Print & texture
Penny Dreadful / Sensation Novel CoverScandal for a penny.
A black-line engraved scene at the moment of peak melodrama, someone swooning, menacing, or fleeing, printed over one lurid flat tint.
Make it yoursA good fit for
Ghost stories, detective mysteries, and lurid city histories.
A little art direction
Write the title as a headline that could be shouted across two lines. In the illustration notes describe a single dramatic moment with a menace, a victim, and a light source.
The palette
From these words to these book covers
Now make it yours See the style in action.
Open larger viewFiction or poetryCold Front
Open larger viewFiction or poetryThe Lantern Keeper
Open larger viewNonfictionBarbary Coast
Open larger viewFiction or poetryFog Signals
Open larger viewFiction or poetryThe Tallow Works
Real generated examples; your own result will vary. The exact prompt behind each one is further down the page.
Your idea, this style
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The prompts behind these book covers.
Each cover above was generated from the prompt below it, unedited. Copy one as-is or change the details. Your image-making app may interpret the style differently each time.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstCold FrontRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: Cold Front Subtitle: A Detective Kestrel mystery Author: Tess Halloran Publisher: Barbary Coast Press ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Penny Dreadful / Sensation Novel Cover style. Visual vocabulary: dramatic engraved scene at peak moment of crisis or villainy; black line illustration over a single flat colour tint; figures at extreme expressive angles — swooning, menacing, fleeing; heavy black hatching for shadow areas; moonlight, candlelight, or gaslight as a dramatic lighting source. Lettering direction: bold condensed woodtype headline screaming the title; serif body type for price and issue number; title often split across two lines for maximum impact. Suggested colors: black engraving on white with one garish tint — blood red, poison green, or gaslight blue. Composition: full-bleed dramatic scene; title in bold band above; price and number below. Atmosphere: melodramatic, sensational, breathless, Victorian popular horror. Keep out of the design: decorative ornamental borders, multiple colours, restrained good taste of any kind, artificial yellowing or ageing. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A detective recoiling from a shadowed figure in a doorway, a streetlamp glaring behind. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstThe Lantern KeeperRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: The Lantern Keeper Author: Hollis Pine Tagline: A ghost story for winter nights ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Penny Dreadful / Sensation Novel Cover style. Visual vocabulary: dramatic engraved scene at peak moment of crisis or villainy; black line illustration over a single flat colour tint; figures at extreme expressive angles — swooning, menacing, fleeing; heavy black hatching for shadow areas; moonlight, candlelight, or gaslight as a dramatic lighting source. Lettering direction: bold condensed woodtype headline screaming the title; serif body type for price and issue number; title often split across two lines for maximum impact. Suggested colors: black engraving on white with one garish tint — blood red, poison green, or gaslight blue. Composition: full-bleed dramatic scene; title in bold band above; price and number below. Atmosphere: melodramatic, sensational, breathless, Victorian popular horror. Keep out of the design: decorative ornamental borders, multiple colours, restrained good taste of any kind, artificial yellowing or ageing. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A hooded figure raising a lantern toward a swooning woman on a foggy stair, light blazing. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Nonfiction · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstBarbary CoastRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a nonfiction book, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: Barbary Coast Subtitle: Crime, gold, and the making of a city Author: Henry Vasquez Publisher: Barbary Coast Press ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Penny Dreadful / Sensation Novel Cover style. Visual vocabulary: dramatic engraved scene at peak moment of crisis or villainy; black line illustration over a single flat colour tint; figures at extreme expressive angles — swooning, menacing, fleeing; heavy black hatching for shadow areas; moonlight, candlelight, or gaslight as a dramatic lighting source. Lettering direction: bold condensed woodtype headline screaming the title; serif body type for price and issue number; title often split across two lines for maximum impact. Suggested colors: black engraving on white with one garish tint — blood red, poison green, or gaslight blue. Composition: full-bleed dramatic scene; title in bold band above; price and number below. Atmosphere: melodramatic, sensational, breathless, Victorian popular horror. Keep out of the design: decorative ornamental borders, multiple colours, restrained good taste of any kind, artificial yellowing or ageing. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A sailor dragged toward a trapdoor by two ruffians under a swinging gaslight. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstFog SignalsRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: Fog Signals Subtitle: Stories Author: Ines Calloway Publisher: Posterage Press ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Penny Dreadful / Sensation Novel Cover style. Visual vocabulary: dramatic engraved scene at peak moment of crisis or villainy; black line illustration over a single flat colour tint; figures at extreme expressive angles — swooning, menacing, fleeing; heavy black hatching for shadow areas; moonlight, candlelight, or gaslight as a dramatic lighting source. Lettering direction: bold condensed woodtype headline screaming the title; serif body type for price and issue number; title often split across two lines for maximum impact. Suggested colors: black engraving on white with one garish tint — blood red, poison green, or gaslight blue. Composition: full-bleed dramatic scene; title in bold band above; price and number below. Atmosphere: melodramatic, sensational, breathless, Victorian popular horror. Keep out of the design: decorative ornamental borders, multiple colours, restrained good taste of any kind, artificial yellowing or ageing. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A woman clinging to a foghorn railing as a shadowed shape climbs toward her, beam sweeping. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Fiction or poetry · GPT Image 2.5 SunburstThe Tallow WorksRead the exact prompt
Create a finished front cover for a work of fiction, in a 2:3 portrait aspect ratio. Produce the flat front cover artwork only, without spine, back cover, book mockup, or shelf. COVER TEXT Use the following book information exactly as written. The labels before each colon are for you, not for the cover; print only the text after them. Do not invent extra text, quotes, or awards. Title: The Tallow Works Subtitle: A novel Author: Dara Fenwick Publisher: Barbary Coast Press ART DIRECTION Interpret the supplied brief in Penny Dreadful / Sensation Novel Cover style. Visual vocabulary: dramatic engraved scene at peak moment of crisis or villainy; black line illustration over a single flat colour tint; figures at extreme expressive angles — swooning, menacing, fleeing; heavy black hatching for shadow areas; moonlight, candlelight, or gaslight as a dramatic lighting source. Lettering direction: bold condensed woodtype headline screaming the title; serif body type for price and issue number; title often split across two lines for maximum impact. Suggested colors: black engraving on white with one garish tint — blood red, poison green, or gaslight blue. Composition: full-bleed dramatic scene; title in bold band above; price and number below. Atmosphere: melodramatic, sensational, breathless, Victorian popular horror. Keep out of the design: decorative ornamental borders, multiple colours, restrained good taste of any kind, artificial yellowing or ageing. Apply the visual language to the supplied brief; do not invent historical affiliations, endorsements, or extra copy. ILLUSTRATION NOTES A worker fleeing a collapsing candle rack, a single flame blazing at the center. These notes guide the imagery; do not print them as text. Make the title the strongest text element and the author name the second. Keep everything else small. Check spelling and retain the supplied wording. Do not include these instructions, labels, watermarks, or extra slogans in the artwork.
Prompt version 1 · 5 generated examples · Copy-and-paste guide →
