Book Design for Editors

Design is editorial. And yet in publishing, editorial and design concerns (and departments) are often kept at arm’s length. Designer Debbie Berne will talk about how a deeper understanding of the ideas and mechanics of book design can help editors do their work better and create better books.

Topics will include

• Imagining the manuscript as a finished book
• Printer’s specs are design
• How a book’s title affects its cover design
• What you don’t know you don’t know about fonts
• Downton Abbey and the significance of space
• Line length, ragging, and a defense of hyphens
• And everyone’s favorite subject: the table of contents

[event will be recorded]

Debbie Berne is a longtime Bay Area book designer. Her book, The Design of Books: An Explainer for Authors, Editors, Agents, and Other Curious Readers, will be published by University of Chicago Press in Spring 2024 as part of their series Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing.