‘There are Rivers in The Sky’ by Elif Shafak

I read this book in May 2025 and decided to create an alternative book cover illustration. I was drawn to the separate stories, themes of water and Mesopotamian culture.

I wanted to honour all three storylines within the cover. The Lamassu for Narin’s story by the River Tigris. The blue, wax pastel line takes the shape of the River Thames, for Zaleekhah, who is staying in a canal boat on the river. The Quink ink background represents Arthur working on the printing press, this being my favourite part of the story.

Shafak’s writing is lyrical and organic, I wanted to mirror this in my illustration.