And How Are Things With You — cover reveal at Unity Books

Here’s the cover that British artist Todd Atticus has created in response to reading And How Are Things With You — due from Mākaro Press in September. I love it — the tone and the colours, the subtlety. Feedback so far has been that it is beautiful and intriguing. I am so grateful to Todd, who created one hundred or so covers over one week at Unity Books Wellington, where visitors to the bookshop could observe progress and chat with the artist.

Speaking with Stephen Olsen for Wellington Scoop ‘Covers in the Window’ article of 29 April, 2026, Todd said:

“I’ve always been a reader so I will always dive into reading the manuscript from front to back, especially the works of fiction. You don’t always get to meet the author, so talking with Mia at my artshow Sala Alas was a bonus – especially given her book, which reminds me of the writing of Ali Smith, is set equally across London and Wellington, two of my favourite places.”

Todd Atticus was interviewed at Unity Books for Culture 101 by Perlina Lau at Radio New Zealand where he talked about designing the cover artwork for And How Are Things With You.

On Tuesday 5 May there was a lunchtime discussion between Todd and me and Mākaro Press publishers Mary McCallum and Paul Stewart — about how we came to decide on this particular cover.

Stephen Olsen wrote about this Cover Reveal event for Wellington Scoop.