See the coveted Flying Monkey Awards presented Daily on YouTube!
And see who wins the Flying Monkey Award!
From afar, this cover whispers calm. Serene blue palette, gentle seagulls, a lonely house on a remote islet—it looks like the literary equivalent of a mindfulness app loading screen. But take a closer look, and suddenly you’re not in a meditative landscape; you’re...
This cover is what happens when a Canva template chugs five espressos and tries to become a business guru overnight. “The Real Estate SOP Playbook” promises organization and streamlined operations—but visually, it’s a masterclass in digital chaos. The only thing being...
This cover doesn’t so much introduce a book as it performs an unsolicited medical procedure on your eyeballs. One glance and you can feel your pupils filing a formal complaint. The stated goal appears to be “maximum authority,” but the execution lands squarely in...
Welcome to Club Jack, where the lighting is confusing, the men are from different dimensions, and the design choices are as coherent as a nightclub bathroom at 3 a.m. This isn’t a romance cover—it’s a visual turf war between stock photo archetypes who clearly didn’t...
There are book covers that invite curiosity, some that provoke intrigue, and then there are covers like Modified by Aliens: They Are Here, which kick down the door, spray neon slime everywhere, and demand your attention with all the subtlety of a glow stick at a...
This cover boldly announces Performance Management while simultaneously demonstrating a masterclass in visual mismanagement. It is the sort of design that looks like it was assembled during a lunch break by someone who said, “We don’t need a designer, I’ve got...
If this book cover were a sound, it would be the echo of a single raindrop falling into a beige filing cabinet. Riverboat by Tessa Brookfield promises, at the very least, a story involving water. Maybe even—brace yourself—a boat. Instead, what we get is the visual...
There’s casting spells, and then there’s casting design disasters — and Souls and Shadows chose the latter like it was the only option on the shelf at the Discount Wand Emporium. First, let’s address the purple elephant in the room — or rather, the purple-glowing...
Word clouds. Once the staple of school presentations and church bulletins, now elevated—if that’s the word—to front-cover status in Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?, a design decision that boldly asks, “What if a book cover looked like someone dropped a...
There are covers that whisper, some that shout, and then there’s Will That Be Cash or Cuffs?, which walks up to you in a grocery aisle, stares into your soul, and silently asks, “How much AI is too much AI?” Let’s address the obvious: this cover is giving corporate...
At first glance, Criminal Impulses looks like it might pass for a gritty cyber-noir thriller. A neon-lit alley. A lone figure in a tactical stance. Bold title font screaming "sci-fi action incoming." But the moment your eyes adjust to the digital fog, you realize...
In the vast reaches of the cosmos, where stars burn bright and narrative potential stretches across galaxies, one cover boldly ventures into the outer limits of design confusion. Welcome to Lexa Dean and the Wellspring — a title that promises celestial mystique but...
A Note to Authors Featured Here
The purpose of Horrible Covers is not only to critique but also to highlight how much cover design matters to a book’s success. Many authors set out with the best intentions but end up with covers that don’t reflect the quality of their writing — sometimes because they tried to do it themselves, sometimes because they relied on someone who wasn’t a professional cover designer.
We understand how frustrating that can be.
Our aim is simple: to help writers put their best work forward with cover art that does justice to the story inside. If you’ve been featured here and are ready to level up your presentation, reach out through our contact form and mention “Horrible Covers Author.”