The Casual Optimist

One couple eat noodles on a sunny day, another share cocktails against a starry night.

In April 2026, we publish two novels by the Japanese author Nao-Cola Yamazaki, both exploring the beauty and pain of love. Don't Laugh... is tr. by Polly Barton, Beautiful Distance by Charlotte Goff. These gorgeous covers are designed by Luke Bird, with illustrations by Ryo Kaneyasu.

The Best Movie Posters of 2025 Our movie poster columnist unveils his favorite designs of the year.

Here are Adrian Curry's picks of the best movie posters of 2025 for MUBI:

mubi.com/en/notebook/...

The 15 Best Movie Posters of 2025 The year's most inspired posters. None of the 21 Smurfs made the cut.

For The Reveal I rounded up the year's best movie posters:

Drew Shannon’s Master and Commander poster for the upcoming screening at The Revue is something else!

Metroland, with a cover showing two men standing on the platform of a Tube station

Before She Met Me, with cover showing a man’s head in profile, with the head shape filled with an illustration of cinema seating and the beam from a cinema projector

Staring at the Sun, with cover showing a woman on a golf course near the Green, looking up and shielding her eyes as the shadow of a plane passes overhead

A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters, with cover showing a turbulent stormy sea, with Noah’s ark in the background and the re-entry module of a space rocket in the foreground

Other Julian Barnes books in 1990s Picador paperback covers. Cover illustrations by George Underwood (Staring at the Sun and Before She Met Me), Kenny McKendry (Metroland) and David Bergen (History of the World).

Guidelines for US Highway Graphics, over 900 pages with so many neat diagrams, signs etc.

mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r...

totally, fatally obsessed with this gorgeous cover design by Julia Lloyd at @titanbooks.bsky.social for my debut novel THE RED SACRAMENT! Ahhh!!!

Ugh TYPOS!

Memory Rehab and Future History: December’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books The mornings are brisker, the evenings are darker—the year is winding down. You may, like me, be reevaluating your TBR from the past year and recalling books you had meant to read when you got them…

Found via lithub.com/memory-rehab...

The orange and black cover of SF novel Casual by Koji A. Dae (Tenebrous Press / February 10, 2025) featuring circuit board style art by Cristina Bencina that incorporates images of a fox and pregnant woman.

I am very late to this, but given the title I feel almost obligated to post it given the title! Cover art by Cristina Bencina...

Various versions of Sick Power Trip

Kia ora! I've unleashed my fave NZ book covers of 2025. My top pick is Sick Power Trip by @erikkennedy.com
Published by @thwupbooks.bsky.social
Designed by @toddatticus.bsky.social
Todd talks about the making of the cover: my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/blogs/post/b... ^DR
#booksky #pukapuka

End of year lists are hard.

More publishers should do this!

The 16 Best Book Covers of November Another month of books, another month of book covers. This will be my last roundup of the year, as December will be occupied by our annual Big List of the best covers of the year as chosen by the d…

And here are Lit Hub's November cover picks:

lithub.com/the-15-best-...

No cover round-up from me this month. I'm working on the obligatory end of the year list as we speak.

SPINE-November Book Covers We Love! Welcome to November’s Book Covers We Love! The full list is comprised of a selection of covers reviewed by a panel including Co-Founder of Chapman & Wilder, Cherie Chapman ; Freelance Designer M...

Here are SPINE's November book cover picks!

spinemagazine.co/book-covers-...

Three independent publishers getting book design just right - Monocle These bookmakers have caught our eye with their distinctive designs and unique offerings hidden between covers.

Monocle on 3 independent publishers with distinctive cover designs

monocle.com/culture/char...

A poster for Manpower Temporary Services by Lois Ehlert from 1979 in pink, orange, green and blue, made to look like a 19th century cross stitch sampler. It reads "OFFICE SWEET OFFICE" and has an alphabet along with geometric floral designs.

Get in losers we're ruining the workplace.

Poster designed by Lois Ehlert for Manpower Temporary Services, 1979, in the collection of @cooperhewitt.org.web.brid.gy.

SPINE-University Press Week 2025: Special Coverage The Uni Press round-up is back! We welcome you to our ongoing feature, now penned by designer and photographer Giles Hoover , in which we periodically highlight a selection of recent university press...

Spine add to their university press coverage this year with 25 additional covers from 2025...

spinemagazine.co/articles/uni...

A sneak peek at the cover of next week’s issue, which celebrates Zohran Mamdani’s historic win. #NewYorkerCovers
https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/451hFM

I wrote a book about graphic design

The cover of Dick Cheney Shot Me in the Face by Timothy O’Leary designed by David A. Gee (Unsolicited Press / February 2017). White sans serif text on a black background.

Dick Cheney Shot Me in the Face and Other Tales of Men in Pain by Timothy O’Leary; design by David A. Gee (Unsolicited Press / February 2017)

Vasilis Marmatakis on the strangely traditional ways he creates Yorgos Lanthimos’ film posters What goes into the poster and title design for films steeped in human anxieties and fever dreams? For the Greek graphic designer, it’s all worked out through water play, thousands of images mutilated ...

“I don’t like things looking too sharp. I don’t really know how to use Photoshop”

www.itsnicethat.com/features/vas...

Year of the Rabbit: Why We’re Seeing So Many Bunnies on Books The bunny is having its book cover moment. If you don’t believe me, head to your closest bookstore and look for recent award winners: you’ll find Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny, recently shortlisted for…

Rabbits...

lithub.com/year-of-the-...

What’s With All the Sheep on Book Covers? Think back to the last time you saw a sheep. Where were you—some grassy rolling hills? A dusty petting zoo? Or was it, maybe, in a bookstore? Maybe in the new releases, on the cover of Midnight Tim…

Sheep...

lithub.com/whats-with-a...

From 1973, Ed Emberley’s Little Drawing Book of Weirdos. www.presentandcorrect.com/blogs/blog/e...

The cover of Dead and Alive: Essays by Zadie Smith designed by Gray318. The cover features a black and white photograph by Inez and Vinoodh of the author looking away from the camera.

I missed @gray318.bsky.social's cover design (photo by Inez & Vinoodh) for Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith in October's round-up, and it's a reminder that I miss a lot of covers every month. If I've overlooked some of the work you're proud of this year, drop me a note!

The 11 Best Book Covers of October Another month of books, another month of book covers: October was big, bold, and weird as all get out. I also threw in a couple of covers that I forgot in September but just couldn’t let go o…

And here are Lit Hub's cover picks for October...

lithub.com/the-11-best-...

SPINE-October Book Covers We Love! Welcome to October’s Book Covers We Love! The full list is comprised of a selection of covers reviewed by a panel including Co-Founder of Chapman & Wilder, Cherie Chapman ; Author of the novels ...

There are some nice selections in Spine's Book Covers We Love post this month..

spinemagazine.co/book-covers-...

Book Covers of Note, October 2025 Hey, I hope you're keeping safe and well wherever you are. Here are my latest book covers of note... Big Kiss, Bye-Bye by Claire-Louise Bennett; design by Stephanie Ross; cover art by Maria Guimarães The Bridegroom Was a Dog by Yoko Tawada; cover illustration by David Plunkert (New Directions / November 2025) Casanova 20 by Davey Davis; design by…

Here are this month's book covers of note...