All Good Men, the debut short story collection by Libby Flores, is an unflinching exploration of masculinity, vulnerability, and the consequences of the choices men make. Across stories of love, betrayal, parenthood, and violence, Flores inhabits the inner lives of men at their most unguarded, challenging the expectations and power dynamics that shape their relationships.
Flores is a writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, One Story, Ploughshares, Tin House, and elsewhere. All Good Men will be published by Unnamed Press on April 6, 2027, and is available for pre-order now.
Debutiful is honored to reveal the cover of All Good Men, designed by Yannick Scott. Below, Flores discusses her love of 1970s paperback aesthetics, her vision for a text-only cover, and how Scott used typography, movement, and shadow to create a design that invites readers to look beneath the surface.
While writing the book, did you have any ideas for what you wanted the cover to look like?
Not really, I was focused on finishing the book. It was a long journey. Thinking of it as an object was, for me, a dream, but the cover was not a figment then—not something on my mind while writing sentences.
Can you explain what the design process was like once you started working with your publishing team?
My wonderful publisher and editor at Unnamed, Chris Heiser, listened to my ideas and then passed them to the designer Yannick Scott. I might’ve shared a slideshow and a lot of comps. (I am a very specific person regarding aesthetics. Some might say with strong preferences.)
What was it like seeing your finalized cover for the first time?
I was talking to a friend recently, and I likened it to any big life decision (buying a house, looking for the perfect dress) where you just know. I looked at (then gazed at it) for days afterwards and felt that same good hit every time.
How does the cover work to convey what the book is all about?
I wanted a cover that had a timeless feel with a nod to the 1970s paperbacks. I knew only one thing—I wanted text only. I will credit my team: my agent and publisher here with the notes they gave the designer. Yannick took the text and gave it movement, energy, and perspective.
A cover has to accomplish so much it can be overwhelming. I’ve heard the horror stories of writers leaving this process defeated and with few options. I am so grateful to have had the opposite experience down to the color choices.
As to what it conveys, I admire what Yannick created. In architecture, it’s called shadow studies—it considers not just the built structure, but the shape it creates against the light. I will leave it at that for the reader’s interpretation.