Don't judge a book by its cover

Long overdue, this, given that I'm not normally reticent in promoting the creative endeavours of friends - but congratulations to colleague-until-recently Ali Shaw, whose debut novel The Girl With Glass Feet has just been nominated for a British Book Design and Production Award.

The nomination doesn't actually come as much of a surprise - Atlantic have done Ali proud in producing a very handsome book with a beautifully designed jacket cover and silver-edged pages. All of us in production were cooing over it, and the Amazon reviews suggest it's caught the layman's eye too (if you'll pardon the expression).

I should add that the design is particularly well judged in that it reflects the fantastical story that's contained within. Given the glowing review the novel garnered in the Guardian, hopefully the award nominations for Ali's writing will follow.