Posted on

Lobster-led design (and Wes Anderson films)

This week, we have another cover art special for you!

In 2019, we published Erik Fosnes Hansen’s Lobster Life, translated from the Norwegian Et hummerliv by Janet Garton. With a title like that, we knew that we needed a cover that would honour the novel’s quirkiness and its blend of comedy and tragedy, as captured in this review:

What a totally brilliant book! Best comedy I have read in ages. It reminded me of The Natives of Hemsö, such a favourite book. Best medicine for the coronavirus blues; I’m telling everybody to read it. It made me laugh and laugh – and then it made me cry.  

Sue Prideaux, author of I am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche, Winner of the Hawthornden Prize 2019.

For a taste of Lobster Life, you can read an extract here, which relates what happens when our young narrator agrees to take a group of hotel guests fishing.

Today we would like to share a few of the runner-up covers with you:

One-clawed silhouette
Lobster on the menu
Lobster tail and claws
‘Picture Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel transplanted to the high Norwegian fells…’ (grayscale version)
Final design
(glorious technicolour version)

From sourcing images of lobsters to finding inspiration in Wes Anderson’s aesthetic, this was certainly a memorable design process. We would love to hear which design is your favourite – let us know over on our social media accounts! And if you would like the final cover gracing your own shelves, copies are available to order from all good bookstores.