Create a 1970s retro book cover for biography of Alex Haley, author of "Roots."

Adam Henig

I am looking for a new design for my current self published ebook, "Alex Haley's Roots: An Author's Odyssey."

My targeted audience is college educated readers over the age of 50 (basically, anyone old enough to remember the Roots miniseries/book).

I am looking for an illustrated design of Alex Haley that will be used for both a paperback edition and ebook.

The current book cover consists of a professional photograph of Haley (see images). The rights to that photograph will expire soon and I would like to avoid having to renew it--hence illustrated version.

Since the book cover will be viewed primarily as thumbnail, Haley should be easily identifiable to any user perusing the scores of book covers on any given Amazon/iTunes/Kobo site .

Since Roots was published and aired in the late 1970s, the cover should have a retro/disco, bubble-letter theme (very similar to QuestLove's memoir; see images).

As for the placement of the title and subtitle (as well as author's name), I have no preference of where it is as long as "Alex Haley's Roots" is easily readable. For the paperback version, I will need a back page cover that will include a short book summary, 2 to 3 endorsements and a short author bio & photo.

The Allen Ginsberg cover is something I am aiming for this project--it's simple, yet stands out and easily identifiable. "The Bird" and Questlove covers have a 1970s feel. The other photos are of Haley at the peak of his fame.