Lucia Baez 2022 ©
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Novel covers & Interiors
During my time at Penguin Random House, I've had the pleasure of working on a diverse number of middle grade and teen novels. These vary from fiction to non-fiction, and provide insight into Viking Books dedication to quality that creates our rich backlist.
My role for each title has been versatile, as not one book is ever like another.
The Hungry Ghosts
is a tale of magic, found family, and the power of being yourself—even when the world asks you to change. You can find the full description here.
For this title, I worked with the talented Trudi-Ann Hemans to bring the main character, Milly, to life and her ethereal world. Apart from art direction, I also designed the title type, jacket, and complete interior layout. Some samples below.
The Impossible Climb
This book is a middle grade adaptation of the adult bestseller that chronicles what The New York Times deemed “one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever”: Alex Honnold’s free-solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
My role was to create the cover, jacket, and interior layouts of this non-fiction novel. This process involves interior image selection, case cover choices, and print effects such as matte lamination
and embossing for the cover type.
From Little Tokyo, With Love
Celebrated author Sarah Kuhn reinvents the modern fairy tale in this intensely personal yet hilarious novel of a girl whose search for a storybook ending takes her to unexpected places in both her beloved LA neighborhood and her own guarded heart.
Although I didn't work on this fantastic cover, I created the interior design that would tie the two together. Working on this interior was a cultural and multifaceted experience, as well as an exploration of type and ornaments that bring interior pages to life.
The Unadoptables
Neil Gaiman meets Hans Christian Andersen in this delicious fairy tale full of mysterious spirits, daring escapes, and a beautiful message about the power of found families.
This title was one of my first interior design projects while at Viking, and a rewarding learning experience. The graceful cover was designed by my colleague, Dana Li. The interior chapter pages each have a small illustration to introduce the chapter by the fantastic Ayesha L. Rubio.
