People’s Choice Book Cover Contest
Help us choose the winners in the BWC People’s Choice Book Cover Contest!
Introducing the inaugural People’s Choice Book Cover Contest! These books were published in 2023 or 2024. Either the author or the cover designer (or both!) is a member of Bluegrass Writers Coalition. We need your help selecting the winner in each category. Take a look at the covers below and select the best in each category.
How do we define best? We don’t. YOU DO! You might pick the one that is (in your opinion) the prettiest, or the most colorful, or the one that is most suitable to the book’s targeted audience. You might vote for the one that is most appealing to your personal tastes, or the one that is the most compelling. Whatever you decide is okay with us! The choice is yours. Want a better look? Click on a book cover to see a bigger version. To purchase or read about the book, click on the book’s title. The contest will close to voting on April 20, 2025, so vote now! Winners will be announced on April 26 at the 2025 Conference of Writers and on BWC’s social media.
Select your top choice and then follow the link at the bottom of this page to cast your vote!
Category 1: Books for Young Readers (6th Grade and under):
| Entry # | What the author/designer says about the cover: | Book Title | |
| 1 |  |
I worked with the author on her concept and, serendipitously, a girl came to a school author visit who was perfect. | What the Seahorse Told Me |
| 2 |  |
I wanted to convey a feeling of fun and frivolity. This book is about family happiness. The author’s granddaughter had pigtails just like my girl on the cover. | The Cat’s on My Lap |
| 3 |  |
My illustrator, Hiruni Kariyawasam, and I collaborated to select this whimsical illustration from the pages of Potatoes, Papaw, and Me for its cover. Hiruni then created the design. We wanted the cover to reflect the fun loving adventure of the girl spending the day with her papaw harvesting potatoes on the farm. | Potatoes, Papaw, and Me |
| 4 |  |
The cover of Sled Ride Down Unrue Street was designed to reflect an adventurous sled ride on a snow-lit night. After my illustrator, Hiruni Kariyawasam, and I discussed our thoughts for the design, she created three cover drafts which I shared for feedback. This design was the most popular and included edits based on reader comments. | Sled Ride Down Unrue Street |
| 5 |  |
The man with the saw gazing up and into the tree is an important aspect on the cover of The Silent Tree Remembers. It was designed to reflect his contemplating cutting it down, but taking time to consider it first. I collaborated with my illustrator, Hiruni Kariyawasam, on the design who created the cover. | The Silent Tree Remembers: Conversation from a Tree’s Perspective |
Category 2: Books for Readers Over 6th Grade:
| Entry # | What the author/designer says about the cover: | Book Title | |
| 1 |  |
The publisher’s (Guideposts) art department created this cover for my book. The story is biblical fiction about Deborah, the only female prophet in Israel’s history, who successfully led an army into battle against a far superior army. I love the way the cover depicts Deborah directing her warriors down the hill, which is from a scene in the book. | The Woman Warrior: Deborah’s Story |
| 2 |  |
Kristyn at Drop Dead Designs crafted this cover to represent a run-down house where a double homicide had occurred. This represents visually the story about Charli Owens who buys the house at auction with the intention of restoring it for resale. Of course, people think it’s haunted, and Charli might agree after strange things begin happening. | Flip or Flop Murder House |
| 3 |  |
Adventures Are Awaiting is a collection of adventure short fiction stories by various authors. What better way to spotlight the contents but to show an antique map of the world with a compass featured prominently. This publication was sponsored by the Boyle County Public Library and its logo is used to fill the compass face on the back cover. | Adventures Are Awaiting |
| 4 |  |
New Beginnings II is a compilations of short fiction stories by students in th Boyle County Public High School Creative Writing Club. I designed the cover to convey the concept of how a new door can lead to something new and exciting, which was the goal of the students’ writing projects. | New Beginnings II A New Door – A New Story |
| 5 |  |
As a work of historical non-fiction, I chose a page from a contemporary magazine that illustrated a story on my subject: Scribner’s Magazine, published August, 1896. | King of the Gunrunners; How a Philadelphia fruit importer inspired a revolution and provoked the Spanish American War |
| 6 |  |
My publisher’s art department designed the cover for this book. When I first saw it I was thrilled! I think it fits the style, tone, and setting of my story – a cozy mystery set in a tea shop in an Irish village. | A Deadly Brew |
| 7 |  |
With my publisher, Wings, prior to publication the author provides written guidance/direction on how they envision the look of cover of their forthcoming book. Wings staff then provides a draft cover, which the artist can accept, or suggest additional changes. No cover is finalized without the author’s approval. | Revolution |
| 8 |  |
The publisher’s art department designed the cover for Druid on Arrival, based on a scene in my cozy mystery story, when the characters visit a stone circle, one of the mystic “thin places” in Ireland. | Druid on Arrival |
| 9 |  |
The gifted illustrator captured my vision for the cover perfectly. I am the woman gazing expectantly upon the unwed mother’s home where my life began in 1954, and where a note-worthy program for released incarcerated men exists today. The vibrant colors represent my sheer delight at the culmination of my adoption journey, and the “light” this providential home has provided for others since 1918. | Finding the Rest of Me |
| 10 |
 Screenshot |
My publisher captured my vision perfectly. I wanted it to be like a letter being written about a mother. Younger hands honoring older ones. My mother’s favorite flower was magnolias & they are in the background. Pink was chosen because of the femininity it possesses. | Remembering Her: the other side of Alzheimer’s/Dementia |
| 11 |  |
I chose the title “Udder Uproar” for my first publication of a quasi-humorous poetry collection and I wanted an udder on the cover. An ungulate’s unwieldy bag I hoped would evince the humor and irony of the poems within. With the help of Accents Publishing’s Katerina Stoykova and her son, Simeon Kondev, the public domain image, beef á la mode by Thomas Rowlandson, 1800, of this well-dressed heifer was the chosen as the winner. | Udder Uproar |
| 12 |  |
I was discussing my vision for the book cover with my son, Drew Carman, and he asked if he could “take a stab” at the design. I imagined fishing a stream with Daniel Boone watching me. The cover is the result of my vision interpreted by my son. | Fishing with Daniel Boone |
| 13 |  |
The cover for my book, The Spirit of Vanderlaan, was designed by Teddi Black. Other than knowing I wanted a cover that reflected the light, fun, mildly spooky essence of the book, I didn’t have anything specific in mind. When I saw the cover for the first time, I knew it was perfect – the colors, the font, all of it! | The Spirit of Vanderlaan |
| 14 |  |
Howdy folks, I am Abigail Keam, and I write the Josiah Reynolds Mysteries, which is a mystery series about a beekeeper living in the Bluegrass. The covers are done long before each book is written. When I have an inspiration for a cover, I relate this to my designer, Miss Sara at Cricket Press, a local graphic design company in Lexington, KY. Miss Sara completes a sketch, and once the design is approved, she puts in the color. We have worked together for over 15 years now, and the Josiah Reynolds’ book covers are a branded look. Every reader instantly recognizes the series via the covers, even though they might not remember the author’s name. For fun I sneak a clue at the bottom left-hand corner of each cover. Even though the Josiah Reynolds series are murder mysteries, I try to include humor and tidbits about beekeeping and hope the covers allude to that. I was a beekeeper myself, and like Josiah, sold honey at a farmers’ market. | Death by Theft: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery |
| 15 |  |
The art department at Mira Books / HarperCollins did a fantastic job designing a cover that captures the tone of the book–as well as matching the mystery and intrigue of the story. | The Act of Disappearing |
| 16 |  |
Greetings! I am Abigail Keam, and I write the 1930s Mona Moon Mysteries. As you can see, the cover reflects a moon theme. My husband designs the covers for Mona Moon. The font for the title was very popular during the 1930s, so he used it. Of course, a full moon is displayed behind Mona, as her last name is Moon. Behind the moon are blocks of color, which were inspired by Vogue magazines from that time period. It always helps if there is a dog on the cover. I love dogs, so I created Chloe, and hubby did a fine job of recreating a spoiled, sassy poodle for me. Now the cover is complete and exactly what I wanted. I’m a happy gal! | Murder Under A Western Moon: A 1930s Mona Moon Mystery |
We know it’s a tough choice! There are a lot of great book covers here. But you can only pick one in each category, so which will it be? When you’re ready…
