Book Cover Crush: ‘The Music Shop’

For January’s Book Cover Crush, I chose Rachel Joyce’s The Music Shop. Robin Schiff, the executive art director at Random House, tells us via email how the cover, illustrated by Kimberly Glyder, came to be.

“In [the book], a small, jam-packed music shop is the setting for a love story between [Frank], a lonely music collector and a mysterious woman wearing a signature green coat.” Schiff says.

At first, they thought they’d show the music shop on the cover. “During my initial research, I found a wonderful period photo of Black Gold Records,” she says.

But ultimately, Schiff says she decided that it wasn’t “an image that would convey the novel’s emotional warmth,” and that she wanted to focus on conveying the power of music.

“[We] soon realized that great songs were the vehicle for the transformative power of love, friendship and community.”

“Because the emotional content of the book stems from the music, the task is to make that graphic. We chose to depict the heroine from Frank’s perspective…”

“…And the glowing vinyl record becomes the aura he sees.”

“The simple image of the anonymous girl from the back against the vibrant red background convey all the warmth and mystery the novel deserves without over explaining.”

Images Courtesy of Robin Schiff/ Random House Publishing Co.

– Sydnee (the intern from summer!)

npr

The evolution of a book cover! 📚 -Emily