New UK Cover! And General Thoughts on Covers

HarperCollins UK designed a new Divergent cover!

For those of you wondering why there's a new cover, this is the B format paperback edition, to be published in February 2012. This is the equivalent of when books are published first in hardcover and then in paperback in the States-- sometimes covers change between hardcover and paperback here (or rather, there, because I'm in Romania), and sometimes covers change between trade paperback and B format paperback in the UK.

There are a lot of reasons this happens. As far as I know, it's to make a book more appealing to readers who haven't picked it up yet. For example, you might have been one of the people who saw the first cover in a bookstore and went all grabbyhands on it. The person browsing books next to you might have looked right past it, but she might go all grabbyhands on the new one.

I think of covers and flap copy (the book summary on the inside flap or the back cover) as either windows or walls. A cover that is a window allows you to "see inside" the book before you ever open it-- it gives you a sense of the tone of the book, and what the story might be like. A cover that is a wall prevents you from seeing the book as it is, and keeps you from picking it up, or from seeing it as it really is inside. Ideally, you want all your covers to be windows, right? But the problem is, this is a highly subjective thing. A cover might be a window to one reader and a wall to another. So a cover re-design helps to resolve that problem.

So, yes: Divergent is a book that is accurately represented by a bold fiery symbol and a skyline and a gathering storm. But it is also about a girl who is somewhat isolated, in character if not literally, who marks herself with the figurative representation of one of her worst fears (the birds). This design emphasizes something different about the story, which I loved seeing.

Other things I like: you can't see the girl's face, so you still get to imagine her, yet she looks sort of scrappy like Tris is. And the birds! Of course I love the birds. And the color is eye-catching.

So, UKers: I hope you like it!

DIVERGENT Cover and Summary

So. About this surprise.

I've talked a lot about writing DIVERGENT, and about writing generally, but I haven't discussed the book itself much. So the surprise is: that ends here. Now.

With the cover and the summary.

Ready? (Because I am!)

Here we go!

(Well hello there, gorgeous. Want to go out sometime? Like, say, May 2011?)

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.


So, there you have it: DIVERGENT. In stores May 2011.

And when I saw the cover for the first time, I made this face:

("Oooooooh!")

And then I did this little chair dance:

(Yes, that's mid-fist-pump.)

And then I couldn't stop smiling:


I think every author is a little afraid of seeing his/her cover for the first time, because there's always the possibility that it doesn't meet their expectations, whatever those expectations are. What I wanted was for the cover to represent the book, not just technically, but in tone.

And I have to say: Barb, Amy, and Joel (the team responsible for that stunning design)-- you got it. You got it just right. I can't imagine anything better. So, if you're reading: thank you!

Life, my friends, is good.

(Can you guys believe my name is on a book cover right now? Because I certainly can't!)

(Why yes, that IS the Chicago skyline...with a marsh in front of it instead of a lake. Intriiiigued?)

Side Note: just so you know, that summary isn't the jacket copy (the text that will be on the actual book jacket). The jacket copy is really awesome but I can't very well post all the goodies at once, can I? Anyway: I will share that at a later date!