It’s my great pleasure and privilege to reveal the cover art for Mark Lawrence’s upcoming novel, Daughter of Crows — the first instalment in his new trilogy, The Kindly Ones, hitting the shelves in April 2026. Cover artist Tom Roberts, who also created the artwork for Mark’s Library trilogy, has kindly taken the time to answer a few questions for this special post.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background as an artist? How did you first get into art, and what led you to specialise in book cover design? Who or what have been some of your biggest artistic influences?
I grew up in a small town in Herefordshire but have lived in Cheltenham for well over 10 years now. Like most artists, drawing was just something I always did. It kept me entertained when visiting a boring grandparent or when the cartoons finished after school.
After studying illustration at college, I quickly landed every illustrator’s dream job — working in a pub. I stayed there for about two years while taking on jobs like gig flyers, murals, and painting canvases, basically anything I could get. Later, I worked as a postman in the mornings and drew in the afternoons.
Eventually, I had enough work drawing to go full-time freelance. I’ve been lucky enough to work full-time as an illustrator for years now, but it was a long road. Specialising in book covers happened gradually, but it was also something I’d always dreamed of.
My biggest influences growing up were Harry Clarke and Roger Dean. My dad had a book of Dean’s work, and we’d look at it together when I was a kid and imagine we lived in his worlds.
How did you first come across Mark Lawrence’s work? Do you have a favourite among his books?
Years ago, my brother gave me his copy of Prince of Thorns and said, “Read this, the main character’s a bastard.”
After reading it, I actually sent Mark a print. Little did I know I’d be illustrating his books twelve years later! A complete coincidence that I was chosen to work on his Library trilogy.
I feel like I lived in those books for a long time, so they hold a special place for me.
Daughter of Crows has got to be my current favourite. I can’t wait for people to read it.
What could you tell us about the work process behind the cover art for Daughter of Crows? Readers usually only see the finished piece online, so we’d love to hear what happens behind the scenes. Anything you can reveal about ideas and challenges would be interesting.
Voyager sent me the manuscript, which was a huge help. They wanted the cover to have a similar feel to the Library Trilogy but for a new series. The brief was actually very loose, which was great, and it was nice that they trusted my work enough to let me explore my own ideas.
I sent over two very rough, very different sketches. I couldn’t believe it when they said they wanted to use both — one for the trade edition and one as a special edition.
Are there any symbolic details in the Daughter of Crows cover that readers might not notice at first glance?
The cover is more symbolic than literal. There’s no statue in the book, but we thought it would be a strong visual to represent the “three-in-one.”
There are quite a few details that make more sense as you read. My personal favourite, though, is the crone side of the statue being harassed by the crow.
And without further ado, please feast your eyes on this absolute stunner! I’m thrilled to present the final UK cover art for Daughter of Crows, commissioned by HarperVoyager:
“The survivor of a brutal academy must exhume her own past in the first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of the Library Trilogy and the Broken Empire series.
Set a thief to catch a thief. Set a monster to punish monsters.
The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge.
The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws.
Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep.
That was a mistake.”
interview by Agnes Meszaros
Do check out Tom Roberts’ socials for more of his gorgeous artwork and don’t forget to pre-order Daughter Of Crows!
Tom Roberts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Daughter of Crows pre-order links:
that thorn guy 
Great artwork, looking forward to reading the book.
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Looks great!
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