Tis the season for some literary pageantry and Electric Literature is hosting our third annual “Best Book Cover of the Year” tournament. You, our beloved readers, will decide a winner amidst a sea of book covers that published in 2022 via an interactive poll on our Twitter and Instagram stories starting today. We encourage you to embrace the competitive spirit by downloading the full bracket and fill out your predictions for the tournament.
The following details all 32 designs in 16 pairs for the first round, and you can vote for each of your favorites on our Twitter and Instagram stories throughout the week, with round two on Wednesday, quarterfinals Thursday, semifinals Friday, and the final face-off Saturday.
Now that the World Cup is over, the true competition begins!
Right: Cover design by Katie Tooke
Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman vs. Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
Right: Cover design by Andrew Saulters
I Only Cry with Emoticons by Yuvi Zalkow vs. Valley of Want by Ross White
Right: Cover design by Robert Bieselin
Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke vs. Burning Butch by R/B Mertz
Right: Photograph by Mark Clennon
Bad Fruit by Ella King vs. Concentrate by Courtney Faye Taylor
Right: Cover design by Michael Salu
Grocery Shopping with My Mother by Kevin Powell vs. Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones
Right: Design by Leanne Shapton
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades vs. Very Cold People by Sarah Manguso
Right: Design by design by Joan Wong
Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O’Connell vs. The Employees by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
Right: tk
Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress vs. Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Right: Design by Alex Merto
Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby vs. Reward System by Jem Calder
Right: Cover design by Kerri Resnick, art by Zach Meyer
Girl’s Guide to Leaving by Laura Villareal vs. Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
Right: Cover design by Alex Merto, illustration by Ian Woods
Little Rabbit by Alyssa Songsiridej vs. I Want to Keep Smashing Myself Until I Am Whole by Elias Canetti, edited by Joshua Cohen
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez vs. Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde
Right: Cover design by Linda Huang
Worn Out: How Our Clothes Cover Up Fashion’s Sins by Alyssa Hardy vs. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
Left: Cover design by Lucy Kim
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire vs. Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson
Right: Cover design by Kelly Blair, illustration by Toby Leigh
Carnality by Lina Wolff, translated by Frank Perry vs. You Have a Friend in 10a by Maggie Shipstead
Right: Cover design by Elena Giavaldi