In this episode Cover Meeting speaks with Micaela Alcaino, a book cover designer and illustrator who relocated from her home in Sydney, Australia to London in 2013.  Selected as one of The Booksellers Rising Stars of 2021, named Designer of the Year at the British Book Awards 2022, and named in The Bookseller 150 most influential people in publishing in 2022, she has almost a decade of experience in her field working for both Penguin Random House and HarperCollins, before venturing into the world of freelancing in 2018. She currently works on projects in collaboration with most of the big publishing houses worldwide. Her work is characterized by a unique blend of creativity and artistry, shaped by her love of travel, mixed cultural heritage, and appreciation of the fine arts. In the episode we talk about life as a freelancer, the process behind creating covers and the research that goes into it, artificial intelligence and it's potential impact on book cover design and publishing and publishing's diversity problem. You can read Micaela's recent article on artificial intelligence here. Micaela also mention DPI when we were discussing the lack of diversity in publishing. DPI as an impactful mentorship initiative based in the UK for under-represented creatives and have assembled leading designers across the publishing industry as mentors. Their mission is supporting creatives from under-represented groups to develop the skills and acumen to pursue a career in the world of book design, while also offering existing designers in the industry advice on career progression. Visit their website to find out more. Cover Meeting was hosted by Steve Leard and produced by James Ede of beheard.org.uk.