When designing your cover, it’s a good idea to figure out what the best book cover fonts are that are currently available for use. There are a lot of factors to consider when selecting the “best” fonts:
- Is it readable within the context of the rest of your book cover design?
- Does it fit the tone of your book and genre expectations?
- Does the font license allow you to use the font for a book cover?
- Has it been overused on other book covers in your genre?
The good news in your effort to choose the best book cover fonts is that there are hundreds of thousands of fonts to pick from. The bad news…there are thousands of fonts to pick from…
Below, we’ve selected some of the best book cover fonts for various genres, as well as a few that will work for virtually any type of book. All of these are sourced from Google Fonts, so they’re available for commercial use for free (always double-check licensing before using these fonts in case anything has changed since the date of publication).
Check out the best book cover fonts for a variety of genres below:
Best Cover Fonts for Serious Nonfiction
Nonfiction books about serious subjects need cover fonts that match their tone. After all, if readers are browsing the shelves at their favorite bookseller (whether online or brick and mortar), they have certain expectations for particular genres. If your nonfiction book cover deviates too far from their expectations, readers are likely to pass it over and not take it seriously.
Here are four of the best cover fonts for serious nonfiction books:
Best Book Cover Fonts for Lighter Nonfiction
Not all nonfiction books have heavy subject matter. There are plenty of lighter nonfiction books out there that are still just as worthy of readers’ time and respect. Those readers expect to see a font that’s a little less serious on the cover of your book.
Here are four of the best book cover fonts for nonfiction that’s not so heavy:
Best Cover Fonts for Memoirs
Memoirs are inherently personal, and so the fonts used on their covers should reflect that. Overly formal fonts are generally not suitable. In some cases, very casual fonts might work, but in other cases a typeface that’s closer to the middle ground is best suited.
Here are four of the best cover fonts for memoir covers:
Best Book Cover Fonts for Literary Novels
So-called literary novels can have a wide breadth of subject matter and tone. For the most part, though, their covers tend to use fonts that are more on the understated side.
Here are four of the best book cover fonts for literary novels:
Best Cover Fonts for Mysteries & Suspense Novels
Mysteries and suspense novels seem to take one of two approaches: either they stick with a tried-and-true serif or sans serif typeface for their cover, or they go with something that has a decidedly more eerie feeling to it.
Here are four of the best cover fonts for mysteries and suspense novels:
Best Book Cover Fonts for Romance Novels
Romance novels tend to use fonts with a lighter, more feminine feeling to them. Some cover designers opt for script or handwriting style fonts, while others stick with serif or sans serif typefaces. It often comes down to whether the novel is set in the contemporary world or if the setting is from some period in history.
Here are four of the best cover fonts for romance novels:
Best Cover Fonts for Sci-Fi Novels
Sci-fi novels generally stick to either modern or retro-futuristic typefaces, depending on the exact subgenre they fall in. Here are four of the best book cover fonts for sci-fi novels:
Best Book Cover Fonts for Fantasy Novels
While sci-fi novels go futuristic, fantasy novels often do the opposite. They tend to use cover fonts that harken back to the medieval period, though rarely do they use truly medieval (or “blackletter”) fonts. The reason: those typefaces can be incredibly difficult to read, especially at a glance. Instead, the fonts on fantasy novel covers usually have a bit of calligraphic flair without being true reproductions of calligraphy or hand lettering.
Here are four of the best cover fonts for fantasy novels:
Best Cover Fonts for Historical Fiction
Historical fiction tends to use fonts that are reminiscent of the time period in which they’re set. Some use typefaces that are authentic reproductions of early typesetting fonts, while others stick with adaptations more suited for modern readers.
Here are four of the best cover fonts for historical fiction:
Regardless of the genre of your book, choosing the best book cover font is a process. You also might note that many books use more than one font on the cover. In those cases, you’ll want to choose fonts that are complementary to each other. And in cases where your title font is more decorative, you’ll likely want to stick to a simpler font for your subtitle or other text on the cover.
