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What I love about this cover—designed by Kevin Stone at the direction of Atmosphere Press’s art director Ronaldo Alves—is that it pits an abstract “ism” against two images, taken 60 or so years apart (1921-1981?), of a concrete historical individual. By itself, the former might trigger a yawn, but not the pix. “Who’s this?” is immediately followed by “What the heck is ‘Christian individualism’?”
The portraits’ similar orientation is fortunate. The earlier photo’s shadowy air brings out the later one’s brightness. I had feared having to settle for a cold, academic look, or a goofy, on-the-nose “religious” one. No, Kevin got it right: a warm, chocolatey hue (throughout the wraparound cover) showing a man in his element (his study and his studio), a man I knew and whose story I tell in the book.
There is yet no launch date, but at last we have a vivid symbol of what will be set out into the world in (God willing) the first half of 2026. Between now and then I will explore issues that the book could only touch on, specifically “what it means to embrace Christian Individualism in a world where most people, even most Christians, see things differently.” (From the “Acknowledgements” of Christian Individualism: The Maverick Biblical Workmanship of Otis Q. Sellers, forthcoming 2026.)
Stay tuned!