Fiction

Cover Face Off: Man Booker Prize Shortlist Edition

Claire Handscombe Oct 24, 2017

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Claire Handscombe

Contributor

Claire Handscombe moved from Europe to DC in 2012, ostensibly to study for an MFA in Creative Writing, but actually – let’s be honest – because of an obsession with The West Wing. She is the author of Unscripted, a novel about a young woman with a celebrity crush and a determined plan, and the editor of Walk With Us: How The West Wing Changed Our Lives. She also hosts the Brit Lit Podcast, a fortnightly show of news and views from British books and publishing. Blog: the Brit Lit Blog. Twitter: @BookishClaire

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As we know by now, the winner of this year’s Man Booker Prize is George Saunders for Lincoln in the Bardo. Since I round up daily British book news, I’ve been seeing a lot of its UK cover, and I have to say — I’m not a fan.

Although I haven’t yet read it, I was rooting for Fiona Mozley’s Elmet to win, because she was a surprise entrant into the list and, mostly, because she and I went to the same Cambridge college (as did Zadie Smith, who was also longlisted). Out of curiosity, I googled (or, really, Amazon-ed) her novel for news of American publication, and again, ended up shaking my head over how much better the American cover is. Maybe I’ve just been living in the US too long and am acquiring an American aesthetic? Or maybe the US covers are objectively better? Help me figure that out, Rioters. What are your favourite covers?