New Digs for the Classics

Publishers, including big guns like Penguin and HarperCollins, have begun to target teen readers by reinventing the cover design of many classic pieces of literature.

Like Penguin’s new edition of Romeo and Juliet which features a “Romeo in stubble and a tight white tank top”, the new covers intend to latch onto the popularity of the young-adult genre, the most vigorously growing genre in publishing. Many classics, such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, are now in the public domain and so any publisher can release a version, a totally way sexier version:

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Graham Todd is an intern at The Rumpus. He spends his mornings writing post-apocalyptic, vaguely biblical sci-fi horror comedy, his evenings tutoring the wide-eyed youth of the Palo Alto area, and his Thursdays at The Rumpus office, effectively “off the streets”. Beyond this weekly ritual, he enjoys karaoke, the movies, and jogging.

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