The cover of the book needed to be simple and iconic, and it needed to reinforce that the reader was reading the story of Valentino Deng (and that Eggers was decidedly in a support role). We used a stylized version of Valentino’s face on the cover so that readers would always have that face in mind while reading his story. The type was adapted from some handmade signs Eggers found in southern Sudan. Meanwhile, we’d wanted to use the seldom-used technique of stamping different colors on a leatherette or faux-cloth cover, and What Is the What provided a good opportunity. Rachell Sumpter, who has done a lot of covers for us, came up with a very simple and durable image. It allowed us to change the color scheme and materials for each successive printing. The first version uses a brown leatherette, the second uses an orange rainbow, and the third a red rainbow. They all work, which is a testament to the strength of Sumpter’s artwork.

“I love the boldness of this cover—great illustration and color palette; printed so nicely.”