Banned Books, Book Cover Illustration, and the Stories We Choose to Protect
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Reflections from Manchester’s Mixed Media Club on banned books, publishing, and the power of illustration in storytelling.
A Sunny Saturday and a Conversation About Banned Books
It’s a sunny weekend in Manchester and I have the pleasure of going to my Grandad’s 90’th birthday party this afternoon.
But first, I’m heading into town to meet with some curious souls to chat about banned books.
Rachel’s ‘Mixed Media Club’ produces a ‘reading list’ of videos, articles and content to consume around a different sociological theme each month.
The theme for May is ‘banned books’ and the club is meeting in one of my favourite Manchester coffee haunts to chinwag about the topic and make bookmarks.
What. A. Joy.
As a book cover illustrator, book lover and artist working in publishing, this topic is soooooo up my street it’s parked at the end of the cul-de-sac.
The Long History of Banned Books
Some things I learned from this month’s club, and a few things I already knew:
Banned books have been a thing since the long dead past, when books were burned en masse in pyres.
The Most Banned Book Ever - Maya Angelou and the Loss of Voice
One of the most banned books ever is Maya Angelou’s ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’.
The opposition of some people to this book’s public availability strikes me as the most counterintuitive of all the banned books I've read about.
Between its pages, Angelou writes courageously, and with the wisdom and reflection of maturity, about her childhood abuse and experiences growing up as a black American.
In particular, she recounts how when she grew old enough to speak out and name the person who had abused her publicly, the individual was killed by vigilantes. Feeling her voice was the cause of this violence, she fell silent and did not speak again for almost 6 years.
I find it so tragic that someone who took years to find their voice and speak up, should have those words hidden away and censored. How heartbreaking for the author that she had to overcome the loss of her voice over and over throughout her entire existence.
As a child, Angelou said she felt like this wasn't something she could talk about, a pattern which keeps victims trapped. By writing about her experience, she provides an example to others that they are not alone. Banning this book takes the possibility of this perspective away from a child who might need it, making the censorship darkly ironic.
Book Cover Illustration and Visual Storytelling
Of course I cant look at a book without devouring the details of the cover illustrations.
The original book cover design encapsulates a sense of freedom, with a bird swooping free behind a bold graphic sunset.
A later cover illustration features a silhouette of the young Angelou with lots of lovely texture and hand written typography, which twirls about reminiscent of sheet music.
Looking at these side by side we can see how diversely a cover design brief can be interpreted.
The first design focuses on really conveying a feeling and emotion, leaning into the symbolism and metaphor of the bird in the title.
The second cover is much more character focused, with a more literal interpretation (the young girl is ‘singing’/telling her story to the court).
Cover designs can vary wildly for the same manuscript, depending on the market and the message the publisher wants people to see when they first glance the book.
To me, as an illustrator working in publishing, the first cover illustration says ‘this is a book about liberation and freedom’, the second cover design says ‘this is a book about a childhood experience and speaking out'.
Even the tone and colour palette of the two artworks are very different. Both are really strong cover designs and show how many ways one story can be communicated visually. Our job is to try and connect the stories to the people who need to read them most, attracting the right audience with the cover design.
Sadly no matter the message, this book was cited as being too ‘sexual’ and ‘anti-white’ for the publics taste and both messages are what got it banned from many libraries across America.
Libraries, “Weeding”, and Veiled Censorship
On libraries, did you know it’s part of the regular running of a library to ‘weed out’ older, less popular, or even damaged books?
The practice of ‘weeding’ though, is allegedly being miss-used more and more to discreetly and unofficially ‘ban books’ by reducing their public availability.
Although not all institutions are so discreet, and a school in Manchester only last year came under journalistic investigation, after driving their librarian to resignation by threatening to put her under police investigation, after she stocked books as common as the ‘Twilight Saga’ and ‘Heartbreaker’.
After her resignation, the school officially removed 193 books from their collection. The same journalists also revealed that the librarians union had simultaneously locked down due to ample threats from far right activists.
Is this the kind of censorship we want seeping into publishing culture and the book world?
Why Coming-of-Age Stories Matter
Like Angelou’s work, many of the books removed from this school were bildungsroman or ‘coming of age’ novels. Stories about challenges and topics young people need to overcome on the journey to adulthood.
I can’t help but think the reasons the aforementioned school finds these topics ‘inappropriate’, is because they can be difficult or uncomfortable, but by never including these stories in our media, our kids will be at a serious disadvantage when they bump into such uncomfortable hurdles in the real world.
In a society increasingly focused on mental health, stashing books away because they contain 'uncomfortable topics' seems like a weird move.
Illustrating the Stories Young People Need
My first ever book cover illustration gig was for a beautiful coming of age YA novel.
'Yelling At Satellites' by Jessica Tornek is a story about a boy learning more about himself, and equally importantly learning how to communicate that to his family and friends.
The main characters family are such a strong support in his journey, and we depicted them in the final cover illustration, holding hands in a human chain as a constellation of stars. This is my favourite thing about illustrated book covers, their ability to visually sum up the powerful emotions in a story.
I loved how the illustration reflected the characters supportive relationships, and I think so many young men in particular could reap so much from a book emphasising that it’s okay to be themselves and share that with others.
What a sad world it would be for that message to be snubbed out and silenced.
Why Banned Books Affect All of Us (even if you're not a reader)
As an illustrator working in the book cover design space, I hope I get to illustrate lots of beautiful stories like this in the future.
The subject of banned books is one that affects us all, even if you’re not a keen reader.
The books we read as a society help shape the ideologies and societal norms around us, studies show that reading books from different perspectives develops the empathy skills in our squishy noodles.
A World Where No Story Is Missing From The Shelf
I’d like to live in an empathetic world. And a world with lots of books.
May our libraries and bookstores remain deeply rich in culture and filled with stories from every spectrum of the human experience.
If you’re looking for book cover illustration that responds to story, and the weight those stories carry, I’m always open to publishing projects like this.
I work with independent self publishing authors and publishing houses alike, I just really love books.
Comments