(9th December, 2021) We’re incredibly excited to launch a brand new collaboration with leading UK publisher Bonnier Books, reimagining 6 of their catalogues’ most iconic book covers. The final artwork – which ranges from playful portraiture and joyful collage to intricate stitchwork and detailed illustration – will line the walls of Bonnier Books UK’s new HQ at Victoria House on Bloomsbury Square, whilst A4 prints will also be available to buy from the Submit to Love online shop.

Tapping into our own penchant for storytelling through art, we recruited six artists who connected with the work most, and tasked them with delivering a distinct new spin on some literary bestsellers. The artists involved were Billy Mann (E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars), Brian Searle (Heather Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz), Cecil Waldron (Katherine Ryan’s The Audacity), Sam Jevon (Kathy Willis’ Botanicum, illustrated by Katie Scott), Sean Carty (John Bellairs’ The Figure in the Shadows), and Tirzah Mileham (Stacey Halls’ The Familiars). We think the results speak for themselves……

Billy Mann, who reproduced E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars on linen, said: “What I liked about doing this project was that I read the book as I was doing it. The book is kind of intriguing because it plays around with memory and very early on, one of the characters gets a brain injury, so all the way through you're thinking ‘what is the impact of the brain injury?’ We knew we wanted to do the stitchwork in gold, and that took a long time, but the image actually emerged as we went along. We were terrified that something would go wrong and I'd have to do the stitching again! So, I went very gingerly all the way through that, but it came off really nicely and I was very pleased in the end.” 

 Submit to Love artist Brian Searle, who worked on a recreation of The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris said: “When I saw the book cover, I first thought about my wife's nan, who was Jewish and she spoke about her background when she grew up in Brick Lane and why she had to change her name from Solomon to Sullivan and again when she married, cause back in them days you couldn't have Jewish names. So that added a personal touch to the project. It’s really nice to be commissioned: as an artist that's what you live for really and I feel really lucky to be able to do it for Bonnier Books. I really enjoyed seeing the commissions of all the different artists come together, to see all different processes and styles of the studio.” 

Nick Stearn, Art Director, Adult Trade Publishing and Children’s Fiction, said: “We’re so proud to work with Submit to Love Studios and these six outstanding artists. It’s been a huge pleasure watching the works take shape, and the results have been a delight. As a publisher, we believe that great stories can come from anywhere and that books are for everyone. Submit to Love – clear in their mission that art is both for everyone, and by everyone – were the perfect partners for this project.  

100% of the proceeds from print sales will go to the studio’s home Headway East London; helping our ongoing work in supporting brain injury survivors, their families and carers.