The best book illustrators for hire in the United Kingdom

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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

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

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

Jem 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I have over 20 years experience in designing bestselling book covers

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Action & Adventure, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, Espionage, Thriller & Suspense, and Sports & Outdoors.

Work experience:

  • Simon and Schuster
  • Transworld

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

Nick 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I am a book cover designer with 20 years experience. I have designed everything from thrillers, crime books and illustrated womens fiction.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • HarperCollins

Vanessa 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

🟡 Experienced book designer available for book cover and interior book design/typesetting. 🟡

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

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Emma 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A freelance book cover designer with over 20 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

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

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.

Experienced and multi-talented book designer who can help make your book something special. Covers, layout, typography, beautiful imagery...

Genres: Design, Non-Fiction, Architecture, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Entertainment, Photography, History, Travel, and Art.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Thames & Hudson

Hi, I'm Rich. I make visually stunning pictures to tell your story and bring your world to life.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

I manage a small design studio in central London. Publishing services include book design, project management and art direction.

Genres: Architecture, Non-Fiction, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Religion & Spirituality, Parenting & Families, and Design.

Work experience:

  • Duncan Baird Publishing
  • Smith and Gilmour
  • 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

Graphic Designer & Illustrator for Trade Fiction Covers and Children’s Picture Books.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Poetry, Middle Grade, Literary Fiction, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury Publishing

I am an illustrator with 5 years of experience I create bright narrative filled pieces of work that will be sure to catch readers eyes.

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Lady Longhorn
  • Self-employed

Book designer and illustrator. 20 years experience in publishing. Penguin, DK, Orchard, Templar, Scholastic, Ladybird, BBC, JKP and more.

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

Work experience:

  • DK, Ladybird, BBC Children's Books, Disney's Planet
  • 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 3

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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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