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Will Staehle

@unusualco

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designer and professional tall person. // seattle, wa

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Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak / cover design + interior collage illustrations by @unusualco / art director: Laywan Kwan / Flatiron Books

A cat novel perfectly built for the spooky season! From the New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Pictures and The Last One at the Wedding comes a new supernatural thriller about a young woman pet-sitting a cat with a mysterious secret... Publisher’s Weekly calls it "Garfield meets Rosemary's Baby" 😸 😈

I'm always excited to get to work with Jason ( and Doogie! ), and this project was no different. From the moment Jason reached out about the initial idea, I could tell it was going to be a fun one. How could it not be with cats, comics, and the occult!

I also created endpapers, and over a dozen engraved interior collages that illustrate various visions / flashbacks / scenes from the novel. Thankfully, I was able to dig into my archive of ephemera and victorian newspapers to source the collage elements. A massive tip of the hat to Gustave Dore, and the other giants of illustration whose shoulders I firmly stood upon for these illustrations!

A special thanks to Laywan for going on-press to make sure the cover colors really popped ( and glow-in-the-dark! )

Look What the Cat Dragged In is in stores now, and is a perfect Halloween-season read! Get a copy. Hell... buy two 😸 😈

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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2 days ago

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier / design by @unusualco / art director: Gregg Kulick / Little Brown

Rebecca, the multi million copy bestseller that has enthralled generations of readers, as the haunting tale of obsessive love is back — in a new paperpack edition.

I was thrilled to work with Gregg, and with the wonderful DuMaurier estate on this new version of the classic tale of suspense. We knew we wanted something modern, and a little bit timeless, but which still hinted at the historical element. I tried a handful of approaches, but this layout was selected straight away.

Honestly, the toughest part was the color scheme. I tried a variety of colorways, and this bold warm red on pink was the winner.

It was a true honor to get to repackage this timeless classic.

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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2 days ago

Other Worlds Than These ( aka: T3! ) by Stephen King + Peter Straub / design by @unusualco / art director: Jaya Miceli / Scribner

Honored to work on this cover for the final chapter of the Talisman series.
The decade spanning work of King + Straub wraps up here, and it’s a fun, final ride for fans and readers alike. Thanks to Jaya for the continued trust to work with THE King!

This was a challenging visual assignment for a number of reasons. First, the team wanted to reference the original two titles in the series ( designed by the great, Rex Bonomelli! ) but also wanted it to stand on its own. So, I kept the majority of the imagery black and white, and used the same font ( with some forced perspective ) in an homage to Rex’s covers.

The second challenge is that while the official title is “Other Worlds Than These,” there was also a request to get the unofficial title of “T3” onto the cover, which I managed to sneak onto the barn in the shape of some scrap metal, and two interlocking horse-shoes ; )

Available in stores now! Best read with a Coca-Cola in hand.

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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3 days ago

Nobody Deserves This by Andy Callahan / design by @unusualco / ad: Anne Twomey / Celadon Books

Always great to get to work with Anne on a project, and I was thrilled to package this very intense and thrilling debut novel from Andy Callahan. Andy crafts a tale with engaging ( and flawed! ) characters, and a story that keeps you guessing until the end!

For the cover, I played into the idea of the missing girls with a subtle collection of leaves which doubles as a portrait of one of the girls. In the final version of the cover, the type got brought above the image, and we got rid of the interlocking type and leaves ( but personally I was always partial to this "layered / interlocking" approach. )

Either way, I think it's a striking cover for an intense novel.

About the Book:
In Philadelphia, girls are going missing, and twenty-one-year-old college dropout Sean Mulcahy is determined to succeed where the police have failed. Since his younger sister, Mia, disappeared four months ago, his family has fallen apart and his reputation ruined, thanks to his being named a suspect in the case. Things get even worse when Sean is the last person seen speaking with Sarah, the second girl to disappear. He’s a suspect all over again, with nobody to turn to, not even his own family, it's Sean versus the world.

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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a month ago

Victorious by V.E. Schwab / design by @unusualco / art director: Peter Lutjen / Tor Books

The third and final book in the Villains trilogy!

Victoria ( V.E.) can seemingly write just about anything, as she's jumped between genres over the years and made it all look effortless. And while I've loved so many of her novels ( ADSOM! ADDIE! THE ENDING! ), my favorite series of hers is certainly her Villains series. It's dark, fun, and tense. A tale with a pinch of X-men, a little Fantastic Four, but wholly original — and with just the right amount of gothic-ness. 🖤

The final cover was tweaked a bit from this version ( altered author-of-line placement / and a alternate type color ) but overall, I'm very happy with this cover, and that I got to package this thrilling series.

About the Book:
Eli Ever. Victor Vale. Two men, first best friends, then mortal enemies, each destined to be the other’s shadow. One left standing—but the game isn't over yet.

Start the trilogy by reading Vicious, and Vengeful, and pre-order Victorious now!

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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a month ago

Hidden Pictures ( special edition! ) by Jason Rekulak / design by @unusualco / art director: Chris Sergio / Fablelistik Editions.

I originally designed this as one of the options for the original hardcover edition of Hidden Pictures ( AD: Keith Hayes ) This was always one of my favorite comps, but the team at Flatiron Books ultimately wanted to go with one of my more commercial cover directions... and million+ copies sold later, they probably chose correctly! ; )

But thanks to @fablelistik Editions, Hidden Pictures now gets a special edition, which includes a slip-case, and full-color interior illustrations by me, and Doogie Horner!

Available to order via Fablelistik Editions now!

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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a month ago

Dreamland by Olivie Blake / design by @unusualco / ad: Peter Lutjen / Tor Books

Dreamland is a tense and thrilling read about a woman who is invited into a famous Hollywood family who may have more than a few skeletons in their spacious walk-in closets...

Olivie wanted a modern cover, but also one that tipped a hat to some vintage 1970's suspense and horror paperback vibes. I quite enjoy how this one turned out - layered, slightly gothic, but still commercial. It was a delicate balance. Thanks to Peter for the fun project.

About the Book:
From New York Times bestselling author Olivie Blake comes a tantalizing story of power, seduction, and the omens you’ll ignore when everything you’ve dreamed of feels just within reach.

The headlines are calling it the "summer of exsanguination" in LA—girls are being murdered, the Santa Ana winds are blowing a strange energy into the city, and all signs point to fire season. Meanwhile, Anya receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, an invitation to work for the de Witt family, one of LA’s most influential film dynasties. Soon, she’s spending her days and nights at their strange villa high in the Hollywood hills, where she meets Jude, a recluse who is both the family’s heir apparent and its most closely guarded secret.

In bookstores now!

#bookcovers #design #bookstagram by @unusualco

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a month ago

Three Tenses by Ed Park / design by @unusualco / art director: Greg Mollica

To be very honest, I've never read a book like Three Tenses before.

First, a little backstory. In 1998, Ed Park wrote a memoir and saved it to the vanishing technology of the floppy disk, losing it for more than twenty years. Until one day, emptying out an old, unmarked box in his family’s cramped New York City home, he came across a hefty manila folder. Out slid the only remaining copy of Three Tenses.

I've been fortunate that Greg has reached out to me to design Ed's last three covers, all of which I've truly enjoyed reading, but when I first opened the manuscript for Three Tenses, I was initially quite puzzled by it. "What is this book?" I asked myself.

But as I progressed through the pages, it clicked with me in a way that felt both fresh, eye-opening, and comfortable all at the same time. It's a collection of memories and moments, both real and imagined living side-by-side. As I kept reading through it, I couldn't but smile. There's this misplaced ( and then found ) serendipity that acts as the heartbeat of this book, which makes it feel like nothing I've read before. It's a very special book.

Ed is always great with sending visual reference for his books ( as a former editor, he has a good visual eye. ) And Greg is always amazing to work with. I tried a handful of directions, but one of the overall favorites was a comp with some small colorful dots which symbolized the "memories." it was quite attractive, but it felt a bit small + quiet overall, so we kept pushing that concept.

I'm quite fond of this playful "all-type" cover where you get these colorful "mosaics / transmissions" of Ed's name + the title in an abstract, and colorful way.

Out in stores now!

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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a month ago

The Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson / design by @unusualco / art director: Elsie Lyons / William Morrow.

This was a fun cover project. I knew I wanted a figure / human element on the cover, and was quite happy with how the visuals ended up on this one. The imagery is somehow simultaneously bold and in your face, yet also subdued and almost wallpaper-like.

About the book:
The year is 1992. George Washington Jonson is determined to forge a new life. After growing up in one of Atlanta’s poorest housing projects, he enlists in the U.S. Army and finds some relief serving abroad. When events lead him back home, he joins the police force.

The Occidental Book of the Dead employs a bold, inventive structure and spans two fraught decades, vividly evoking the complexities of the South, and written in Johnson's trademark virtuosic dissonance. It's a propulsive, pyrotechnic exploration of corruption and conspiracy in a nation divided.

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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2 months ago

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz / design by @unusualco / art director: Milan Bozic

I love me a good mystery, and there are very few who-do a who-dunnit as well as Mr. Horowitz. I was thrilled to continue to package his on-going mysteries.

Initially, I tried a handful of different "Film-esque" directions. The knife in the back of a director's chair was the quick winner. Personally, my favorite bit is the sharp, black shadow on the ground which cuts into Anthony Horowitz's name, and anchors the illustration.

About A Deadly Episode:
The first Hawthorne/Horowitz mystery novel is getting a film adaptation. Except—they’re behind schedule, they’ve run out of money and . . . oh! The star has just been murdered...

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, A Deadly Episode is an intriguing page-turner that once again demonstrates why Anthony Horowitz is the reigning king of the modern whodunit.

In bookstores now!

#bookcovers #design #bookstagram by @unusualco

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2 months ago

My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney / design by @unusualco / art director: Laywan Kwan / Flatiron Books

Looking for a thriller with plenty of twists and turns? Alice Feeney has you covered — and speaking of, I was thrilled to get to work with her again on this newest cover.

Thanks to Laywan in trusting me to package Alice's mega-popular novels.

About the book: Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the enchanting old house in Hope Falls that she recently moved into, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.

One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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6 months ago

The Children by Melissa Albert / design by @unusualco / art director: Elsie Lyons / William Morrow.

A haunting new novel by the amazing Melissa Albert. The novel follows two infamous children who were the inspiration for their mother's phenomenally successful fantasy series of novels. But the kids are all grown up, and things have changed. Mom is long gone, but something remains... A fascinating novel that balances family, legacy, and some winks at the publishing industry.

I tried a handful of directions, but we kept coming back to this idea of juxtaposing some more vintage style children's book elements with a modern sliver of New York. I always love when I'm able to break out some "victorian" lettering and design styles.

PS: A few cover sketches were used as spot illustrations, and speckle the inside of the novel. Check 'em out when you pick up your copy!

#bookcovers #bookstagram #design by @unusualco

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6 months ago