Patrick Knowles - Designer
With 30 years experience designing covers for the UK's top publishing houses, I also art direct, illustrate and do hand lettering for covers
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Overview
I am a very experienced book cover designer working for most of the UK's top publishing houses and also an illustrator and lettering artist and most of the covers shown here include my own illustration work as well as the overall cover design.
I work on fiction and non-fiction, adult and children's titles. I have worked on covers as diverse as George R. R. Martin, Anthony Horowitz and Charlaine Harris, but particularly enjoy working on literary fiction, fantasy and crime.
Apart from work for the publishing industry I also work on commissions for the advertising and graphic design markets, as well as run workshops in calligraphy, lettering and creativity.
Clients include most of the major British publishers including HarperCollins, Orion Group, Little Brown, Penguin, Hodder & Stoughton, Random House and many independents.
As an illustrator I use conventional and digital media including 3D modelling. I also produce a wide range of hand-lettering and calligraphy for the covers as well as hand-drawn fonts for specific titles. I also work with imagery from picture libraries and commissioned work.
I work on fiction and non-fiction, adult and children's titles. I have worked on covers as diverse as George R. R. Martin, Anthony Horowitz and Charlaine Harris, but particularly enjoy working on literary fiction, fantasy and crime.
Apart from work for the publishing industry I also work on commissions for the advertising and graphic design markets, as well as run workshops in calligraphy, lettering and creativity.
Clients include most of the major British publishers including HarperCollins, Orion Group, Little Brown, Penguin, Hodder & Stoughton, Random House and many independents.
As an illustrator I use conventional and digital media including 3D modelling. I also produce a wide range of hand-lettering and calligraphy for the covers as well as hand-drawn fonts for specific titles. I also work with imagery from picture libraries and commissioned work.
Services
Languages
English
Fiction
Action & Adventure
Anthologies
Christian Fiction
Classics
Cultural & Ethnic
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Humor & Comedy
Literary Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Picture Books
Science Fiction
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Young Adult
Non-Fiction
Inspirational
Portfolio (38 selected works)
The She-Wolf (The Accursed Kings, Book 5)
Maurice Druon
‘This was the original game of thrones’ George R.R. MartinCharles IV is now king of France and his sister is Edward II of England’s Queen. Having been imprisoned by Edward as leader of the rebellious English barons, Roger Mortimer escapes to France, where he joins the war against the English Aquitaine. But it is his love affair with Isabella, the ‘She-Wolf of France’, who has come seemingly to... read more
Death of a Cosy Writer (The St. Just Mysteries)
G. M. Malliet
A family reunion and medieval-style murder? Ever so inconvenient. Cosily ensconced in his eighteenth-century Cambridgeshire manor, bestselling mystery writer Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk delights in tormenting his four grown children with threats of disinheritance. Then he announces his latest blow - he's engaged to Violet, a beautiful widow with a dubious past. Money-driven panic soon sets in am... read more
Tuf Voyaging
George R. R. Martin
A classic novel from George R.R. Martin, author of the hit HBO TV series A GAME OF THRONES Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader (one of the few), and he likes cats. So how is it that, despite being up against the worst villains in the universe, he has become the proud owner of the last working seedship, pride of Earth's Ecological Engineering Corps? We'll leave that aside for now - just be t... read more
Foreign Devils
John Hornor Jacobs
The world is on the brink of war. Fisk and Shoe - mercenaries, very much not wanting to get caught in the middle of a political whirlwind - must deliver a very important message, and find a very dangerous man. They have caught the eye of the powerful men of the world, and now the stakes are higher than they like.And the Emperor has decreed that Livia Cornelius, pregnant with Fisk's child, must... read more
The Mortal Tally
Sam Sykes
Akin to the works of both Fritz Leiber and Scott Lynch but bringing it's own energy and humorous vigour the writing of Sam Sykes sets itself apart from the dour feel of Grimdark fantasy and brings a fresh vigour to fantasy fiction. In this sharp and darkly mysterious novel Lenk and his fellow adventurers must find their way through the silk-trading city of C'Jer Daal as demons and gods stalk t... read more
Murder-On-Sea
Julie Wassmer
It's not the season of good will to all men...The festive month is kicking off in style and Pearl is rushed off her feet with her restaurant, The Whitstable Pearl. She's also busy planning her own family Christmas and providing mulled wine for a charity church fundraiser when Christmas cards begin arriving all over town - filled with spiteful messages from an anonymous writer. Pearl's curiosit... read more
Master of Shadows
Neil Oliver
In fifteenth-century Constantinople, Prince Constantine saves the life of a broken-hearted girl. But the price of his valour is high. John Grant is a young man on the edge of the world. His unique abilities carry him from his home in Scotland to the heart of the Byzantine Empire in search of a girl and the chance to fulfil a death-bed promise. Lena has remained hidden from the men who have bee... read more
A History of London in 100 Places
David Long
Shaped by invasion, occupation, and immigration, by upheavals as diverse as the Great Fire, the Blitz, and the Big Bang, London’s history is unmatched for variety and drama. Choosing 100 places that best tell this incredible story, David Long shares his passion and expert knowledge of the city. From the early modern frost fairs, Victorian stations, and Saxon burial grounds to medieval plague p... read more
Poems to Learn by Heart
Ana Sampson
A collection of some of the finest and memorable poems to learn by heart"Paths of glory," "Theirs not to reason why," "When you are old and grey and full of sleep," "A handful of dust," and "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day"—these and many others are famous lines of poetry that often occur in everyday speech. However, most people find it difficult to recall the rest of the poem, and that... read more
Oranges and Lemons: Rhymes from Past Times
Karen Dolby
A nostalgic and entertaining look back through childhood nursery rhymes and stories, explanations of their origins and meanings, and the controversies surrounding themPlugging into the memories and knowledge of our earliest years, this collection gathers the most well-known and best-loved nursery rhymes, many of which we always seem to have known, yet struggle to remember clearly, along with s... read more
Coram Boy
Jamila Gavin
A vivd, compelling and harrowing tale from Whitbread award winning Jamila Gavin. The Coram man takes babies and money from desperate mothers, promising to deliver them safely to a Foundling Hospital in London. Instead, he murders them and buries them by the roadside, to the helpless horror of his mentally ill son, Mish. Mish saves one, Aaron, who grows up happily unaware of his history, provin... read more
The Phoenix Code (Secrets of the Tombs)
Helen Moss
When Ryan Flint accompanies his journalist mother to an archaeological expedition in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, he isn't expecting life-threatening danger and a 3,000-year-old murder mystery - but that's exactly what he finds! Before he knows it, he has joined forces with Cleo McNeil, an archaeologist's daughter, to solve secret codes, discover an ancient treasure and outwit a strange cult i... read more
Rules for a Perfect Life
Niamh Greene
Rules for a perfect life ...Rule One: Do not ditch the man everyone says is perfect for you because he eats the last yellow jelly-baby in the bag. Rule Two: Do not move to a shack in the country to 'find yourself' and inadvertently become an object of ridicule for the locals. Rule Three: Do not fall for a man who has two children who hate you, a saintly dead wife you can never live up to and a... read more
Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens
Brandon Sanderson
A whole army of evil Librarians! And Alcatraz Smedry has only his friend, Bastille, a few pairs of glasses and an unlimited supply of exploding teddy bears to help him defend the island of Mokia. Even Alcatraz's extraordinary talent for breaking things may not be enough to defeat the evil Librarians' giant robots. Can Alcatraz find a way to save the Free Kingdoms?
Daughter of the Wolf
Victoria Whitworth
Next Therapist Please
Laurie Finkelstein
In 1849, Anne Bronte died a devout and innocent virgin. Three days later, she rose from the dead. No....
Yellowthread Street (A Yellowthread Street Mystery Book 1)
William Marshall
The first in Marshall's unforgettable, classic series of police procedurals - suspenseful and hilarious in equal measure.Yellowthread Street is the sort of place that breeds more crime than any cops can handle.Among the gangsters and the goldsmiths of Hong Bay, Chief Inspector Feiffer and his police department had their hands full . . . tourist troubles, a US sailor turned stick-up artist, and... read more
Three Cheers for Me (The Bandy Papers Book 1)
Donald Jack
“I enjoyed every word . . . terrifically funny.” P.G. WodehouseWith his disturbingly horse-like face and a pious distaste for strong drink and bad language, young Bartholomew Bandy doesn’t seem cut out for life in the armed services, as we meet him at the start of the First World War. Yet he not only survives the dangers and squalor of the infantry trenches, he positively thrives in the Royal ... read more
Picture Miss Seeton (A Miss Seeton Mystery Book 1)
Heron Carvic
When Miss Seeton walks out of a performance of Carmen and witnesses a real-life stabbing, all she can recall is a shadowy figure. But how could even she have guessed that her latest artistic endeavour is a picture-perfect portrait of the killer? Her caricature, however, puts her in a perilous position, for back at her rustic cottage in Plummergen, she’s fated to be a sitting duck . . . for mur... read more
The relationship between England and its gardens might be described as a love affair; gardening is one of our national passions, rooted in history. The eighteenth century is often called the Golden Age of English gardening; as the fashion for formal pleasure grounds for the wealthy faded, a new era began, filled with picturesque vistas inspired by nature.Charting the transformation in our land... read more
Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror
Chris Priestley
The Intragalactic Agency is concerned about the political stability of Avanaux. A rebellion in the medieval province will destroy any hope of acquiring the planet's crynidium, a rare element that enables faster than light travel.The rulers of Avanaux say a miracle worker known as the Teacher is at the center of the trouble and have asked the Agency to step in.Meanwhile, Earth’s Alien Corps hav... read more
Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas)
Charlaine Harris
Grave Sight (Harper Connelly 1)
Charlaine Harris
Dead Reckoning: A True Blood Novel: 11 (Sookie Satckhouse series)
Charlaine Harris
Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes Novel Book 2)
Anthony Horowitz
Sherlock Holmes is dead. Days after Holmes and his arch-enemy Moriarty fall to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls, Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase arrives from New York. The death of Moriarty has created a poisonous vacuum which has been swiftly filled by a fiendish new criminal mastermind. Ably assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and d... read more
Killed at the Whim of a Hat: A Jimm Juree Novel
Colin Cotterill
When crime reporter Jimm Juree is forced to quit the city for a fishing village on the Gulf of Siam, she expects much in her life to change. Quiet will replace quick, and, surely, crime will give way to calm. There goes the career, then.Not a chance. No sooner has she settled than a surprise discovery springs from a local well. Two skeletons: both wearing the signs of thirty years of decay, wi... read more
Rivers of London: The First PC Grant Mystery
Ben Aaronovitch
My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for justice known to all right-thinking people as the Metropolitan Police Service (and as the Filth to everybody else). My only concerns in life were how to avoid a transfer to the Case Progression Unit - we do paperwork so real coppers don't have to - and finding a way to climb into the panties of t... read more
Land Where I Flee
Prajwal Parajuly
To commemorate Chitralekha Nepauney's Chaurasi - her landmark 84th birthday - three of Chitralekha's grandchildren are travelling to Gangtok, Sikkim, to pay their respects. Agastaya is flying in from New York. Although a successful oncologist, he is dreading his family's inquisition into why he is not married, and is terrified that the reason for his bachelordom will be discovered. Joining him... read more
All Their Minds In Tandem
David Sanger
The setting is October 1879. The stage is New Georgetown, West Virginia.A mysterious figure by the name of 'The Maker' has entered this small community and, almost immediately upon doing so, started entering the minds of the townsfolk.Townsfolk who are as curious as The Maker himself. Like Dr Umbründ, the pint-sized physician with a prodigious capacity for sin; like the three sisters in the ho... read more
Have you ever imagined giving up your day job and heading for the hills in search of gold? Journalist Steve Boggan decided to do just that when the price of the precious metal scaled dizzying heights in the wake of the global financial crisis. Clueless, and with neither equipment nor experience, Boggan flew to California and followed in the footsteps of the '49ers', miners who fuelled the orig... read more
The Last Wolf: The Hidden Springs of Englishness
Robert Winder
Come to the Edge
Joanna Kavenna
A narrator in retreat from suburban life, a shambolic draughty farmhouse in a scenic valley...A widowed survivalist called Cassandra White...A banker, a village-full of empty second homes, and scores of poor and elderly people with nowhere to go...A crazy utopian scheme to reclaim the valley for the locals. A dark, timely satire from Joanna Kavenna, the prize-winning author of Inglorious and T... read more
The Winter Isles
Antonia Senior
"One of the must-reads of the year.' Manda Scott I am Somerled. The summer warrior. What am I, if not a warrior?In twelfth-century Scotland, far removed from the courtly manners of the Lowland, the Winter Isles are riven by vicious warfare, plots and battles. Into this hard, seafaring life is born a boy called Somerled. The son of an ageing chieftain, Somerled must prove his own worth as a war... read more
A Very Special Year
Thomas Montasser
It’s not particularly difficult to run a successful bookshop, thought Valerie: a grasp of the rudiments of business, a sensible plan, a little skill in negotiation, a couple of contacts and a large portion of magic.’When businesswoman Valerie takes over the bookshop owned by her aunt who has vanished without trace her intention is to bring some order to the chaos, and then sell the busine... read more
Patrick has 95 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
This is the second time I've worked with Patrick and I'm pleased to say it was as good as the first time. I'm still feeling my way around the self-publishing process but Patrick's patience and good advice is first class. I can't praise him enough for his generous support and help. The cover he has produced is excellent so overall you have a nice guy, pleasant to work with who delivers top notch...
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Phil Hall, May 2022
I’m so glad I found Patrick to design the cover of my first novel. In his initial reply, he pointed out some problems we’d need to overcome to create an effective design, and that thoughtfulness endeared me to him instantly. We talked via Zoom a couple of times in addition to Reedsy messaging, so we could hash out ideas relatively quickly. He sent me a series of draft layouts and we communicate...
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Patrick D. Joyce, May 2022
Patrick is a pleasure to work with and his cover designs are exceptional. I look forward to working with him on the designs of my next three books.
Kristin Oakley, April 2022
It is difficult to describe in words how well my experience with Patrick has gone. As a first-time writer, I was extremely nervous about how the process of getting a cover would go. After a few Zoom meetings and "email tennis," as he calls it, I now have a cover for my book that I look forward to holding in my hands. I will absolutely be hiring Patrick again.
Catherine Kruger, March 2022
I enjoyed working with Patrick. His collaboration is good and prompt and he produces what is asked or tells you why a suggestion is not the best course to follow. I will certainly use him again.
CA Sole, December 2021
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