A cover story

February 4, 2014 by
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Nigella Lawson cookbook covers

Nigella Lawson recently announced the publication of “covetable new editions” of nine of her bestselling cookbooks. (You may have to scroll down the page a bit to view the announcement.) The first two books, Nigella Express and How To Be a Domestic Goddess, pictured above, have covers described on Nigella’s website as “striking” and “witty.”

An April, 2014 release date is scheduled for the first two editions, with How to Eat  and Nigella Summer (previously titled Forever Summer) to be released in June. The remaining five titles will follow throughout 2014 and early 2015.

The new artwork is a departure from previous covers, which frequently contained photographs of Nigella. Sometimes the U.S. and U.K. editions of previous cookbooks contained different covers, but it appears the covers will be the same for all new editions in this series. For those who are disappointed not to see Nigella on the cookbooks, don’t fret. The new books will contain “sumptuous new endpapers featuring Nigella at work in the kitchen,” which will also be available in the eBook editions.

While reissuing cookbooks is commonplace, this may be the first time anyone has done so purely for a collectible cover. (Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). Cookbook reissues frequently contain updated and revised content as well as new covers; Nigella’s website doesn’t say whether any such revisions will be found in the new releases.

To tide you over until the April release date, you may want to revisit some of Nigella’s most popular recipes on Eat Your Books:

Banana Bread from How To Be a Domestic Goddess
 Clementine Cake from How to Eat
 Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
 Mirin Glazed Salmon from Nigella Express
 Quick Chili from Nigella Express

Let us know what you think of the new covers. 



Category: Book News, Food Biz People, New Cookbooks

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8 Comments

  • Lindsay  on  February 4, 2014

    I don't get these covers – they almost look like text books. Why would they entice you to buy them? I think they're uninviting, don't indicate in any way that there's anything about food inside, and way too simplistic. And I certainly can't see putting them on display somewhere.

  • Jane  on  February 4, 2014

    I don't really get this either. I'm a huge Nigella fan and own all her books already so I'm obviously not the publisher's target market. But I wonder who is? People who don't own her books and would like a complete set, all the same size with similarly designed covers? People who like to cook but don't like pictures of attractive women on their book covers? There has been a huge amount of publicity for Nigella recently (not all good!) so maybe they are hoping to exploit some of that interest by capturing people who have never bought a Nigella book (but why would that need a cover redesign and relaunch?).

  • Christine  on  February 4, 2014

    They were clearly going for a more modern, graphic look, but I second Jane's question about who their target market is. I love the original Domestic Goddess cover and would definitely not buy a duplicate. I don't have Nigella Express (yet!), but I'm still not sure I would go for the new version over the old. I know a lot of people dislike having celebrities on the covers of books, but I still wonder who exactly would be buying these new editions!

  • boardingace  on  February 4, 2014

    I personally don't care for these covers, but I'm not very fashionable, so I can see how what is most trendy right now is not what I would like – lol. But maybe it is nice to have something different than the usual photo of Nigella on the cover. And I think it's generally cool that they tried something new and took a risk. But they're not my style.

  • Bloominanglophile  on  February 4, 2014

    When I saw this, it reminded me of many cover designs of books published by Penguin. Sure enough, a click on one of the links confirmed a relationship to that publisher. I rather like the design, as I love old books and have started to collect the classics. They don't make them like they used to–leather bound, gold edges, etc. It would be silly to make a working cookbook in this manner, but if it looks a bit retro, I don't mind at all! However, I do think Nigella is a lovely woman, and I don't think anyone minds seeing her on the cover!

  • ellabee  on  February 5, 2014

    This is an announcement geared to me, but I may be in a small minority — if so, the publishers have goofed. Almost any cover without a picture of the author is better than one with, as far as I'm concerned, and I have no Nigella books yet. But I've checked out a few from the library, and although I hugely enjoyed reading them, they were too large and heavy for my taste (and cookbook shelves). Wonder if the dimensions have changed…?

  • ellabee  on  February 5, 2014

    There's something appealingly 1920s-30s-40s about these covers in both color and design. But I suspect I might be in a minority there too.

  • Lynsyhall  on  February 6, 2014

    Sorry don't like the new covers look boring. If I'm going to invest in a cookbook I want it to be visually appealing and lovely to read. I think the covers with nigella are dated – but the new ones simply don't have wow factor. My favourite books have beautiful satin feel covers with evocative images and haunting colours – a visual and tactile joy. Love nigellas recipes thou – so hope this new look works for her.

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