Carlos Esparza

Carlos Esparza – Designer

Award-winning Book cover designer with experience on 100s of titles, including many national bestsellers

Overview

I've worked in-house at 3 of the biggest publishers in the country, and designed for many more beyond that, including national best-selling books and titles for celebrities/household names. I love exploring and learning and solving puzzles in collaboration, I look forward to learning about you and your project, and solving the puzzle that is your cover design!

Services
Fiction
Classics Historical Fiction Humor & Comedy Literary Fiction Short Story
Non-Fiction
Economics History Music Psychology Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Languages
English
Awards
  • LitHub—The 11 Best Book Covers of November (2021)
  • LitHub—The 13 Best Book Covers of August (2020)
  • Paste Magazine—The Best Book Covers of January (2020)
  • Casual Optimist—Book Covers of Notes, May (2023)
  • Casual Optimist—Notable Book Covers of 2023

Work experience

1517 Media

Oct, 2022 — Present
Manage production and design of 70 titles a year.

Callisto Media

Sep, 2019 — Jul, 2022 (almost 3 years)
Manage production and design for 60 titles a year, in categories ranging from children's activity books to cookbooks and self-help.

Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers

Feb, 2016 — Nov, 2017 (over 1 year)
Design 15 covers a year for large-format illustrated titles.

Hachette Book Group

Oct, 2015 — Oct, 2018 (about 3 years)
Design 25 covers a year for titles ranging from memoir to narrative non-fiction

Random House, W. W. Norton, Hachette Books, Graywolf Press, Coffee House Press, Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers

Jun, 2012 — Present

Portfolio

Likeness

Knight, Samsun

University Of Iowa Press

Cover Design
How to Be Busy: Unhurried Living Even When Your Calendar Is Chaotic

Crawford, Rachelle

Broadleaf Books

Cover Design
The Weight of Pain: Eating Disorders, Trauma, and the Path to Recovery

Suro, Giulia

Broadleaf Books

Cover Design
I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness: A Novel

Solà, Irene

Graywolf Press

Cover Design

Carlos has 3 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Tim L.

Tim L.

May, 2026

Hi, Carlos brought a lot of experience and great ideas. I needed a cover, and wasn't sure exactly what I wanted, but he came with imaginative designs and was very patient as we worked through, tried what worked and discarded, and ended up with something that I thought was very original and exciti...
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Glenn A.

Glenn A.

Nov, 2025

My experience working with Carlos has been very positive. He communicated clearly, was consistently responsive, and handled all tasks with professionalism. The quality of his design work met expectations, and he made the process straightforward by addressing details like character limits and imag...
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Erika S.

Erika S.

Dec, 2018

Such a fantastic experience working with Carlos. His creativity, attention to detail, timely communications, professionalism, and experience shine through in every aspect of the process and the product he provides. I cannot imagine working with anyone else on the design of future novels. Highly r...
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