Mike Wilks

Mike Wilks is a British artist, illustrator, and author born in 1947 in London, who won an art school scholarship at age thirteen and later ran a design consultancy before turning fully to painting and writing. His illustrated puzzle book The Ultimate Alphabet (1987) became an international bestseller, spending 57 weeks on the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller lists and selling more than 750,000 copies. Wilks is also known for the Mirrorscape trilogy — Mirrorscape, Mirrorstorm, and Mirrorshade, published between 2007 and 2010 — a fantasy adventure set in the parallel painted world of Nem. His surreal, densely detailed paintings are held in collections including the Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and he has collaborated on illustrated books with writers including Brian Aldiss and Alan Sillitoe.