Losing the Plot is a novel about a son’s search to understand his mother’s past. This beautiful piece of work explores a young woman who has been uprooted from her homeland of Ghana to the grey streets of Tottenham, London, and having to adapt to a hostile and isolating cultural environment. Working three jobs as well as trying to raise a family. The narrative is experimental, even hard to read at times, written in prose poem English and Twi (Ghanaian dialect), as well as being commented upon by the son from the margins of the book. Being such an experimental piece of writing, this was a dream book to land on my lap, as the cover would also have to reflect this unusual creative style in some way.

Emma Ewbank is a senior designer for Bloomsbury. Her portfolio features many notable works including the design for Tor Udall's A Thousand Paper Birds. Here Ewbank describes for Spine what when into creating this remarkable cover.