Bonnier Pocket Releases Classics in a New Format

The Swedish paperback series Albert Bonniers klassiker has long been around. But the entire series has gotten a facelift with graphic designer Petra Börner’s new covers to Jane Austin’s Emma, Hjlmar Söderberg’s The Serious Game, Marguerite Duras’ The Lover and John Fowle’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman. The books are published by sister publisher Bonnier Pocket and the theme is romance. And with the new release, the publisher has started a campaign in social media that’s already shown results.

“We believe that graphics and design have become an even more important way to get consumers to choose our paperbacks,” says Åsa Lindström, product manager at Bonnier Pocket. “In Sweden no one else works so clearly with design when it comes to classics, so there was a niche to fill.”

The new covers have gotten a lot of positive attention, not least among bloggers.

“We work with social media to reach more readers and meet them where they are,” says Charlotta Larsson, manager for public relations and information at Bonnier Pocket. “A lot of people want to be involved in what’s happening and get news tips. And book covers are particularly interesting for many.”

The Facebook page Bokklassiker is going strong.

“People can discuss classic literature there, not just our own but others as well,” says Larsson. “We post news about classics and give event tips, and try to highlight interesting personalities and authors.”

A blogger event on the topic of book cover design together with Boktipset.se is being planned for later in the fall. And more updates on book covers will follow.

“In the future, we’ll continue to work in the same way we worked with Petra Börner and the romance covers,” says Lindström. “We’ll be highlighting different themes, like the romance theme, and let an illustrator or graphic designer create the design for all the titles in the group being published.”