As part of Creativity’s Hearts and Minds festivities, there will be a talent competition in conjunction with Penguin Books. Under the creative direction of VP/executive art director Paul Buckley, Penguin has become one of the most talked about creative forums for artists today, and was patron to the award-winning Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions, which tapped talents like Frank Miller, Roz Chast, Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware to update the covers of modern classics, including Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow and Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy.

All artists, illustrators, designers and photographers are invited to create a cover for British author Sam Taylor’s upcoming novel The Island at the End of the World. The winner will be selected by Penguin editors, creative director Buckley and the editors of Creativity and will become the official cover of the book, to be published in 2009. The competition is open to all artists, whether you are just starting out or are an established name in the business.

Deadline is Friday, 18 July. Visit the site to learn the book synopsis and all the guidelines.