The best book illustrators for hire in the United States

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Hokyoung 5 star rating

New York, United States

I am an illustrator interested in making images with strong moods and narratives.

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Classics, Mystery & Crime, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Short Story.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Caroline Teagle 5 star rating

Brooklyn, NY, United States

I am not accepting any new requests to collaborate at this time.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Women's Fiction, Entertainment, Mystery & Crime, True Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House
  • Random House
  • Penguin Publishing Group
  • HarperCollins

Penny 5 star rating

Holbrook, United States

I have been lucky enough to work as a Children's Book Illustrator since 2007.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, and Middle Grade.

Work experience:

  • self employed

Annemieke 5 star rating

Seattle, WA, United States

Hi! I'm a cover designer with 10 years of experience, specializing in YA fiction. Clients include HarperCollins and Galison/Mudpuppy.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Architecture, Non-Fiction, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Design, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Judith 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, United States

Lettering artist and illustrator for 25 years. Bold, clean, graphic style—bright color palettes—contemporary look.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Design, Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Themes & Motifs, and Plays & Screenplays.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Ashley 5 star rating

Portland, ME, United States

I'm an art director, graphic designer and illustrator that loves book design, typography and the interplay of graphics and text.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Nature, Home & Garden, Middle Grade, Education & Reference, and Middle Grade Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • Macmillan Children's Books
  • Sellers Publishing, Inc.

Candice 5 star rating

Iowa City, IA, United States

Award-winning fantasy illustrator. 100% hand-made with no generative AI. Providing cover design, typography, marketing assets, and more!

Genres: Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Children's, and Middle Grade Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bovard Studio, Inc.

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Talitha 5 star rating

Fort Wayne, United States

Experienced award-winning illustrator and designer. I can help with your next book concept!

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Mary Ann 5 star rating

New York, United States

With 20+ yrs experience in fiction, rom-com, wellness and career guides, my clients include Simon and Schuster and PenguinRandomHouse.

Genres: Career Guides, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Penguin Random House

Ivy 5 star rating

Atlanta, GA, USA

I love the process of bringing the author's characters and worlds to life--it's exciting for the both of us! Let's get started!

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

An award winning picture book illustrator, I'll create eye catching images that invite readers into your story and make them want to stay.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Young Adult, Short Story, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Poetry, Humor & Comedy, and Holiday.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • PRC Engineering

Jason 5 star rating

Clarkesville, GA, USA

Children’s book illustrator helping authors turn ideas into engaging picture books with expressive characters and story-driven art.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Elia 5 star rating

Oakland, CA, USA

Illustrator with robust experience who loves crafting vibrant picture books with engaging and dynamic characters. Based in California!

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, and Picture Books.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Local Language
  • Local Language Art

Mariia 5 star rating

Minneapolis, MN, USA

I'm a graphic designer with skills in cover design, lettering, mapmaking and illustration.

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

Work experience:

  • Irish Week Russia
  • ABBYY

Mark 5 star rating

Athens, Georgia, USA

I'm an illustrator specializing in children, young adult books. I had worked with several independent authors as well as publishers.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Classics, Action & Adventure, Young Adult, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Kourtney 5 star rating

Beaverton, OR, USA

I'm a professional illustrator that specializes in psychological, mystery, and nature inspired cover and interior book illustration.

Genres: Anthologies, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Nature, True Crime, and Art.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Kelp Blue
  • Fantasy Flight Games LLC
  • Breathe Magazine
  • Colossal Media Inc.

Stephanie 5 star rating

Baltimore, MD, USA

I am a book cover designer at HarperCollins. I am (very occasionally) available for a limited amount of book cover work (no interiors!)

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, and Poetry.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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Hire the best book illustrators in the United States

Whether you’ve written a picture book, chapter book, or technical book, you’ll need a stellar illustrator to bring your project to life. Of course, one of the great things about illustration is that there are so many different styles to choose from — but that can also make the process of selecting an illustrator rather difficult. From cartoon-like illustrations to more realistic drawings to simple line art, how can you decide which illustrator’s style is right for your book?

You may already know how you want your illustrations to look, especially if you’ve flipped through other books in your genre and can envision similar art alongside your story. However, if you have no idea what kind of illustrations you want, looking through professional illustrators’ sample galleries is the perfect place to start. You’ll be amazed how your ideas begin to take shape once you’ve glanced over just a few artists’ work.

That’s why, if you’re seeking a book illustrator for hire in the United States, you can’t go wrong signing up for Reedsy. Not only do we have tons of experienced professionals all over the USA, but you can start looking through their portfolios today — for free. You can even request quotes from the illustrators you love, so the two of you can begin creating a beautiful book together as soon as possible.

How it works

Browse profiles, request quotes, then collaborate.

Step 1

Apply filters

Reedsy is home to thousands of professionals. Select the specific services you need and narrow your search based on your book’s genre and requirements.

Step 2

Browse

Then, browse professional profiles to find out more about their personalities and past projects.

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

Collaborate

Once you agree on terms and a timeline, you’ll start collaborating using the many communication and editing tools available on Reedsy.