Nick Venables

Nick Venables – Designer

I'm a book cover designer with over 20 years experience. I specialise in commercial thriller, crime, sci-fi and historical fiction covers.

Overview

Hi. I'm a freelance book cover designer with over 20 years design experience in the publishing industry. I specialise in commercial thriller, crime, sci-fi and historical fiction covers.

Recent clients include Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Canelo, Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette, SPCK Publishing, Bonnier Zaffre and Pan MacMillan in the US. I've also designed covers for many self-published authors through Reedsy.

Notably, I've designed the book covers for Martina Cole, Lynda La Plante and Kimberley Chambers.

My design style is especially suited to commercial titles – adopting bright colours, bold typography and dramatic imagery.

I can help authors with all aspects of the cover design portion of their self-publishing process. I also offer animated design banners and other images for social media and book promotion.

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs History Sports & Outdoors
Fiction
Historical Fiction Mystery & Crime Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense
Certifications
  • BA(hons) Graphic Design

Work experience

Harper Collins

Jan, 2015 — Jan, 2017 (about 2 years)
Senior book cover designer for the Harper Collins..

Simon and Schuster

Jan, 2012 — Jan, 2018 (about 6 years)
Senior book cover designer for Simon and Schuster.

Self-employed

Jan, 2010 — Present
I'm a freelance graphic designer specialising in book cover design and illustrated book layout. I'm based in South London and have over 18 years design experience in the publishing industry. Recent clients include Simon and Schuster, Head of Zeus, Canelo, Harper Collins, Hodder and Stoughton, SPCK Publishing and Pan MacMillan in the US.

Headline Publishing

Jan, 2008 — Jan, 2012 (about 4 years)
Senior book cover designer for the Headline imprint.

Portfolio

The Scroll of Benevolence: The climactic showdown for the future of Hong Kong (The Simon Young trilogy Book 3)

Trenhaile, John

Cover Design
The Gates of Exquisite View: A compelling technothriller set in Taiwan packed with intrigue and suspense (The Simon Young trilogy Book 2)

Trenhaile, John

Cover Design
Made with Reedsy
Unforeseen (Thomas Prescott Book 1)

Pirog, Nick

Made with Reedsy
Gray Matter (Thomas Prescott Book 2)

Pirog, Nick

Made with Reedsy
God's Email Address (Jeff Davis Book 1)

Koop, Tim

The Mahjong Spies: A gripping espionage thriller set in Hong Kong from 'the heir-apparent to Le Carre' (The Simon Young trilogy Book 1)

Trenhaile, John

Cover Design
Black River

Harper, Tom

Nemesis (Michael Bale)

Riches, Anthony

Agent in Berlin: 'A master of spy fiction to rival le Carré' David Young (The Wolf Pack Spies Book 1)

Gerlis, Alex

I Am Fear (The Ackerman Thrillers): 2

Ethan Cross

Power Play

Kent, Tony

Operation Black Key

Kim Hughes

Perfect for fans of Ollie Ollerton, Andy McNab and Stephen Leather - the new compulsive thriller from Sunday Times bestseller and bomb-disposal expert, Kim Hughes GC. THE ENEMY IS CLOSE TO HOME . . . Left reeling from the disappearance of his daughter and ex-w... read more
The Last Viking

Berwick Coates

1066. Stamford Bridge. Two armies. One kingdom. Only one will win the greatest prize - the jewel of England.England, 1066. With the death of Edward the Confessor, the future of England is hanging in the balance. Harold has been crowned king but the country he ... read more
The Last Conquest

Coates, Berwick

The Dark Palace (Detective Silas Quinn Mysteries Book 3)

Morris, R. N.

The Red Hand of Fury (Detective Silas Quinn Mysteries Book 4)

Morris, R. N.

The Mannequin House (Detective Silas Quinn Mysteries Book 2)

Morris, R. N.

Summon Up the Blood (Detective Silas Quinn Mysteries Book 1)

Morris, R. N.

The Sanction: The gripping, breathtaking, new military thriller (Holm & da Silva Thrillers Book 1)

Sennen, Mark

The Berlin Spies (Spy Masters Book 4)

Gerlis, Alex

Sea of Spies (The Richard Prince Thrillers Book 2)

Gerlis, Alex

Prince of Spies (The Richard Prince Thrillers Book 1)

Gerlis, Alex

The Moscow Option by Jeremy Duns (2012-04-12)

Jeremy Duns

Song of Treason

Duns, Jeremy

A Ghost at the Door (Harry Jones Book 6)

Dobbs, Michael

An Evil Mind (Robert Hunter 6) by Chris Carter (2015-07-16)

Portrait of a Spy

Daniel Silva

‘Allon is the 21st century Bond’ – Daily Mail Gabriel Allon, secret agent, assassin and master art restorer, returns in a spellbinding new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Europe is exploding. And one man must find out why. For Gabriel Allon... read more
Operation Certain Death

Kim Hughes

What happens to the human psyche when every day you go to work might be your last? The debut novel from Kim Hughes, the most highly decorated bomb disposal operator serving in the British Army. Perfect for fans of Andy McNab, Frank Gardner, James Swallow and H... read more
Dead Drop

Jeremy Duns

Thrilling, evocative and hugely controversial, 'Dead Drop' blows apart some of the myths about one of the Cold War's most well-known operations as the world stood on the brink of nuclear destruction.
The Now! That's What I Call Music Book

Pete; Healing, Andy Selby

Everyone remembers their first NOW! Each edition of the NOW That's What I Call Musicseries captures the essence of the pop charts at that precise moment in music history, striking a chord with music fans since 1983. Charting the story of NOWthrough album cover... read more
La Roja: Eine Geschichte des spanischen Fußballs

Jimmy Burns

Matchdays

Ronald Reng

Ronald Reng, author of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 'A Life Too Short', tells the remarkable story of the rise of the Bundesliga.
Matchdays

Ronald Reng

The enormous success of German football is envied around the world. The national team won the 2014 World Cup in style, while the Bundesliga offers an alternative model through its fan-friendly set-up, terraces and low ticket prices. In Matchdays: The Hidden St... read more
Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong

David Walsh

The basis for the upcoming major motion picture The Program directed by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Queen, Philomena), starring Chris O'Dowd as journalist David Walsh and Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong.When Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France in... read more
I Am Not a Serial Killer

Dan Wells

Hunt You Down: An unstoppable, edge-of-your-seat thriller

LISTED IN PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'S TOP BOOKS OF 2017 "Fast, fun and frentic. A whip-smart edge-of-your-seat thriller," - Ernest Cline on Killfile An unstoppable, high-concept action thriller for fans of Mason Cross and Lee Child. John Smith is no ordinary gun for ... read more
[(All Fall Down)] [Author: Louise Voss] published on (February, 2013)

Louise Voss

Buried Secrets

Lisa Cutts

The brilliant new crime novel from Lisa Cutts - the author who puts the reader at the heart of a police investigation. To most people, Detective Inspector Milton Bowman appears to have an ideal life. But some secrets aren’t buried deep enough. And Milton’s Mon... read more
Hard Girls

Martina Cole

When a prostitute's body is found lifeless, mutilated and brutally raped, DCI Annie Carr has never seen anything like it and never wants to again. Kate Burrows, retired DCI now consultant, is determined to help put the killer behind bars. But whoever it is won... read more
Payback

Kimberley Chambers

When the enemy is one of your own, the payback is twice as hard. The Butler brothers are the Kings of the East End, and their motto is 'what goes around, comes around'. In their world, family counts; so when the truth about Vinny's nephew's death comes to ligh... read more
Tennison

Lynda LaPlante

The Flood

Kristina Ohlsson

From the bestselling author of THE DISAPPEARED and UNWANTED comes the newest thriller by the Queen of Scandi Crime A man, wearing his daughter’s wedding ring, is found in front of his fireplace, a bullet hole in his chest. A funeral director searches desperate... read more
Stasi 77

David Young

A secret State. A dark conspiracy. A terrible crime.Karin Müller of the German Democratic Republic's People's Police is called to a factory in the east of the country. A man has been murdered - bound and trapped as a fire burned nearby, slowly suffocating him.... read more

Nick has 13 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

John F.

John F.

May, 2024

Pinned
I very much doubt that one could find a cover designer who's better at what he or she does or more professional, especially for genre fiction and the thriller sub-genre especially I wanted a striking cover that said precisely what was in the tin, and he did just that. If some people don't like i...
Read more
Ted B.

Ted B.

Mar, 2024

Pinned
Working with Nick has been an absolute pleasure! He effortlessly captured the essence of my project's requirements and the unique subtleties of my writing style, resulting in an exceptional book cover. Without hesitation, I will be seeking his expertise for my next novel. I enthusiastically recom...
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Ty M.

Ty M.

Feb, 2024

Pinned
Nick was very professional and had an open line of communication throughout the process. We will be working together again very soon.
Reynold S.

Reynold S.

Mar, 2023

Nick is not only technically excellent, he is creative. Nick gives a variety of ideas and listens to feedback. Nick gets a strong recommendation from me. This was my first time working with a cover designer; and it was fun, awaiting the samples and seeing the relevance as well as the quality of ...
Read more
Anantha V.

Anantha V.

Sep, 2020

Nick helped design an awesome cover for my book. I loved his attention to detail, the variety of samples provided and the quality of final product. Thank You Nick! This helps me complete book two and I look forward to working with you again for my third book soon.

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