Poppy Shakespeare is a trash-talking, stiletto-wearing, chain-smoking diva who gets placed in a mental hospital against her will. Bossy and flamboyant, she quickly takes charge of her fellow patients, “the dribblers,” whose primary activities include fevered gossip and the hoarding of cigarettes. I wanted the cover to feel both crude and tender and have the earnest simplicity of a mental patient’s art project. A big thank you to Bloomsbury for okaying the uncoated stock and getting the overprinted colors just right.

“Type and illustration work well together and are complemented by a simple, pleasing color scheme—love the overprinting.”