Foix and the Pyrenees feature at the London Book Fair
Next week is the London Book Fair, one of Europe’s two most important publishing trade fairs (the other is Frankfurt in the autumn). This is where publishers present their forthcoming books to buyers, negotiate distribution or translation rights, and share ideas about the future of their industry. Many of them arrive at the fair with a new catalogue to promote the books they will be releasing in the second half of the year. But what should they put on the cover of such an important document?
In the case of Yale University Press, the answer is...the image it designed for the cover of my forthcoming book, ‘The Pyrenees: A Human History’. I knew my by book would feature inside the catalogue, but being on the front cover as well is a wonderful surprise!
The Château de Foix in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
A few of you may be thinking, I know that castle. For everyone else, I can reveal that the image on the cover of the catalogue and my book depicts the Château de Foix in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
When Yale asked for my thoughts on cover design last summer, I suggested four possible approaches and supplied examples of each: photographic, fine art, illustration or abstract. Yale’s design team chose ‘illustration,’ and developed a cover based on a publicity poster produced in the 1930s for the railway company serving the south of France.
Last autumn, I went in search of the vantage point that inspired the railway company’s artist. I got close but concluded that M. Champseix must have used a little artistic licence in depicting the scene, even if one makes allowances for subsequent urban development.
The big book buyers are not the only people who can pre-order books featured in the Yale autumn catalogue. ‘The Pyrenees: A Human History’ is available for pre-order now on numerous bookshops sites including: Amazon in France, Spain, the UK and US; Waterstones in the UK; Barnes & Noble and five other online sellers in the US. It will be released in hardback on 25 August in the UK and Europe, and on 8 September in the US.
