Cover Meeting is the book cover design podcast. Hosted by Steve Leard, each episode features a discussion with a different cover designer about their work, the ...
Craig Oldham has been named by his peers as one of the most influential designers working in the UK, and has written books on a range of topics, including education, visual culture, film, and politics. He runs his eponymous and pedagogic creative practice, Office Of Craig, in Manchester and he’s also the creative director of Rough Trade Books. Selected Books: Leeds Postcards (Four Corners Books) 2018. Oh Shit What Now?! (Laurence King) 2018. They Live: A Visual and Cultural Awakening (Rough Trade Books) 2019. The Shining: A Visual and Cultural Haunting (Rough Trade Books) 2022. In Loving Memory Of Work (Common Practices / Rough Trade Books) 2024 third edition. Follow Craig on Instagram @officeofcraig. Cover Meeting was hosted by Steve Leard and produced by James Ede of beheard.org.uk.
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1:30:27
Cover Meeting with Sarah Wasley
Sarah Wasley is the Production Director and Design Director of Granta Books. Sarah began her career at The Women’s Press in 1987 as a receptionist and sales assistant, before moving to Quartet Books in the early 90s. There, she worked as an assistant in production, rights, and publicity. She later progressed to Production Manager, where she was based in the design studio, gaining invaluable insight into the cover design process—experience that helped her secure her current role at Granta Books, where she has been since 2000. Sarah’s role is a hybrid of Production Director and Design Director. She oversees all of Granta’s cover design, working closely with a team of freelance graphic designers. She also manages the production and printing of both the Granta Books list and their renowned literary publication, Granta Magazine of New Writing. Follow Sarah on Instagram @wasley.sarah. Cover Meeting was hosted by Steve Leard and produced by James Ede of beheard.org.uk.
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41:29
Cover Meeting with Jack Smyth
In the first episode of season 2, we speak with Jack Smyth – a freelance designer and illustrator from Ireland. His clients include Penguin Random House, Faber & Faber, Harpercollins, Granta, Daunt Books, Simon & Schuster, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Politico and The Atlantic. He has previously worked inhouse at 4th Estate, Simon & Schuster, Little, Brown and Tower Records and holds an MA in Graphic Design from Kingston University. In 2024, he was named the designer of the year at the British Book Awards. He has received 9 ABCD awards, a BBDPA award and has been featured in Creative Review, It's Nice That, Communication Arts and the 100 Archive. He lives in Dublin with his wife and cat. Cover Meeting was hosted by Steve Leard and produced by James Ede of beheard.org.uk.
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1:15:19
Cover Meeting with Tree Abraham
In this last episode of Season One, we speak with Tree Abraham – a brilliant book designer, illustrator and writer. Tree was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada before studying graphic design in the UK and interning at various publishers in London. Tree then went on to work in New York City where she’s been ever since, working for Abrams, Bloomsbury and Grand Central Publishing. Tree is now an Art Director for Amazon Publishing. Tree is also a writer and her first book Cyclettes came out in 2022. We speak about studying in the UK, what it’s like living and working in New York City, Tree’s process, working your way through the ranks at a publishers, the benefits of working on more commercial titles and about Tree’s book Cyclettes. Visit Tree’s website to see her work and follow her on Instagram. Read about Tree’s process when producing the covers for Cyclettes over on Spine Magazine. Watch Neil Buchanan on Art Attack that we spoke about during the podcast here. Cover Meeting was hosted by Steve Leard and produced by James Ede of beheard.org.uk.
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1:18:15
Cover Meeting with Suzanne Dean
Suzanne Dean is a Creative Director who has worked at Vintage Books for over twenty years. She has created covers for iconic titles and bestsellers from The Handmaid’s Tale, Entangled Life and Sapiens to H is for Hawk, Atonement and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She’s also worked with a wide range of fantastic authors including Haruki Murakami, Toni Morrison and Julian Barnes. Her designs have been recognised by many, including the ABCD awards, The British Book Design and Production Awards and the V&A Illustration Awards. This year Suzanne also won Designer of the Year at The British Book Awards 2023. In this episode we talk about art direction, managing a team of designers, how Vintage approach cover design, working with illustrators and freelancers, Suzanne’s work with Noma Bar for Margaret Atwood’s covers and advice for students. To see a selection of Suzanne’s work, please visit her website at suzannedean.co.uk. You can also follow Suzanne on Instagram at suzanneldean. If you don’t already, I’d highly recommend following the Vintage design team on Instagram as they’re really good at regularly posting covers, but I think you get a really great sense of the quality of work that’s produced by Suzanne and her team – so make sure to follow them @vintagebooksdesign Cover Meeting was hosted by Steve Leard and produced by James Ede of beheard.org.uk.
Cover Meeting is the book cover design podcast. Hosted by Steve Leard, each episode features a discussion with a different cover designer about their work, the industry, publishing and everything else in between.
Cover Meeting appeals to book cover designers, graphic designers, illustrators and anyone working in publishing. Covering a wide range of topics around creativity, the highs and lows of being a freelance designer, advice for students and a look at the process behind book jackets – Cover Meeting is a place for honest conversations and interviews with designers giving their unique perspectives on the job we all love doing.
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