The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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Jem 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I have over 20 years experience in designing bestselling book covers

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Simon and Schuster
  • Transworld

Peter 5 star rating

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Publishing professional with over ten years' experience, specialising in cover design and layout for non-fiction and sport.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Sports & Outdoors.

Work experience:

  • Birlinn Ltd, Arena Sport, Polygon
  • Self-employed

Sarah 5 star rating

England, United Kingdom

Specialist children's book illustrator and designer, creating beautiful and engaging books and content.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Pearson Education
  • John Brown Media
  • Redan Publishing

Louise 5 star rating

England, United Kingdom

Hello, I am an Illustrator living & working in Somerset. My style is honest, inviting & brings the everyday to life.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Historical Fiction, Classics, Home & Garden, Weddings, Short Story, Middle Grade, and Fashion & Textiles.

Work experience:

  • Ernest Journal - Tina Smith, Jo Keeling
  • Author Andrew Sutton
  • The Hunterian Museum & Glasgow University
  • Curator of 'Museum of memory', Kate McStraw,
  • Tina Smith, Dan Linstead -Immediate Media
  • Pretty Nostalgic
  • Another Escape
  • Upper Hand Press. (William Cass, Author & Ann Starr, Publisher)
  • Marbella Club Hotel & Smokes Creative

Jason 5 star rating

Hassocks, United Kingdom

Book jacket design designer with over twenty years experience in the industry.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, Philosophy, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, and Technology.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Jack 5 star rating

St Austell, Saint Austell, United Kingdom

Book covers and visual story telling is my passion. I enjoy creating characters and worlds in the sci-fi/fantasy genre

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Short Story, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Land Rovers UK
  • Alderac Entertainment Group
  • Lone Shark Games
  • Self-employed

El 5 star rating

Manchester, United Kingdom

Vibrant, stand-out illustration with a lively style. Perfect for children's books, fashion editorial, and travel genres

Genres: Travel, Non-Fiction, Short Story, Fiction, Education & Reference, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Fashion & Textiles.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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Patrick 5 star rating

Brighton, United Kingdom

With 30 years experience designing covers for the UK's top publishing houses, I also art direct, illustrate and do hand lettering for covers

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller & Suspense, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Historical Mysteries, and Science Fiction.

Vanessa 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

🟡 Experienced book designer available for book cover and interior book design/typesetting, specialised in Self Publishing. 🟡

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Christian Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Poetry, Thriller & Suspense, Humor & Comedy, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Emma 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A freelance book cover designer with over 10 years of experience working across a wide variety of imprints at HarperCollins and LittleBrown.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Classics, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Little Brown
  • HarperCollins

Jenny 5 star rating

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

I'm an experienced book designer and illustrator. I specialise in all fiction and non-fiction genres from kids books to cook books and more!

Genres: Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Health & Wellbeing, Home & Garden, Art, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House New Zealand
  • Penguin Books New Zealand
  • Book Design Ltd (now Smartwork Creative)
  • Pearson Education New Zealand
  • Self-employed

Andy 5 star rating

Brighton, United Kingdom

An illustrator of children's picture books, Young Adult books and book covers. A humorous style with expressive characters.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Humor & Comedy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Minds eye productions
  • Artworld
  • Climax
  • Beyond Reality Games
  • Self-employed

James 5 star rating

Chester, United Kingdom

Simple, but fun pencil and pen illustrator. I love middle grade, chapter books, and non-fiction for kids and adults.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Business & Management, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Epic Fantasy, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • James Warwood Books

London based illustrator and visual artist, focusing on graphic and clean aesthetic for her commercial and editorial clients.

Genres: Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Freelance book cover designer and illustrator with over 8 years in-house experience. I've worked on both fiction and non-fiction books.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Romance, Thriller & Suspense, Young Adult, Women's Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Orion Children's Books
  • Hachette Children's Books
  • Orchard Books

Let’s create a book cover that reflects the excellence of your writing. Bring your story to life with a stunning, bespoke cover design!

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Gaming & LitRPG, Comics & Graphic Novels, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Steampunk, Post-Apocalyptic, and Dystopian.

Work experience:

  • Self Employed

Book Designer and Illustrator with experience working with publishers such as Harper Collins and Random House and love for literature!

Genres: Women's Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Short Story, Historical Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Marmalade London
  • 20Ten Creative Ltd

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Hire the best book illustrators in the UK

You’ve done the hard work of getting a story on paper. Now let us help you find the perfect illustrator to bring your words to life.

In many genres, particularly those for a younger audience, the words and the pictures will become intertwined. Both should complement the other perfectly. If you think back to your most beloved children’s books, chances are that you still vividly remember the art that brought the story to life in front of your very eyes. So whether you’re publishing a children’s book or a technical piece of writing, your story deserves the illustrations that can illuminate it and take it to the next level.

But how can you find the perfect illustrator for your story? It’s probably not a surprise that talented illustrators are highly in-demand. But it’s not enough to simply be gifted. The ideal illustrator should have previously worked in your genre and have years of experience in the industry. More importantly, their style of illustration must match with your own unique voice.

If you’re struggling to find the right book illustrator to fit this profile, Reedsy can step in. Our book illustrators have worked for the biggest publishers and the most prestigious illustration agencies in the UK. We rigorously vet and accept only the top 3% of talent in the industry to ensure that you’re seeing the best freelancers available. What’s more, our platform lets you browse each illustrator’s individual gallery, so that you can get a feel for their illustration style before you commit to a collaboration. So what are you waiting for? Simply sign up for a free Reedsy account today to meet the perfect book illustrator for hire in the UK who can breathe life into your story.

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Step 2

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Step 3

Request quotes

Request quotes from up to five freelancers at any time. They’ll look at your sample pages to give you a tailored quote as well as a sense of how they work.

Step 4

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