The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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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.

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

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

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

Laura 5 star rating

Bath, United Kingdom

I am an award-winning freelance Senior Book Designer, Illustrator and Artist with 28 years experience in the Publishing industry.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Nature, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Anthologies, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Short Story, Education & Reference, and Children’s Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Usborne Publishing, Wolverhampton
  • Usborne Publishing, London
  • Self-employed

Edward 5 star rating

Brighton, United Kingdom

Graphic Design professional with over 20 years experience specialising in cover design and illustration.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Nature, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Fantasy, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Warner Music
  • Penguin Books UK
  • Self-employed

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A designer by day and illustrator by night. Passionate about art, books and bringing stories to life.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, New Adult, Young Adult, Classics, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Poetry, Themes & Motifs, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Award-Winning Illustrator / Book Cover Artist focused on fantasy, horror and historical. Since 2003 working for major Publishers worldwide.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Steampunk, and Epic Fantasy.

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

I am an artist/illustrator and my work is inspired by the natural world. My paintings and illustrations feature vibrant saturated colour.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Is an Irish illustrator living in London who loves to create artwork that captures the moments between moments in pop culture.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Entertainment, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Hi, I'm Rich. I draw visually stunning illustrations to tell your story. I am open for new projects starting for Aug - Dec 2025.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

With over 20 years as a designer I can create for you an eye catching and professional book cover design that will get your book noticed.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Historical Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Ghost Design
  • Allcity Media
  • Self-employed
  • Various

A professional illustrator with 5 years experience creating vibrant, unique artwork for independent writers and national publications

Genres: Short Story, Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Poetry, Contemporary Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, and Art.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

I create traditional and digital illustrations usually mixing realism and abstract elements, as a way to make people feel seen and inspired.

Genres: Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction, Young Adult, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, and Fashion & Textiles.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Smashing illustrated maps, cartography designed to your targeted readership. Good at getting the design right first time.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Design, Non-Fiction, Geography, Humanities & Social Sciences, Travel, Holiday, Transportation, Nature, and History.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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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.

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