The Academy of British Cover Design’s best designs of the year

Committed to making the awards as inclusive as possible The Academy of British Cover Design (ABCD) proved itself a fest of versatility in graphic design with the announcement of this year’s (and its fourth annual) cover design competition.

Featuring work that traditionally gets overlooked by other competitions despite being highly original, well executed and relevant, the Academy’s ten judges  - Richard Bravery, Sinem Erkas, Greg Heinimann, James Jones, Johanna Neurath, David Pearson, Nick Stearn, Sophie Stericker, Jo Thomson and Clare Turner - shortlisted the numerous entries that are an inspiration to many.

Final judging took place at the ABCD's awards night on March 2, with each person present able to vote for an overall winner in each category. A small prize was presented to each of the ten winners.

Here’s who won what:

Children’s: Dominica Clements, Anna Nillson and illustrator Oliver Jeffers —The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Young Adult: Sinem Erkas —The Memory Book by Lara Avery

SciFi/Fantasy: Nathan Burton —Radiance by Catherine M Valence

Mass Market: Jack Smyth —Girls on Fire by Robin Wassermann

Literary Fiction: Suzanne Dean and illustrator Marion de Man —The Start of Something by Stuart Dybek

Crime/Thriller: Blacksheep —Maestra by L.S. Hilton

Non-fiction: Jack Smyth —The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman

Series Design: Suzanne Deane and illustrator Aino-Maija Metsola —books by Virginia Wolf

Classic/Reissue: Jamie Keenan —The Birds and other stories by Daphne du Maurier

Women’s Fiction: Kris Potter —Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

The, free to enter, competition is now looking for next year’s entries. The shortlisted work in each category can be seen on the ABCD website here.