Comments on: The New Cover (Updated)

By: iola

iola — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:47:02 +0000

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who went, “YES! Oh. Okay.” I agree, she’s a beautiful model and it is leaps and bounds an improvement for the publisher to listen and attempt to make amends.

However, it’s the stigma of the “light-skinned black woman” who’s closer to white folks and thus more marketable than a darker skinned woman.

I don’t want to be “picky” I want to be real about everything our culture needs to learn still. :/

By: Tamara Heiner

Tamara Heiner — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:29:12 +0000

boy, she is just beautiful. I love it. I love the premise of your book and can hardly wait for it to come out!

By: Lena

Lena — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:57:14 +0000

Wonderful cover! Props to Bloomsbury for the photo shoot. This image captures the essence of the, shall we say, not-quite-right cover, while remaining true to the character. Lovely!!!

By: Mel Francis

Mel Francis — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:18:43 +0000

This is a beautiful cover and I will buy multiple copies to support it. I loved the old cover but was so sad to learn it wasn’t reflective of the book content. This cover is amazing. Congrats!

By: Cynthia Moyer

Cynthia Moyer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:42:52 +0000

I love the new cover — she’s gorgeous!!! I am glad everything worked out the way it should!!!
Cynthia

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:34:53 +0000

Awesome.

By: Pearl North

Pearl North — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:51:15 +0000

Justine, I’m so pleased to see this new, far more appropriate cover for the U.S. edition of LIAR. Sorry that it didn’t happen without intervention but at least it’s nice to know that an author’s voice can be heard. Congratulations on a beautiful cover and most especially on your astute handling of the situation.

By: Raine

Raine — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:05:09 +0000

Also late, but had to add my congrats.
It’s a beautiful cover, Justine.
I’m glad they listened, & wish you many sales.

By: People Do Judge a Book by its Cover « Hyperpat’s HyperDay

People Do Judge a Book by its Cover « Hyperpat’s HyperDay — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:39:42 +0000

[...] Posted by hyperpat on August 12, 2009 There’s been quite a dust-up over the cover art originally chosen for the American ARC edition of Justine Larbaliester’s new book Liar, which portrayed a white girl with long hair, when the actual person inside the book is bi-racial with nappy hair. So much of one that Bloomsbury, the publisher, has now made the decision to change the cover for the hardback release, scheduled for late September. I’m happy to say that the new cover is both appropriate and quite stylish. The cover, along with Justine’s comments about it, can be viewed here. [...]

By: The Power of People « Rosetta Stone's Blog

The Power of People « Rosetta Stone's Blog — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:04:07 +0000

[...] Thank God. [...]

By: Boing Boing

Boing Boing — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:25:12 +0000

Race and book covers: why is there a white girl on the cover of this book about a black girl? — UPDATED…

Update: Victory! Justine’s publisher has replaced its whites-only cover with a gloriously brown one. YA author Justine Larbalestier has gone public with her disappointment over her US publisher Bloomsbury’s cover art for her forthcoming novel Liar. …

By: Dara

Dara — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:24:34 +0000

Now that is an awesome cover. I would pick that up!

By: Camille

Camille — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:14:56 +0000

It’s beautiful. Really, really beautiful. Heh — I never thought there’d be an actual response/solution! That’ll teach me to be cynical. Well done!

By: JT Banks

JT Banks — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:02:42 +0000

What’s been so wonderful about this discussion is that, unlike nearly every other internet discussion involving race, the letters are thoughtful and kind. Imagine, a picture of a black girl and no name calling and no discussions about the President. I knew there was a reason I liked readers.

By: #FollowReader: Book Marketing Fail « Follow The Reader

#FollowReader: Book Marketing Fail « Follow The Reader — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:37:00 +0000

[...] a happy turn of events and a true #FTW for everyone really, the the North American cover for Liar will be sporting the image of an African American [...]

By: Victoria

Victoria — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:20:32 +0000

That is gorgeous! I’ll post it on my blog and facebook pages as a follow up, Justine. It’s wonderful what word of mouth can do.

By: Joe M

Joe M — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:10:37 +0000

Awesome! I’m glad Bloomsbury did the right thing and spent the extra money on this, which will have been considerable.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:21:19 +0000

Yay! I’m so so glad to hear of this. I had originally planned to order the Australian book (I’m in NZ so it’s slightly cheaper/easier for me to get), but I think it’s so good that Bloomsbury have done this that I have to get the new American one instead, now. If only to show that a black face on a cover won’t hurt anyone’s sales! They hired a really beautiful model for the photo shoot.

Glad to hear you finally got a positive resolution for the paperback, anyway!

And go Bloomsbury for being brave and putting a black face on a cover.

By: Australian Online Bookshop

Australian Online Bookshop — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:55:54 +0000

This really is great news. Finally comon sense prevails. Congrats to all involved in lobbying the publishers to get this sorted.

By: Veronica

Veronica — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:32:52 +0000

Another latecomer to this discussion and while I won’t repeat what’s already been said, I can’t stress enough the importance of Zetta’s comments. The cover, while an improvement on the previous one, is evidence of America’s discomfort with people of darker hues (particularly women). I think its sad that we still have to have these conversations, but the only way to correct the behavior is by bringing it to light and having intelligent discourse.

By: susan

susan — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:56:54 +0000

Jennifer,

I wasn’t comparing her to Halle. I am comparing her to what Halle represents, what the model represents and we agree on that.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:57:26 +0000

Well…they tried. Wait…no, they didn’t. Fair-skinned models need work, too. But using THIS model in THIS situation makes me wonder if the publisher isn’t flipping us the finger.

But I disagree about comparing her to Halle Berry. This woman is beautiful. Halle is just plain, and Hollywood swearing she’s the most beautiful woman alive isn’t going to change my mind.

By: susan

susan — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:03:03 +0000

News flash to white marketing folks: We love Halle, but she is not our ideal, she’s yours.

May I make a suggestion of a talented black woman who is closer to what many of us had in mind? Try Dionne Farris’ cover on Wild Seed-Wild Flower and while you’re at it play the track “Human.” I wore that tape out back in the day. On the cover she could pass for a boy. Inside the jacket with that smile, you see beauty. Power of the spirit.

Is anyone else lovin’ India Ari’s “I am Not My Hair”

By: homasse

homasse — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:56:06 +0000

I was very excited when I heard the news they were changing the cover. Then I clicked on the link to see the picture and went, “…oh.”

This is a major improvement, don’t get me wrong, but…that still is not what the protagonist looks like (short hair like a boy, what?), and this shows there is still a biased for light-skinned black women. They went with as light a Black woman as they could find who would still instantly code as “Black.” Black enough to be Black and exotic, but not TOO Black or Black enough to be threatening.

All Black women are not the same color as my milk tea and have cute little spiral curls. And I say this as a light-skinned Black woman with cute little spiral curls. This is better, but it is *still* a cop-out.

But I guess we have to take what victories we can get. At least now there is a Black woman on the cover, and that’s, well, something.

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:52:05 +0000

Oh my goodness, GORGEOUS! I would buy this book in a second. (Then again, that’s a given…it’s by you.) I’m so glad that Bloomsbury sprang for the photoshoot – the new cover is radiantly beautiful *and* true to the book. This is fantastic.