diff --git a/assets/styles/app.css b/assets/styles/app.css
index a2de006..cfe1d80 100644
--- a/assets/styles/app.css
+++ b/assets/styles/app.css
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ svg.icon {
     padding: 1rem 1.125rem 1.2rem;
 }
 
-/* Lead card only: 16:9 cover frame (Molecules/FeaturedList — side cards have no .card-header). */
+/* 16:9 cover frame (lead + stacked side cards in FeaturedList). */
 .featured-list .card > a > .card-header {
     margin: 0;
     width: 100%;
diff --git a/assets/styles/layout.css b/assets/styles/layout.css
index 2054291..8873f93 100644
--- a/assets/styles/layout.css
+++ b/assets/styles/layout.css
@@ -422,8 +422,48 @@ main {
         margin-top: 152px;
     }
 
-    .user-menu {
-        top: 162px;
+    /* In-flow left column: <nav> clears the fixed #site-header. */
+    .layout > nav {
+        margin-top: 152px;
+    }
+
+    /*
+     * Left column account block: keep it in document flow (not position:fixed) so order is
+     * badge → logout / search → featured authors. Fixed positioning removed the menu from the flow
+     * so the featured block sat under the header or overlapped.
+     */
+    .layout > nav .user-menu:not(.user-menu--inline) {
+        position: static;
+        width: 100%;
+        min-width: 0;
+        max-width: 100%;
+        top: auto;
+        left: auto;
+    }
+
+    .layout > nav .user-menu .notice {
+        margin-top: 0;
+        margin-bottom: 0.3rem;
+    }
+
+    /* Tight stack: badge, then logout, then search */
+    .layout > nav .user-menu .user-menu__account-nav {
+        margin: 0.4rem 0 0.35rem;
+        padding: 0;
+    }
+
+    .layout > nav .user-menu .user-menu__account-nav li {
+        margin: 0.2rem 0 0;
+    }
+
+    .layout > nav .user-menu .user-menu__account-nav li:first-child {
+        margin-top: 0;
+    }
+
+    /* More separation before the featured block (sibling in <nav>, after this menu). */
+    .layout > nav .sidebar-featured-authors {
+        margin-top: 1.35rem;
+        padding-top: 1.15rem;
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/Service/FeaturedAuthorListedRows.php b/src/Service/FeaturedAuthorListedRows.php
index e0dade6..34a00f1 100644
--- a/src/Service/FeaturedAuthorListedRows.php
+++ b/src/Service/FeaturedAuthorListedRows.php
@@ -9,15 +9,45 @@ use swentel\nostr\Key\Key;
 
 /**
  * NIP-05 / listed featured author rows (same shape as {@see \App\Controller\FeaturedAuthorsController}).
+ * Sidebar: falls back to magazine index pubkeys when the `featured_author` list is still empty
+ * (e.g. prewarm has not yet synced the table).
  */
 final class FeaturedAuthorListedRows
 {
     public function __construct(
         private readonly FeaturedAuthorRepository $featuredAuthorRepository,
         private readonly CacheService $cacheService,
+        private readonly MagazineContentService $magazineContent,
     ) {
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Rows for the left nav: NIP-05–listed authors first, otherwise authors from the magazine index store.
+     *
+     * @return list<array{npub: string, pubkey: string, display_name: string, picture: string, local_part: string}>
+     */
+    public function buildSidebarRows(int $limit = 12): array
+    {
+        $fromDb = $this->buildListedByLocalPartPage($limit, 0);
+        if ($fromDb !== []) {
+            return $fromDb;
+        }
+
+        $keys = new Key();
+        $authors = [];
+        $hexes = $this->magazineContent->getAllDistinctCategoryAuthorPubkeyHexes();
+        foreach (\array_slice($hexes, 0, $limit) as $hex) {
+            try {
+                $npub = $keys->convertPublicKeyToBech32($hex);
+            } catch (\Throwable) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            $authors[] = $this->rowFromNpub($npub, $hex, '');
+        }
+
+        return $authors;
+    }
+
     /**
      * @return list<array{npub: string, pubkey: string, display_name: string, picture: string, local_part: string}>
      */
@@ -26,20 +56,33 @@ final class FeaturedAuthorListedRows
         $keys = new Key();
         $authors = [];
         foreach ($this->featuredAuthorRepository->findListedOrderByLocalPartPaginated($limit, $offset) as $fa) {
-            $npub = $keys->convertPublicKeyToBech32($fa->getPubkeyHex());
-            $bundle = $this->cacheService->getMetadataBundle($npub);
-            $author = $bundle['content'];
-            $displayName = trim((string) ($author->display_name ?? $author->name ?? ''));
-            $picture = trim((string) ($author->picture ?? ''));
-            $authors[] = [
-                'npub' => $npub,
-                'pubkey' => strtolower($fa->getPubkeyHex()),
-                'display_name' => $displayName,
-                'picture' => $picture,
-                'local_part' => $fa->getLocalPart(),
-            ];
+            try {
+                $npub = $keys->convertPublicKeyToBech32($fa->getPubkeyHex());
+            } catch (\Throwable) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            $authors[] = $this->rowFromNpub($npub, $fa->getPubkeyHex(), $fa->getLocalPart());
         }
 
         return $authors;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * @return array{npub: string, pubkey: string, display_name: string, picture: string, local_part: string}
+     */
+    private function rowFromNpub(string $npub, string $pubkeyHex, string $localPart): array
+    {
+        $bundle = $this->cacheService->getMetadataBundle($npub);
+        $author = $bundle['content'];
+        $displayName = trim((string) ($author->display_name ?? $author->name ?? ''));
+        $picture = trim((string) ($author->picture ?? ''));
+
+        return [
+            'npub' => $npub,
+            'pubkey' => strtolower($pubkeyHex),
+            'display_name' => $displayName,
+            'picture' => $picture,
+            'local_part' => $localPart,
+        ];
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/Twig/SidebarFeaturedAuthorsExtension.php b/src/Twig/SidebarFeaturedAuthorsExtension.php
index 296b81e..6c8ff25 100644
--- a/src/Twig/SidebarFeaturedAuthorsExtension.php
+++ b/src/Twig/SidebarFeaturedAuthorsExtension.php
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ final class SidebarFeaturedAuthorsExtension extends AbstractExtension
     {
         return [
             new TwigFunction('sidebar_featured_author_rows', function (int $limit = 12): array {
-                return $this->featuredAuthorListedRows->buildListedByLocalPartPage($limit, 0);
+                return $this->featuredAuthorListedRows->buildSidebarRows($limit);
             }),
         ];
     }
diff --git a/templates/components/Organisms/FeaturedList.html.twig b/templates/components/Organisms/FeaturedList.html.twig
index 2bac6ab..da5f8d1 100644
--- a/templates/components/Organisms/FeaturedList.html.twig
+++ b/templates/components/Organisms/FeaturedList.html.twig
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@
                     {% if item != feature %}
                         <div class="card">
                             <a href="{{ (item.pubkey and npub_from_hex(item.pubkey) != '') ? path('article', { npub: npub_from_hex(item.pubkey), slug: item.slug }) : path('article-legacy-redirect', { slug: item.slug }) }}">
+                                <div class="card-header">
+                                    <img src="{{ article_card_cover(item.image, item.pubkey) }}" alt="{{ ('Illustration for ' ~ item.title)|e('html_attr') }}" width="1200" height="675" loading="lazy" decoding="async">
+                                </div>
                                 <div class="card-body">
                                     <h2 class="card-title">{{ item.title }}</h2>
                                     {% if item.displayAt %}
diff --git a/templates/components/UserMenu.html.twig b/templates/components/UserMenu.html.twig
index 4586bca..39e413f 100644
--- a/templates/components/UserMenu.html.twig
+++ b/templates/components/UserMenu.html.twig
@@ -11,18 +11,15 @@
 {#            </li>#}
 {#        </ul>#}
         {% endif %}
-        <ul class="user-nav">
+        <ul class="user-nav user-menu__account-nav" role="list">
 {#            <li>#}
 {#                <a href="{{ path('editor-create') }}">Write an article</a>#}
 {#            </li>#}
             <li>
-                <a href="{{ path('search') }}">{{ 'heading.search'|trans }}</a>
+                <a href="/logout" data-action="live#$render">{{ 'heading.logout'|trans }}</a>
             </li>
-{#            <li>#}
-{#                <a href="{{ path('app_index_index') }}">{{ 'heading.index'|trans }}</a>#}
-{#            </li>#}
             <li>
-                <a href="/logout" data-action="live#$render">{{ 'heading.logout'|trans }}</a>
+                <a href="{{ path('search') }}">{{ 'heading.search'|trans }}</a>
             </li>
         </ul>
     {% else %}