a loyal expat Canadian, the highlight of my night was wandering shamelessly into the VIP area to get Margaret Atwood to sign my old university copy of Surfacing - now complete with both my embarrassing scribbles ("why?" "sex object?") and best wishes from the first lady of Canadian literature.  

 

Joanna Prior, MD of Penguin General

I went to the big WBN launch event on Friday night in Trafalgar Square.  Graham Norton compered  with great skill and energy but the stars were undoubtedly the writers - Margaret Atwood, Monica Ali, Edna O'Brien, Alan Bennett, John le Carre and others.  There was no razzmatazz, just readings from great works of fiction, memoir and poetry and this was enough to hold mesmerised an audience of several thousand, standing in the chill of Trafalgar Square.  I think it set some kind of new benchmark for live book events.  We should be ambitious and unapologetic about putting our writers in front of an audience.  For many people there on Friday, it was their first ever encounter with a real live author and they will be back for more. 

On Saturday I gave out my 48 copies of The Reluctant Fundamentalist after the QPR home game against Leicester at Loftus Road.  (1-0 to QPR in the final moments of the match should you be interested.)  Slightly nervous, I stood just outside the grounds and caught people as they streamed out.  It didn't take me long to off-load my hoard.  I was met with a wonderful range of responses from "I'd rather shoot myself" and "I don't/can't read" to "Can I take one for my wife - she's the reader", and "Oh free book, great thanks".  I'm pretty sure no one had heard of World Book Day or Night, but I came away thinking that I had probably found a handful of new readers for this terrific book - and I know this book will affect those people in a positive way.  It felt like a good thing to have done. 

Saturday night was a feast of book programmes on the BBC, from 7.30 onwards and rather than join the party on the South Bank, I opted to stay in and watch it all.    I feel sure we'll see the return of WBN again next year after such a positive weekend of feasting on literature. 

 

Mary Mount, Editorial Director

As I set off towards Trafalgar Square on Friday afternoon I realised I had no idea what to expect from the World Book Event being hosted there that evening. How would writers read to crowds of thousands on a cold, dark night in March? Would there actually be thousands of people in Trafalgar Sq on a cold, dark night in March - or just a few lost, freezing tourists and men in suits hurrying home from the office?
The first indication of the surprising nature of the evening was to see the figure of Rupert Everett wandering around the perimeter of Canada House (where security passes were being handed out) trying to find a way in. The next was the enormous stage between two lions and Nelson's Column lit up with the words 'World Book Night.' After managing to secure several security wristbands (I was beginning to feel like a groupie trying to get backstage at Glastonbury) I found my way into the author tent, lit by an orange electric fire and crammed to bursting with authors, actors and musicians - John le Carré, Alan Bennett, Margaret Atwood, Mark Haddon, Suggs, Nick Cave, David Nichols, Monica Ali, Philip Pullman to name but a few.  

Then it got increasingly surreal: Margaret Atwood discussing the astrological significance of the uprisings in the Middle East, Edna O'Brien looking about twenty-five, several other authors staring nervously into the middle distance while their agents kept saying in upbeat voices 'there are lots of people out there!'. A little concerned that 'a lot' in publishing could mean anything from 10 people to 500 (and Trafalgar Sq never felt bigger…) I stepped outside the tented zone to get a better look. It was fantastic - there were thousands of people, the square lit up on all sides and a real air of anticipation. Then the readings began – the real highlights for me were Alan Bennett reading from his memoir, Suggs reading the wonderfully moving and wonderfully London poem, ‘On a Portrait of a Deaf Man’ by John Betjeman and the finale – John le Carré’s powerful reading from the beginning of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, particularly when, just before he started to read, he asked the audience to imagine that we were standing not in front of Nelson’s Column but in front of the Brandenburg Gate, and it was covered in barbed wire. 

I’m not sure why, having attended lots of festivals and bookshop events over the years, I found this event so inspiring. Perhaps it was the infectious excitement of the crowds, maybe it was being in the middle of Trafalgar Square and seeing books celebrated in such a big way, or maybe it was just hearing great authors read from great books. It probably was as simple as that. 

 

Ben Brusey, Editorial Assistant

I was shivering like everyone else in Trafalgar square on Friday, but it was worth every goosebump- Graham Norton was giggling, the authors were dazzling, and the crowd was whooping. The lineup was seriously impressive and genuinely squeal-inducing. Highlights had to be the ever-charming Alan Bennett (what a nice bloke), the wonderfully weird Margaret Atwood - bizzarrely giving dating tips - and of course the inimitable John le Carré,  the spy who finally came out in the cold who effortlessly transformed central London into Cold War Germany, and showed his Jason Bourne-like reflexes to catch his crib notes when they were blown by the wind. Everyone left happy - a brilliant event for book lovers and a superb advert for reading in general. 

 

Rosamund Hutchison, Press Officer

Luminous Books in Hackney is an artist curated second hand bookshop in East London focusing on fiction, philosophy and art. On Saturday Luminous Books held a Southern Gothic evening in celebration of World Book Night and gave away copies of Toni Morrison's 'Beloved'. C.A. Smith 'the Canadian one man band' read extracts from 'Beloved'. There was great live blues music from 'Six Toe Joe' and 'Big Finger Rowe' as well as an amazing acoustic set from 'Miraculous Mule'. There was an impressive display of Southern Gothic themed literature from Truman Capote rare editions to Nick Cave and the dancing and delicious gumbo kept us warmed up. A wonderful WBN celebration! Thanks Luminous http://luminousbooks.tumblr.com/

 

World Book Night was an enormous project, and one that will hopefully happen again on an even bigger scale next year. Everyone involved that I met really enjoyed themselves. There were some teething problems, inevitable with an undertaking so vast, but it’s hard to argue with the sight of 10,000 people on a freezing night in Trafalgar Square, 1,000 people at the Royal Festival Hall, and an entire evening of BBC programmes dedicated to books. People turned out in force and put on a good show.

 

All photographs copyright World Book Night

 

Did you go to WBN?

If so, and you're on Twitter, upload a picture, tag it #WBNpic and we'll pick a few to add to this blog post.

 

Joe Pickering

Publicity Manager

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A Civilizing Influence

He’s been called the ‘Errol Flynn of British historians’, and at last night’s Intelligence Squared lecture on his new book Civilization, a tanned and dapper Niall Ferguson was on truly swashbuckling form. I had wanted to hear Niall speak for ages (I have to confess, I have a bit of a crush), but wasn’t quite prepared for just how entertaining he would be: working the crowd like an absolute pro, batting away the most fiendish of audience questions with nostril-flaring brilliance and exhibiting a scary amount of knowledge about, well, pretty much everything to do with economic history.

Before I get too carried away, I should mention that the purpose of Niall’s lecture was to answer the question why, when at the start of the 15th century the East ruled the world in terms of cities, wealth, resources and anything else you could care to think of, Western Europe subsequently managed to ascend from a grimy little backwater and conquer the world. His answer is that they used 6 killer ‘apps’ (a slightly Dad-like reference to technology that, he explained, was to try and make his teenage daughter read the book): competition, science, property rights, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic.

One of the many fascinating things I discovered from this talk is that Niall doesn’t claim these are uniquely ‘Western’ values (China and India are downloading most of them as we speak), and also that the need to colonize other countries and forge empires is, in his view, definitely not an essential app. It’s all so nuanced and detailed that I really suggest you read the book to find out more, and to discover why Niall isn’t really the apologist for Empire that he’s sometimes portrayed as. This lefty-liberal is definitely a fan.  

Louise Willder
Penguin Press Copywriter

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