Designing the art of writing

Here is A.D. Miller, whose book Snowdrops was shortlisted for this year’s Booker prize, talking about the art of writing fiction. Snowdrops, if you haven’t read it, is very definitely worth reading and not just because it’s “readable”. Charlotte Hobson wrote in her Spectator review that Miller’s book was “a heady noseful of Moscow, an intoxicating perfume that will whirl you off your feet and set your moral compass spinning.” 

On a related point, it’s notable that the book has one of the most arresting covers I can remember. It suggests a foreign and perhaps superficially beguiling atmosphere and place; themes with which the book is deeply concerned. The snazzy website for the book also draws on the alluring cover. As Julian Barnes pointed out on Tuesday night, design is now vital to a book’s commercial success.