Alison Forner

Thrilled to see three Avid Reader Press covers on the LitHub best of the year list! Thank you to @kglyder @laurencharms @jayam66 @jennycarrow_covers @dave.litman @nataliaolbinski for recognizing our hard work this year. Ministry of Time design by me Next Stop and Greta & Valdin designs by @claysmithdesign

Thank you @csergiodesign for giving me the opportunity to work on not one, but two Hilary Mantel books. She was a true artist and I was a huge fan—such a privilege to be involved with her last two publications. ❤️🙏🏼 . . . #hilarymantel #bookcovers #bookstagram #book #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerd #bookporn #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #bookcoverdesign #bookcover #bookcoverdesigner #bookcoverart #bookjacket #artdirection #publishing #bookcoverlove #bookdesign

New work for Viking. Thank you AD @nayon.cho for the great project! . . . #rebeccaboggsroberts #edithwilson #woodrowwilson #firstlady #bookcovers #bookstagram #book #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerd #bookporn #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #bookcoverdesign #bookcover #bookcoverdesigner #bookcoverart #bookjacket #artdirection #publishing #bookcoverlove #bookdesign

Some outtakes from a fantastic collection of stories I worked on for Grove 🐈 . . #bookcovers #bookstagram #book #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerd #bookporn #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #bookcoverdesign #bookcover #bookcoverdesigner #bookcoverart #bookjacket #artdirection #publishing #bookcoverlove #bookdesigners

A dream project from Joe Perez at Random House. This one is near and dear to me because I was a dancer in my former life and spent many summers performing and training with NYCB in Saratoga Springs. Balanchine was still alive the first time I performed with the company, and although he wasn’t running rehearsals at that point, he was there in the wings from time to time and his presence elevated everything. Jennifer Homans’ first book Apollo’s Angels is a masterpiece and must read for any ballet fan or anyone with an interest in dance history. . . . #jenniferhomans #balanchine #georgebalanchine #newyorkcityballet #balanchineballet #balanchineballerina #bookcovers #bookstagram #book #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerd #bookporn #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #bookcoverdesign #bookcover #bookcoverdesigner #bookcoverart #bookjacket #artdirection #publishing #bookcoverlove #bookdesign

December flew by and January was, well, not great…so why not make a catch up post at the end of February? 😬 Forever grateful to Matt Dorfman for choosing this jacket and understanding what was intended. And I’m so honored to share this space with the amazing @kblair27 My high school English teacher/guidance counselor/ballet class pianist extraordinaire Mr. (Paul) Lamar saw it and contacted me out of the blue to say “brava!,” so thank you Matt for putting us back in touch! @mattdorfman

New jacket for AD @gretchenmergen at Grove who always sends fun work my way. Thank you to @charmaine.craig for writing a novel that stayed with me long after the initial read. And to @andreacastroart for the perfect painting. . . . #mynemesisbook #charmainecraig #groveatlantic #bookcovers #bookstagram #book #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerd #bookporn #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #bookcoverdesign #bookcover #bookcoverdesigner #bookcoverart #bookjacket #artdirection #publishing #bookcoverlove #bookdesign

We lost my beautiful mom last Thursday. She was incredibly charismatic, a true extrovert, and always lived life on her own terms and by her own rules. There was almost nothing she did that conformed to any sort of existing ideology. Her house functioned like a Rube Goldberg machine. She thought the Beatles were hacks and adored James Brown. In her teens and twenties she made all of her own clothes, smoked, drank, partied, slept for an hour every night, lived on a steady diet of soda and junk food, and was never seen without her liquid eyeliner and stilettos. In the 1960’s she dated a member (or two?) of The Green Men, a band known for their green hair and an appearance on an episode of Batman. Even well into her 70’s, men half her age would flirt with her wherever we went, and she loved it. One of her neighbors called her The Queen of Woodrow Court, and she truly was—born in the same house she lived in until the day she died. As a single mom who survived an abusive marriage, she taught me the importance of independence and autonomy. In the 1970’s she ran her own craft business and taught art classes to underprivileged children, while also selling real estate to make ends meet. She valued artistic expression above most things—she never asked me to clean my room because she worried it would stifle my creativity. As a first generation American whose parents fled the Armenian genocide, she instilled in me a strong sense of civic duty—she was born on November 6 and loved Election Day almost as much as her birthday. We had no money, but she insisted on sending me to the best schools she possibly could. She drove me crazy 95% of the time, but I loved her deeply, and I’ll miss seeing the world through her eyes.

Excited to be reviewing portfolios at this year’s SPD Illustration Review! If you or your company are interested in sponsoring a BIPOC illustrator for a portfolio review, please contact [email protected] @spdesigners ——————————————— Illustrators! Join us for the 3rd Annual SPD Illustration Portfolio Review. Virtually share your portfolio with top Design Directors and Visual Creatives from an assortment of publications and brands who are looking for new talent. They want to see your work! Many thanks to Illustration Portfolio Review Co-Chairs: @davidcooperart , Illustrator + Photo Director; @emilybk , Creative Director, Texas Monthly; @offonge , VP, User Experience Design Lead, JPMorgan Chase & Co; and José Reyes, Founder + Executive Creative Director, @metaleapcreative , for organizing. Thanks to @workive for designing and illustrating the promo. SPD sets the standard for editorial excellence. This is your opportunity to put your best portfolio forward and talk to industry leaders online. During your review, you will be able to virtually screen-share your portfolio when you talk one-on-one. SPD does not need your portfolio beforehand. Reviewers include: AARP, The Atlantic, Men’s Health, National Geographic, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Variety, The Wall Street Journal, WIRED, and many more. Wednesday, July 27th and Thursday, July 28th 9:00AM - 1:20PM ET | 2:30PM-6:50PM ET

I wrote a piece for Spine Magazine detailing the process behind the making of this jacket. Forever indebted to @lisadtaddeo for writing that always inspires me. Special shout-outs to the magical people who made the design happen: @nickmisani (lettering), @chelsielcraig (photography), and the indefatigable @jess_dess , my former partner in crime and dance at Barnard, who somehow managed to find these candies for me in Italy. This literally took a village, and I’m so grateful! Link in bio.

👀 🕺🏻Have you ever wondered how a book jacket is created? What an art director actually does? Check out this really fun video from the World According to Karp series featuring one of my favorite novels of the year, Vladimir by @juliamaynot . Link in bio. Forever grateful to photographer @mollymatalon and designer @rodrigocorral_ for their genius work on this one. . . . #juliamayjonas #vladimir #rodrigocorral #mollymatalon #bookcovers #bookstagram #book #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerd #bookporn #graphicdesign #graphicdesigner #bookcoverdesign #bookcover #bookcoverdesigner #bookcoverart #bookjacket #artdirection #publishing #bookcoverlove #bookdesign

Happy pre-🦃☀️!