Covers and prizes

    We talked about book covers here recently, but I'm back on the topic today, prompted by the really beautiful cover for the British edition of The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams (which I enjoyed enormously, by the way), and the fact that - and what madness is this? - the US edition has a different title (The Sister) and a far less distinctive cover. Why? Surely the pretty one wouldn't be mistaken for a lepidopterists' manual?
 


    Back to that in a moment, but meanwhile, here's some wrapping paper produced by the Bodleian Library from books in their collection - aren't these covers striking?



    "The Behaviour of Moths" has reached the shortlist for the Costa First Novel Award, and it's up against three other books, two of them featured and lauded here earlier in the year, (Inside the Whale and Child 44), so stiff competition there.
    Another favourite from the Cornflower bookshelf is in contention for a prize: I'm delighted to see that Linda Gillard's Star Gazing (which I wrote about here) has been longlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. My fingers are crossed!

Comments

[Nicola]

That is a beautiful cover - I'd buy it just for the cover!

[Linda Gillard]

Thanks for your support, Cornflower. :-) There's much nail-biting going on here in Glasgow.

And yes, THE BEHAVIOUR OF MOTHS will have been retitled to avoid over-zealous booksellers shelving it with Natural History.

I collect zany examples of literal-minded filing. In a big Oxfam bookshop I found shelved under History Peter Carey's TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG and Julian Barnes' THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 10 1/2 CHAPTERS.

Before it became a huge success Marina Lewycka's A SHORT HISTORY OF TRACTORS IN UKRAINIAN was found shelved under Agriculture.

My favourite example turned up in the Health section: Zadie Smith's WHITE TEETH.

[Linda C]

I don't know exactly why but books first published in UK with lovely covers are often retitled and then burdened with horrid covers when they reach us here in US. Perhaps copyright laws account for the title change, but the covers? Thanks goodness for Book Depository we can get the original covers!
Linda C

[Peter the Flautist]

The Library of Congress catalogue number, helpfully provided on most if not all textbooks, is notorious for some crass stupidities. The splended book by Vikram on optical holographic recording of small objects (in the Cambridge Series on Modern Optics) is filed with books on sand and aggregates and concrete just because it has the word "particle" first in its title (Particle Field Holography). I suppose I should be grateful it wasn't classified with books on High Energy Physics!

Dark Puss

[Stacey]

I waited for months for Daphne to be published in the US and was so disappointed with the cover, I ended up buying the British edition and paying practically twice as much for it with the lousy (for me) exchange rate! I never have understood why cover art and titles are changed so often between countries. (Ir)rationally, I suppose it has something to do with copyright laws. Again, I would be tempted for the British edition of The Behaviour of Moths. Perhaps the American editors couldn't handle the spelling of behaviour! :)

[adele geras]

Congrats to Linda Gillard and may good fortune smile upon her! I loved that book too.
The Behaviour of Moths is really lovely and I hope it wins. I'm only half way through and my question to the American editors is: which sister is he referring to, Ginny or Vivi? Oh dear...but yes, you have to avoid any confusion among shelvers I suppose. DOH!

[Linda Gillard]

Changing titles isn't to do with copyright. There's no copyright on titles.

I often prefer US editions of books and order from US Amazon! The covers of the recent UK reprints of Rosemary Sutcliff's books seem dull in comparison with the stark B & W photographic US covers. Dorothy Dunnett is another UK author better served by her US publishers IMO.

Btw the German edition of STAR GAZING will be called (when translated) SHOW ME THE STARS which I think is better than the original title (which wasn't mine anyway. Mine was FALLING WATER, WEEPING STONE which they said wasn't romantic.)

Thanks for your good wishes, Adele. How do you manage to get such gorgeous covers for both your adult and children's books?

[Nicola]

I do like embossed covers. That wrapping paper is lovely - what a great idea.

[adele geras]

I've now finished The Behaviour of Moths and I can't remember when I've last enjoyed a novel so much. It was definitely a 'hold in your hand while frying onions' kind of book and I now know an awful lot more about moths than I did....not all of it pleasant! Super book...hope it wins the Costa first novel category. I loved Child 44 as well but this is better, I think.

[Margaret Powling]

I'm delighted that Linda's book has been longlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year! My fingers, toes and even eyes are crossed for her!