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It’s the festive season, which means our fourth annual book cover tournament begins today! We had a tough job winnowing the hundreds of thousands of book covers published this year to the best 32 designs, so we need your help to crown a winner via an interactive poll on our Twitter and Instagram stories starting now. Get into the festive spirit by downloading the full bracket and fill out your predictions for the tournament.
The bracket features 16 pairs for the first round. Vote for your favorites on our Twitter and Instagram stories throughout the week, with round two on Tuesday, quarterfinals Wednesday, semifinals Thursday, and the final face-off Friday.
Here are the best book covers of 2023:
Right: Design by Oliver Munday
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter vs. Rouge by Mona Awad
Right: Art by Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
Welcome Me to the Kingdom by Mai Nardone vs. Innards by Magogodi Oamphela Makhene
Right: Photograph by Oumayma B. Tanfous, design by Na Kim
Brutes by Dizz Tate vs. Close to Home by Michael Magee
Right: Cover design by Michael Morris, illustration by Lauren Tamaki
Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis vs. Dances by Nicole Cuffy
Right: Illustration and cover design by Olivia McGiff
Speech Team by Tim Murphy vs. Vintage Contemporaries by Dan Kois
Right: Illustration by Gérard DuBois, design by Frances DiGiovanni and Rodrigo Corral Studio
Trinity by Zelda Lockhart vs. Fire in the Canyon by Daniel Gumbiner
Right: Illustration by Alan Berry Rhys, design by Frances DiGiovanni and Rodrigo Corral Studio
Live to See the Day by Nikhil Goyal vs. Pedro and Marques Take Stock by José Falero, translated by Julia Sanches
Right: Art by Katy Horan
Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth vs. Toska by Alina Pleskova
Right: Design by Linda Huang
Bathhouse and Other Tanka by Ishii Tatsuhiko, translated by Hiroaki Sato vs. The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar
Right: Art by Amber Cowan
A Plucked Zither by Phuong Vuong vs Tarta Americana by J. Michael Martinez
Right: Design by Jamie Keenan, art direction by Erik Rieselbach
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy vs. This Is Not Miami by Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes
Right: Design by Vivian Lopez Rowe
Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith vs. Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang
Right: Design by Vivian Lopez Rowe
Cravings by Garnett Kilberg Cohen vs. Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter
Right: Art by Shannon Cartier Lucy, design by Joel Amat Güell
A Film in Which I Play Everyone by Mary Jo Bang vs. Earth Angel by Madeline Cash
Right: Design by Tristan Elwell
How Not to Be a Politician by Rory Stewart vs. Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Right: Design by Sophy Hollington