The Role of Book Covers in Shaping Visual Discourse

A Preliminary Observation on the Stereotyped Istanbul in the German-Speaking Book Market

Abstract

Book covers as visual materials convey what reading audiences can expect from texts. A quick glance at covers of translated Turkish books, translations from other languages and also German books (fiction and nonfiction) in the German-speaking book market shows that covers of works containing the word “Istanbul” in their title are typically decorated with mosques and minarets. Taking this observation as a starting point, this paper aims to question the underlying motivations of this special case focusing on selected literary translations, non-literary works on Istanbul, and local literary productions written in German. The analysis indicates that Istanbul holds a predefined, fixed, and clear-cut image in the minds of professional and nonprofessional German-speaking readers.