Friday, March 14, 2008

Kate Christensen Wins PEN/Faulker

Kate Christensen's The Great Man, which "follows the stories of three women left behind when a famous painter, whose career they have supported, dies," has been awarded the 2008 PEN/Faulkner award.

Christensen joins a prestigious circle of writers that includes Don DeLillo, TC Boyle, Philip Roth and Richard Ford. And it must be especially joyous for Christensen, as she was slapped with the "chick-lit" tag at the beginning of her career. In fact, the Guardian headline reads "Former 'chick-lit' author wins PEN/Faulkner award" and the article quotes Christensen as saying "It (being tagged as a chick-lit author) gave me something to prove."

So, considering all this, how disappointing is this cover for the forthcoming paperback? I'll let you answer that question; I know what I think.

at

7 comments:

  1. David Drummond8:57 AM

    Joseph,

    I find this cover when I search Barnes and Noble

    http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/13520000/13528882.JPG

    Is the one you posted the actual printed cover?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joseph11:46 AM

    Hey David: The one w/ the paintbrush is the hardcover; the one posted here is the forthcoming paperback.

    Anchor has the leggy chick-lit-ish cover with the PEN/Faulkner badge:

    http://tinyurl.com/3a9eoj

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4:06 PM

    looks like a pure moods cd... awful

    ReplyDelete
  4. kfinkler4:30 PM

    disappointing. I bought the hardcover (partially because of the cover) when it first came out...why not re-use the hardcover design? This faux-duotone, ick, and its not helping her create distance from 'chick-lit'.

    ReplyDelete
  5. NKS12:07 AM

    Hi.. Please comment on my BOOK COVER DESIGNS. Visit my blog http://www.bookcoverdesigns.blogspot.com/

    Review it and tell me if you like it.. submit your designs also….

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous9:37 PM

    Isn't this the kind of thing that happens when marketers, like the tails they are, wag the dog?

    ReplyDelete
  7. ninaphair8:39 AM

    I understand why everyone finds this cover disappointing but in it's defense, I'm sure that the editors and marketing people wanted something more commercial looking that would appeal to the authors chicklit audience. The choice of having a woman posing in an art studio along with paint splatters is an effective way of straddling the line between hi-concept and commom.

    ReplyDelete