Chelsea Bieker’s Godshot was a thrill to work on. I had been hearing about the manuscript months before the project landed in my lap at Catapult and along with the great title I knew I would be moved by the material because I was already familiar with Chelsea’s soulful writing.

Some titles just echo down the aisles. Some titles deserve to consume covers. Amanda Goldblatt’s novel Hard Mouth, a dense narrative told from the perspective of a tight-lipped daughter caring for her cancer-ridden father in his final days, is one such title. Hard Mouth. What are those words doing together? Where will this story take us? Designer Nicole Caputo designed the cover of Hard Mouth with Goldblatt’s straightforward, tense, and smart narrative approach in mind.

On shelves now is the beautifully jacketed novel, Rebecca Kauffman’s The Gunners. The bold, minimalist font asserts itself without descending to typographical aggression. Two grackles grapple (or perhaps share) an earthworm beneath the title and author credits. The balance between graphic and white space hovers near perfection. And how, you might ask, does a designer create such a gorgeous cover? Simple. According to Nicole Caputo, all you need is love. For the story itself, that is.

In this episode we interview Nicole Caputo and Anne Twomey, Co-Founders of She Designs Books, a celebration of female talent in the world of book design. Whatever your gender, whether you are brand new to publishing or have been in the industry for years, you are certain to enjoy this interview.