See the cover for Chin-Sun Lee’s debut novel Upcountry

Chin-Sun Lee’s Upcountry, coming via Unnamed Press on November 7, 2023, is about three women in the Catskills navigating a new life none expected. Claire and her husband left New York City and purchased April’s foreclosed home, which causes tension between them. Claire’s husband leaves her for the younger Anna, who is in a religious cult. However, she is eventually shunned by them due to her new beau’s actions.

When it came time to design the cover, Lee had no idea what what to expect.

“Seeing the cover of my book for the first time was such a startling experience, because I really had no preconceived ideas,” Lee reveals.  “I knew immediately that the image was arresting, and that, even if I wasn’t the author, I would want to pick up this book.”

The cover is startling and enigmatic. Something, like the lives of the women in the book, is askew. The design, done by Jaya Nicely, is a perfect snapshot of what readers can expect when cracking into Upcountry.

That sense the cover will give readers was also passed to the author herself. 

“I love the skewed orientation, and how the pretty grass and flowers play against the disturbing repose of the woman beneath the ominous sky. And it’s subtle, but she’s also lying next to what looks like the crumbled foundation of a house. The tension of all these elements suggests a world that, despite its pastoral surface, is a little corrupted and askew. And I feel this exactly captures the novel’s themes and tone.”

You can pre-order a copy of Upcountry here!