The best book illustrators for hire in the United States

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Brianna 5 star rating

New York, United States

I'm a freelance book cover designer and illustrator with nearly a decade of in-house experience at a top publishing house.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Travel, Poetry, Historical Fiction, Music, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Sports & Outdoors, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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

Mary Ann 5 star rating

New York, United States

With 20+ years 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, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Penguin Random House

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

Lesley 5 star rating

White Plains, NY, United States

Creative art director and book cover designer specializing in commercial woman's fiction, young adult, and romance.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, African American Fiction, Anthologies, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House (Formally Penguin Group USA)
  • Penguin Group USA
  • St. Martin's Press
  • Tor Publishing Group

Samantha 5 star rating

California, United States

Children's Illustrator and designer specialized in colorful, whimsical illustrations with experience from Disney.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Jam City
  • RockYou Inc.
  • Walt Disney Interactive
  • Book Buddy Media

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: Middle Grade Fantasy, Children's, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Science Fiction, Gaming & LitRPG, and New Adult.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bovard Studio, Inc.

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Kelly 5 star rating

Wilmington, DE, United States

I love how good design can complete a writer's vision and make it engaging. Fantasy, thrillers, historical and fiction really get me going.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Fantasy, Poetry, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Thriller & Suspense, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, and New Adult.

Work experience:

  • Four Dog Creative
  • Delaware Today
  • Delaware Bride
  • Self-employed

Dana 5 star rating

Kansas City, Missouri, United States

I have illustrated children's books for Scholastic, Random House, Penguin, Grosset & Dunlap, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Hallmark Cards

Karen 5 star rating

New York, United States

Hello! I'm an award-winning illustrator and Grammy® nominated designer with 20+ years in the publishing, arts and entertainment worlds.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, Design, Non-Fiction, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Photography, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Picture Books, Children's, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Jake 5 star rating

Blacksburg, SC, United States

Versatile, easy-going and ready to work for you!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Print Depot
  • Self-employed

Elynn 5 star rating

South Orange, United States

A versatile, creative, collaborative book design professional who designs covers and interiors with a focus on the children's market.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Picture Books, Children's, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Comics & Graphic Novels, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • Freelance

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.

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

Stewart 5 star rating

Morgantown, WV, USA

Over 30 years in publishing. Art Direction, Graphic Design, Typography, Illustration, Project Management. Two cats are also here to help.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Contemporary Fiction, True Crime, and Religion & Spirituality.

Work experience:

  • Seattle Metropolitan Magazine
  • Sasquatch Books
  • Seattle Weekly
  • The Rocket
  • Self-employed

WJ 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Check my work, trust me and I won't let you down. picturebook Illustrator / character designer / general illustrator

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Cultural & Ethnic, Contemporary Fiction, and Design.

Work experience:

  • co.Aniframe
  • Self-employed

Jessica 5 star rating

Portland, OR, USA

I have specialized in humorous illustration for over 17 years. I love working with both publishers and self-publishing authors.

Genres: Nature, Non-Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Middle Grade, Home & Garden, and Comics & Graphic Novels.

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.