Jem Butcher

Jem Butcher – Designer

I have over 20 years experience in designing bestselling book covers

Overview

I have many years in-house experience, working for Longman, Dorling Kindersley, Random House, Transworld and Simon & Schuster where I was Art Director for six years.I have been working as a freelance designer since 2008. Working for most of the large publishing houses such as Harper Collins, Random House, Penguin, Orion, and many smaller ones such as Alma, Elliot and Thompson and Severn House. I also take on work from self published authors, in all genres.

Services
Fiction
Action & Adventure Chick Lit Espionage Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime
Non-Fiction
History Sports & Outdoors
Languages
English

Work experience

Simon and Schuster

Feb, 2002 — Oct, 2008 (over 6 years)
Responsible for the design of all Simon and Schuster book covers

Transworld

Jan, 1999 — Jan, 2004 (almost 5 years)
Worked across all Transworld imprints. Skills were consolidated, becoming more focused
 on efficiency and achieving company targets. Improved ability to visualise specific genres creating ‘The
 Big Book Look’ in close consultation with editorial, publicity, sales and marketing.

Portfolio

Made with Reedsy
Beautiful Losers

Galvin, Alix

Illustration
Another Literary Tour of Italy

Parks, Tim

Alma Books

Cover Design
When the Clouds Go Rolling By (Victoria Crescent Sagas Book 3)

June Francis

The secrets of the past can never be forgottenAn orphaned young woman is overjoyed to find a family she never knew existed, but has to come to terms with their troubled history.Since her paren... read more
Cover Design
The Silent Twin: A dark, gripping detective thriller: Volume 3 (Detective Jennifer Knight Crime Thriller Series)

Caroline Mitchell

Nine-year-old twins Abigail and Olivia vow never to be parted. But when Abigail goes missing from Blackwater Farm, it becomes DS Jennifer Knight's task to return her from harm. But could Olivi... read more
Cover Design
Two Tribes: Liverpool, Everton and a City on the Brink

Cover Design
SAS- Secret War in South East Asia

Peter Dickens

From 1963 to 1966 Britain successfully waged a secret war to keep the Federation of Malaysia free from domination by Soekarno's Indonesia and by Chinese Communists. At the forefront of this ca... read more
Cover Design
A Literary Tour of Italy

Tim Parks

An acclaimed author of novels and short stories, Tim Parks--who was described in a recent review....
Cover Design
Between the Raven & the Dove (Witchwork 1)

Sophia Kingshill

Cover Design
Vigilante

Kerry Wilkinson

Paperback. Pub Date :2013-02-14 Pages: 300 Language: English Publisher: Pan Macmillan A killer behind bars is still killing ...
Cover Design
The Things We Learn When We're Dead

Charlie Laidlaw

Cover Design
All Fall Down: A gripping psychological thriller with a twist that will take your breath away

Tom Bale

You tried to save a life. Now you’re fighting to save your own. It’s the perfect Sunday. Summer sunshine, a barbecue with the kids. But a knock on the garden gate and two words, ‘HELP ME’, cha... read more
Cover Design
See How They Run: The Gripping Thriller that Everyone is Talking About

Tom Bale

How far would you go to save your family? In the dead of night, new parents Alice and Harry French are plunged into their worst nightmare when they wake to find masked men in their bedroom. Me... read more
Cover Design

Jem has 7 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Rocco D.

Rocco D.

Feb, 2026

A book cover is a huge decision, and I'm very fortunate to have discovered Jem. He did an outstanding job on my novel's book cover. Jem has given me a cover that exceeds the best seller standard for my genre. I have no hesitation in recommending Jem 101%. I'm looking forward to having Jem do...
Read more
Peter F.

Peter F.

Jan, 2026

Great experience
Jem B.
Peter was great to work with, very professional
Mathew D.

Mathew D.

Dec, 2025

Absolutely amazing professional. Worked with me every step of the way.
Jem B.
Working with Mathew has been an absolute dream. This 'book cover design thing' can be so pleasurable, given a 'downhill run with the wind behind'. Which is exactly my experience working with Mathe...
Read more
Tony B.

Tony B.

Sep, 2023

Working with Jem was a great experience all around. He always responded in a timely fashion. He started the project off with varied options for a cover, giving lots of choice while all those choices remained true to genre. Recommend him for a professional experience and a creative and professiona...
Read more
Jem B.
Working with Tony was a very professional experience. Timely response, a good brief, and very pleasant to deal with.
Chet B.

Chet B.

Feb, 2023

Jem is a very talented cover designer. I had him revise an original cover that I wasn't excited about. Our collaboration worked out very well. I received 7 workups to review. After only a few amendments on the one I chose it was done. Jem is smart, articulate, listens well, and is very creative....
Read more
Jem B.
It was greaat working with Chet, prompt payment, good briefing, appreciative of my work and a nice guy.

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