Mouthful of Birds

Stephen Brayda on Designing Samanta Schweblin's Mouthful of Birds

Mouthful of Birds was presented on my first list as a cover designer for Riverhead and stars aligned. With a six-month-old baby at home, I needed another reason to lose sleep at night.

Packaging Samanta Schweblin’s newest collection of short stories proved to be an all-consuming adventure like the stories themselves. I was immediately moved as I read- I’ve always been fascinated with tales that end with more questions than answers. The stories are short (some just two pages long) but packed full of evocative and haunting imagery- more than some full-length novels. Schweblin has mastered the formula for captivating storytelling and I quickly got caught up in the ride.

Stephen Brayda on Designing Samanta Schweblin's Mouthful of Birds