Dedication to detail : book cover communication in young adult literature

Abstract

Book covers are the central access point in the collaboration between marketer and consumer, designer and author, literature and reader. This study attempts to gain further insight into book cover communication in Young Adult literature (YAL) by exploring the genre, its audience, and by taking a closer look at contemporary design trends in the Young Adult (YA) sub-genres, Fantasy and Realistic Fiction. Research method triangulation was the chosen methodological approach. Quantitative surveys were conducted with the aim of further narrowing down consumer perception of Maltese young adults of books, book covers and book-buying habits, alongside qualitative in-depth interviews with book cover designers of two Maltese publishing houses in order to gain better understanding of the behind the scenes process of book cover design, trends in the Maltese book-buying community from a publisher’s perspective, and the publishing of YAL in Malta, with emphasis on a designer’s approach to it. Key findings from the collected data include that there is active readership amongst Maltese young adults, that YAL is an esteemed genre, that there is influence by online review platforms in readers acquiring book recommendations, that the author is an active collaborator in the design process, and most importantly, that book cover communication is of value.