Book News: UK cover revealed for Gaiman and Sarrantonio’s upcoming ‘Stories’

It’s not often that I would get so focused on news of a cover being revealed, but this one is a little closer to me than most.

You may remember last month that I featured Stories as a Daily Bookshot, that really exciting short story anthology from Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, which is being published in the UK on June 15th, by Headline Publishing? Well, there was plenty of love for the cover on that one, but I did point out at the time that the advanced copy I was showing in the shot was the US one. It seems that this was a prudent comment for me to make, because it’s now been revealed that the cover for the UK edition – shown above (click to enlarge) – is altogether different.

If I’m being completely honest, then I much rather prefer the US cover for this one, even though I have a soft spot for typography-based covers. The US cover just seems to invoke a greater sense of mystery and imagination, and I’m sure many other readers would agree with me (well, do you? ). That said I don’t really want to take anything away from the UK cover. On its own it’s exquisitely designed, and it uses a wonderfully inviting colour palette. It’s just a shame that I’ve seen the grass on the other side (of the Atlantic), and discovered that for me at least, it’s a little greener.

Of course ultimately it’s all about the content contained within. I’ve already revealed some of the many great names who have contributed a story for this anthology – Picoult, Palahniuk, Oates, and Joe Hill etc. (you can check out all the contributors if you enlarge the cover above), and the list of contributors has now been boosted, with the announcement that a story from Tim Powers is also being included in the anthology.

So exciting times ahead for short story lovers. I begin working my way through the anthology myself around the beginning of May, so keep your eyes open for that. For now, you can find more information on Stories, on the Headline Publishing website.