Book Cover Design
BOOK COVER DESIGN, ARTWORK, TYPESETTING & LAYOUT
I’ve been creating book cover art for authors and publishers across the African continent for 15 years. It’s been an honour playing a role in the creative process of so many collections of poetry, short fiction and novels, many of which are written by critically-acclaimed authors and have gone on to win literary prizes and be bestsellers.
I have created work for Modjaji Books, Catalyst Press, Blackird Books, Short Story Day Africa, Paivapo Publishers, deep south publishers, Karavan Press and Black Letter Media.
Below are some of my covers in the wild. For recent covers, see my work at Stoep Collective.
“It's not surprising that the poet Megan Ross designed the cover for Zhuwao's Sunrise Poison, which is a picture of torn notes, roses, and toxic clouds. Both writers are obsessed with imagery of breaking and exploding bodies. In her essay "Monstrous" from the anthology Selves, Ross writes about the inspiration behind her poetry collection Milk Fever. "The collection grew from the word corpse, a word I wrote in an old journal on the day postpartum women are told to expect the onset of baby blues." It's an essay that reflects what the editor sees as one of the strengths of the book, a fearlessness the writers have of "going where it hurts."
— Tadiwa Madenga for OkayAfrica
“ZHUWAO’S WORK HAS THIS UNFORGIVING, ALMOST SCHIZOPHRENIC QUALITY TO IT: IT’S LIKE MANIC CINEMA AND IT’S ALL HAPPENING AT ONCE, AND WHEN YOU’RE DONE, IT’S AS IF SOMETHING HAS EXPLODED: A WORLD VIEW, A DISASTER, AN EMOTION, A SMALL ROOM WHERE A MAN SLEPT, ALONE,” THE POET AND ILLUSTRATOR, MEGAN ROSS, SAID ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE COVER IMAGE OF SUNRISE POISON. THE IMAGE HAS BROKEN BITS OF ROSES, RAZOR WIRE, NOTEBOOK PAPER, AND BLACK CLOUDS. THE CLOUDS COULD BE SMUDGES OF INK OR AN INCOMING STORM, BOTH WARNINGS THAT NO VIOLENCE GOES UNNOTICED.”
- TADIWA MADENGA | BLANK VERSE IN FREEDOM’S THINKING