For authors, designers & indie publishers

Everything you need to turn a manuscript into a real book.

Trim sizes, paper sizes, spine widths, cover templates, ISBN tools, fonts and a directory of publishers, awards and literary magazines — 9,300+ reference pages built from open data and careful book math.

6 x 9 cover size 80,000 words A4 ISBN barcode Copyright page EB Garamond

Today · October 31

What's new →

On this day

Irina Denezhkinaborn 1981
Mike O'Malleyborn 1966
Frank Bruniborn 1964
Mari Jungstedtborn 1962

1587 — Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.

Trending on Open Library

Atomic Habits James Clear
Rich Dad, Poor Dad Robert T. Kiyosaki
The Art of War 孙武 (Sun Tzu)
The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling

Full list →

New public-domain books

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Poem of the day

Tunbridge Wells

At five this morn, when Phoebus raised his head
From Thetis' lap, I raised myself from bed,
And mounting steed, I trotted to the waters
The rendesvous of fools, buffoons, and praters,
…

Read the poem by John Wilmot →

Term of the day · Printing & prepress

Safe zone

The area inside the trim where important text and images must stay to avoid being cut off by small variations in trimming. Keep at least 0.25 in (6 mm) from the trim…

Latest update: 148 new books; 41 poems; 20 cover art; 10 audiobooks; 9 popular books; 2 new award winners.

Free calculators

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Spine & cover Calculate paperback spine width and full-wrap cover dimensions for any trim size, page count and… Words → pages Estimate how many printed pages your manuscript will be at any trim size and font size, plus spine… ISBN converter Convert ISBN-10 to ISBN-13 and back, validate check digits and hyphenate any ISBN correctly using… ISBN barcode Create a print-ready Bookland EAN-13 barcode for your ISBN with an optional 5-digit price add-on… Paper size converter Convert paper and page sizes between millimetres, centimetres, inches, points and pixels at any… GSM ↔ lb Convert paper weight between g/m² and US basis weights — bond, text (book), cover, index and… Image DPI Check whether an image is sharp enough to print: maximum print size at 300 dpi, pixels needed for… Booklet imposition Get the page order for printing a saddle-stitched booklet or zine on a home or office printer…

Explore the reference

35 pages Trim sizes Every paperback and hardcover size with margins, page counts and platform availability. 871 pages Spine width & covers Cover dimensions for 12 trims and 66 page counts, with templates. 357 pages Word count to pages How long your manuscript will be in print, at any trim and font size. 285 pages Paper sizes ISO, US, JIS, envelopes, photo, poster and historic sizes in every unit. 1,571 pages Free fonts for books Open-source fonts with book-page specimens and pairing ideas. 1,266 pages Publishers Publishing houses, university presses and imprints worldwide. 757 pages Literary awards Book prizes with organisers, prize money and recent winners. 292 pages Literary magazines Journals and reviews for short fiction, poetry and essays. 790 pages Public-domain classics Word counts and print-length estimates for the most-read free books. 298 pages ISBN groups Every ISBN registration group and its publisher ranges. 49 pages Book anatomy & binding Front matter order, binding methods and how they compare. 20 pages Imposition & signatures Folding schemes and booklet page orders with diagrams. 72 pages Paper weight & stocks GSM and pound conversions, thickness and paper types. 59 pages Genres & book length Expected word counts and trims for every major category. 172 pages Glossary Printing, binding, typography and publishing terms explained. 414 pages Classic typefaces Garamond, Baskerville, Caslon and the history of type. 367 pages On this day Writers born and died, and literary events, for every date. Updated daily Trending today The books readers are looking for right now on Open Library. 508 pages Public-domain poems Full texts of classic poems with forms and typesetting notes. 271 pages Free audiobooks LibriVox recordings with running times and print lengths. 124 pages Nobel laureates Every Nobel Prize in Literature with the official motivation. 441 pages New books This year's novels and nonfiction with Wikipedia articles. 72 pages Popular books Page counts and reading times of books readers track now. 180 pages Free cover art Public-domain paintings (CC0) for book covers.

Popular trim sizes

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6 x 9 in US Trade 6 x 9 inNonfiction, Fiction, Memoir 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest 5.5 x 8.5 inFiction, Nonfiction, Memoir 5 x 8 in 5 x 8 inNovels, Novellas, Poetry 8.5 x 11 in Letter 8.5 x 11 inWorkbooks, Manuals, Coloring books Royal (6.14 x 9.21 in) 6.14 x 9.21 inNonfiction, Hardcovers, Academic 8.5 x 8.5 in Square 8.5 x 8.5 inPicture books, Coloring books, Photography

Guides

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Directory highlights

About this site

Leaf & Spine is an independent, free reference for people who make books. The numbers come from published printer specifications and transparent formulas — see how we calculate — and the directories are compiled from open data sources credited on every page.