We really don’t have much to add this chart, which appeared on Orbit Books publisher Tim Holman‘s blog yesterday. It is what it is—a compendium of the visual elements found in the covers of fantasy novels published by the largest players in the American sci-fi/fantasy scene in 2008. “The most commonly seen element appearing on fantasy books published last year was, it seems, the sword,” Holman observes. “Closely followed by glowy magic, castles, and dragons. I suspect a few covers contained all these elements. Meanwhile, fans of unicorns, maps, and stilettos had a disappointing year, and perhaps were lost to other genres.”
It’s going to be interesting to see how Orbit art director Lauren Panepinto works a sword into the cover art for Across a Trembling Sea the Cyborg Fairies Dance, that’s for sure. (Oh, you hadn’t heard about that? Basically, Orbit solicited title ideas for the “most awesomely bad” science fiction/fantasy cover art imaginable, and that’s what fans came up with; the artwork that can live up to the promise inherent in that title is under development.)
