The Best Book Covers from India 2019

Reader. Dreamer. Writer.

Every year I take much pleasure in rounding up the best book covers of the year. I call them Delicious Book Covers — designs so attractive that you want to eat them up. In December, 2019, I compiled 30 Delicious Book Covers of 2019 and noticed there were so many brilliant cover designs from India.

Best Book Cover Designs from India

These books are either published in India or republished in India. They include books I loved such as Bombay Balchão ( I wrote a rather personal reading experience of this Bombay book on Huffpost), short story collections, twin books such as Anukriti Upadhyay’s Bhaunri and Dauri and the twin anthology released by Zubaan — The Many that I am and Crafting the Word, debut books by women (The Body Myth) and translations (A Promised Land being a favourite read last year. Check more fantastic books of 2019 by women in translation). I did a Twitter thread highlighting these amazing covers but I do think they deserve a whole post. Bigger pictures and more time to ogle at the intricate details! So here is a separate list of the best book cover designs of titles published from India this year.

Enjoy.

1. Bombay Balchão by Jane Borges

bombay balchao book cover best cover from india

Publisher : Westland
Cover design : Mohit Suneja
The art captures the cramped Mumbai apartments and the close living quarters perfectly.

2. Many that I am, Crafting the word

Publisher : Zubaan
Cover design : Nori Norbhu

These are anthologies from Manipur and Nagaland. Love how the covers complement one another capturing life in a pleasing colour scheme.

3.Babu Bangladesh by Numair Atif Chaudhary

Publisher : Harper Collins
Cover design : Saurabh Garg

The faceless man jumping forward captures the mystery, magical realism and scope of this doorstopper that explores the history of Bangladesh. Love the colour scheme too.

4. Bhaunri and Daura by Anukriti Upadhyay

Publisher : Harper Perennial
Cover design : Ishan Koshla design

The simplicity of the covers enhance the simplicity of this rustic, charming novel that explores lives in rural Rajasthan. The embossed figure adds to the charm. And these two look good together just like how twin novels should.

5. Suncatcher by Romesh Gunasekhara

Publisher : Bloomsbury
Cover design : Emma Ewbank

The vintage post card look of the cover evokes nostalgia.

6. A Gallery of Rascals by Ruskin bond

A gallery of rascals by Ruskin Bond cover mohit suneja design

Publisher : Aleph
Cover design : Mohit Suneja

Suneja’s design makes a book look fun and entertaining. You feel you will have a good time reading it. (This book is a great collection of stories too! When does Ruskin Bond ever disappoint.

7. Al Arabian Novel Factory by Benyamin

Publisher : Juggernaut
Cover design : Gavin Morris and Saurav Das

The spice bundles, a market scene, a man looking — a Middle eastern setting comes alive in so few colours.

8. Two Anti Novels by Subimal Misra

Publisher : Harper Perennial
Cover design : Anna Lena von Helldorf

Look at all the scribbles — makes me want to open it and underline the sentences and write in the margins furiously. Also this novel is experimental in its narrative and the design captures such a deviation effortlessly.

9. A Promised Land by Khadija Mastur translated by Daisy Rockwell

Publisher : Penguin India
Cover art : Harshad Marathe | Cover design : Ahlawat Gunjan

What a bleak, simple cover about refugee tents and refugees; excellent design for a partition novel

10. Animalia Indica Ed by Sumana Roy

Publisher : Aleph
Cover design : Rohan Dahotre

For a collection of animal stories, there’s nothing better than this majestic tiger. The colours and the yellow eye reminds me of jungle, dark spaces and life lurking in between.

11. One Hell of a Lover by Unni R

One Hell of a Lover by Unni R book cover

Publisher : Westland
Cover design : Elwin Charly

A male oriented short story collection and the cover spells it right.

12. Left from the Nameless Shop by Aditi Rao

Publisher : Harper Collins
Cover design : Krishna Baka Shenoi

The vintage feel of the cover complements the setting of the interconnected stories set in a fictional village in Karnataka in 1980s. Read the book to find more Easter eggs on the cover.

13. The Merman and the Book of Power by Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Publisher : Aleph
Cover design : Bena Sareen

The images on the front and back cover evoke the mysticism and yet give a flavour of what to expect for a qissa in English

14. The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin by Manu S Pillai

Publisher : Westland
Cover design : Priya Kurian

Priya Kurian is so versatile and her style of art changes according to the book she illustrates for. Here this simple yet intricate cover has a design that makes you think ‘history’ and the illustrations inside complement the historical pieces explored in the book.

15. Beautiful Place by Amanthi Harris

Publisher : Pan MacMillan
Cover design : The Cover Factory

The greenery and the lush spread makes it a very inviting cover. It makes you remark ‘beautiful’ which is what the title says too.

16. Paper Moon by Regina Munir

Publisher : Harper Collins
Cover design : Sanchita Jain

Light and breezy cover sums up this fun read. Coconuts, a book store, a lone woman — all that makes you eager to read a novel set around a bookstore in Bandra, Mumbai

17. Cow and Company by Parashar Kulkarni

Cover design : Sandhya Prabhat

The cover spells ‘hilarious read’ and I think with such a gorgeous cover, the reader gets sky-high expectations. I went on a spree looking at Prabhat’s other art work.