'It's a Whole Spiel' Book Cover Illustration

I was commissioned by Knopf Young Adult books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, to illustrate a book cover for the anthology ‘It’s a Whole Spiel.’ The book is a collection of stories about Jewish life, edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman with a foreword by Mayim Bialik. I was commissioned to create a bright and upbeat cover that included one character from each of the 14 stories, interacting with the lettering of the title. I illustrated the characters with subtle clues to their story, each of which could work as individual illustrations for the chapters. It was a pleasure to work with the Knopf team on this and to create such a fun cover. The book comes out in September 2019 – you can read more information about it on the Hypable blog.

“We are so proud of this anthology from cover to cover. Lisa Maltby’s art is so fresh, bold and upbeat, which captures perfectly the feeling of the stories themselves, all thanks to the art direction from the team at Knopf! With this anthology, we wanted to bring something exciting and hopeful to YA readers, a type of Jewish experience that they may not have read before. We wanted this anthology to reflect diverse Jewish experiences, the intersection of Jewish life with the rest of our lives or the ways that they remain immersed all together. And we think you can see that in the art as well: different characters living their own lives, part of the same tapestry but also unique in their individuality and futures.

“And we are so excited to announce that Mayim Bialik, the author, actress, and neuroscientist, wrote the foreword to the anthology! We’re thrilled to have her on board, and we think she captured the essence of this collection perfectly when she wrote, “What this book seeks to achieve is a connection to a larger vision of a Judaism that is engaging, open, and wise.”

Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman