Peter Mendelsund is the associate art director of Alfred A. Knopf Books, the art director of Pantheon Books, and a recovering classical pianist. He has been called "the force behind some of today's most recognizable book covers" by The New Yorker, and his designs have been described as "the most instantly recognizable and iconic book covers in contemporary fiction" by The Wall Street Journal.

Among his most celebrated jackets are those for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; collections of the works of Joyce, Kafka, Dostoevsky, de Beauvoir, and Foucault; the contemporary works of Martin Amis, Tom McCarthy, Ben Marcus, Jo Nesbø, and James Gleick; and many more.

He is the author of Cover, an art book featuring jackets from throughour this career as well as reflections on the design process, and the best-selling What We See When We Read, a fully illustrated exploration into how we visualize when reading literature.

Peter's writing on literature, design, and other matters can be found on his blog: jacketmechanical.blogspot.com.

Peter Mendelsund

Associate Art Director at Alfred A. Knopf

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