MMT Productions’ “Horrible Covers” and Custom Book Cover Design Service

On September 29, 2025, I received the following e-mail message from MMT Productions, a Canadian book cover design company, regarding my request to have their satirical review of my book cover removed from their website and social media. (Note: MMT’s e-mail did not stipulate that their message be kept confidential.) This message is being posted for the benefit of anyone else affected by MMT Productions’ “Horrible Cover” reviews or considering their custom book cover design service. To these people, I say read MMT’s message in its entirety. (Note: The boldfaced text below was formatted by me, not by MMT Productions.)

We received your message regarding our “Horrible Covers” feature. Our post on Dracula/Harker: A Gay Gothic Romance – Part I is satire and criticism of published cover art. Canadian copyright law recognizes fair dealing for parody, satire, and criticism/review (Copyright Act, ss. 29, 29.1), provided the source and author are identified—which our article does. Canadian defamation law also protects fair comment on matters of public interest, which includes book design and marketing.

Our piece is opinion-based commentary, not a substitute for your work, and it was published for the purposes of critique and satire. Nothing in it misrepresents you or your book as fact. We have no intention of retracting or removing the critique. If you believe any factual error has been made, please specify, and we will review. If you intend to pursue this matter formally, please have your legal representative use the contact form on our website at https://mmtproductions.ca/contact-us/

That said, your email has prompted us to consider how we can also be constructive. As a result, we have now introduced a standing offer: any author whose work is featured in Horrible Covers may apply for a professional cover design package from MMT Productions at a preferred rate. We understand that many authors have the best intentions but are sometimes let down by poor design advice or non-professional services, and our aim is to help writers put their best work forward.

MMT Productions
Covers without the Horror

On September 30, 2025, I received the following follow-up message from MMT Productions (again without any stipulation of confidentiality):

As part of our new initiative for authors featured in Horrible Covers, we are extending to you a 20% discount on our Custom Cover Creation service. The discount applies to the base cover as well as format options (eBook, perfect bound, and hard jacket).

So, to summarize the above, MMT Productions—

1. satirizes book covers as “Horrible Covers” on MMT’s website and social media accounts on Facebook and YouTube.
2. defends themselves against complaints from rights holders of satirized book covers using only legal justification.
3. states they have just created a special offer with a preferred rate for the rights holders of satirized book covers.
4. then offers a 20% discount off their $299 custom book cover design service. (Note: MMT Productions’ custom book cover design service webpage does not specify a currency, leaving uncertain whether they charge in Canadian dollars or U.S. dollars.)

This is how MMT Productions, in their own words, conducts their custom book cover design business.

The above is presented solely to inform other book cover rights holders about the facts of my interaction with MMT Productions. No other intent is intended, and no other intent should be implied.