Tim Byrne

Tim Byrne – Designer

I am a cover designer/illustrator with over 20 years experience having worked with Penguin, LittleBrown, Harper Collins, Faber and more.

Overview

I have worked in publishing for over 20 years, starting out at Harper Collins Publishers and then setting up my own successful cover design business.

I have worked with just about all the major publishers and recently my work can be seen in The Imperial War Museum London where my illustrations and design are part of the permanent display in the Churchill War Rooms.


Designing and illustrating book covers has been my passion for well over 20 years and it continues to be my dream job. I always read the manuscript and enjoy finding something within the text that best encapsulates the book and what it is about, and translating that into a successful, emotionally engaging cover. For the historical covers that I do I love researching the period of the book and knowing that whatever I depict is historically accurate.





Services
Fiction
Historical Fiction Horror Legal Thriller Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Young Adult
Non-Fiction
History True Crime
Languages
English

Work experience

Self Employed

Sep, 2001 — Present
I have a wealth of experience in cover design and illustration working across all genres and with the major publishers over the last twenty years. I design and craft covers that engage with the viewer on an emotional level.

Harper Collins Publishers

Sep, 1996 — Aug, 2001 (almost 5 years)
During my time at Harper Collins I designed the covers of the modern classics: Naked Lunch by William Burroughs, On the Road by Jack Kerouac and The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart.

Portfolio

The No. 1 Lawyer

James Patterson

Cornerstone

Stafford Lee Penney is the best defence lawyer in Mississippi - he's never lost a case. Until now.Hot on the heels of his latest courtroom victory, his wife is brutally murdered. Devastated, S... read more
Cover Design
Lady Macbeth

Ava Reid

Cornerstone

Fair is foul and foul is fair.From the Sunday Times bestselling author of A STUDY IN DROWNING comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a p... read more
Cover Design Illustration
Jailhouse Lawyer

James Patterson

Random House

'I could not put down Jailhouse Lawyer, a page-turning legal thriller' Tony Messenger'A writer with an unusual skill at thriller plotting' Mark Lawson, Guardian'Nobody does it better' Jeffery ... read more
Cover Design
Tribune of Rome (1) (Vespasian)

Fabbri, Robert

Corvus

Cover Design Illustration
A Feather So Black

Lyra Selene

Little, Brown Book Group

'Dark and dangerous and teeming with romance, A Feather So Black is an exhilarating adventure that walks the edge of a blade. Truly enchanting' Rachel Gillig, NYT bestselling author of One Dar... read more
Cover Design Illustration

Tim has 11 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jesse C.

Jesse C.

May, 2025

Tim took the time to really understand my book and came up with an amazing cover design. I would definitely work with him again.
Andre D.

Andre D.

May, 2025

As the saying goes, if you want the best, you have to work with the best. And that saying applies 100% to Tim Byrnes. The quality of his work is outstanding — both in terms of execution and creativity, two elements that are absolutely essential in cover design. Working with Tim is also an incred...
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Frank C.

Frank C.

May, 2025

From the very beginning, I knew I was in good hands. Before we even officially started, Tim had already taken the initiative to research one of the core mythologies in my book (banshees), which told me everything I needed to know about his work ethic and attention to story. He took the time to r...
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Andre D.

Andre D.

May, 2025

Tim Byrnes is undoubtedly the best cover designer in the editing world. With exceptional creativity, he has a talent for creating covers that capture the very essence of a book. Attentive to authors’ needs, he makes the necessary adjustments to achieve a level of perfection that is essential in t...
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DENNIS Z.

DENNIS Z.

May, 2025

You can't beat professionalism and excellent communication. Tim provides both. From the very start Tim took the view of a partnership approach where he listened to what I wanted to achieve, combined that with impressions left with him after reading my book and came up with cover options that we b...
Read more

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