Client Testimonials

“Simon is a superb person to work with. He is excellent – full of knowledge and useful comments. His advice was always spot on. He has lots of patience too, which helps when working with non-tech individual like me! My new website has had many great comments already. Thank you Simon – it’s been a pleasure to work with you.”

Gloria Barnett, award-winning author, educator, science presenter

“Working with Simon Appleby and Bookswarm was a positive experience, start to finish. He captured my vision perfectly and created an author website that is beautiful, professional, and truly me. Creative, responsive, and a joy to work with—Simon exceeded every expectation.

I don’t recommend people lightly. Simon is exactly the type of person you will never want to stop working with. Hire him today.”

Alex Phakos, author of The Hampshire United Trilogy

“Having worked with Simon in the past, Bookswarm instantly sprang to mind when I needed to deliver a new company website in time for the 2024 London Book Fair. Simon and his team easily outclassed the competition with their thoughtful proposal, which showed the most care and attention to our brief.

With a very tight window for delivery, the Bookswarm team remained responsive throughout while providing excellent customer care. Each of our challenges was met with creative problem-solving and industry-specific advice allowing us play to our strengths. The entire project was also clearly costed and came in well under budget with no nasty surprises. The end result was a beautifully designed, functional website that we are all proud of (live as of March 8, 2024).

It’s worth noting that support since launch has remained exemplary with swift responses as issues arise. On one occasion we had mere days to launch a complex, time-limited offer. Simon was still on hand to help, despite being on holiday and separated by a 12-hour time zone. The successful campaign brought us thousands in revenue.

If you’re dithering over whether to include Bookswarm for tender, I’d urge you stop reading this and get on with contacting them for a chat and a quote!”

Cynthia Hamilton, Head of PR & Marketing at The History Press

“Heartwood Publishing worked closely with Bookswarm throughout 2024, having appointed them to build a new website that addressed a number of challenges:

• To create a single web presence for our portfolio of brands
• Through the new site’s creation, replace two old and out of date sites
• Support visits from consumers, retail customers and potential B2B business partners
• Provide a platform that would automatically update product content using Onix feeds
• Structure the design around distinct brands serving different purposes, whilst maintaining clear navigation for users
• Future proofing on a number of fronts, including the facility for direct sales, user accounts, adding brands, generating themed content and linking to social media
• Ease of updating and platform management for non-technical team members

Bookswarm delivered all of the above in a timely and cost-effective way, whilst maintaining their patience with us as the brief evolved during the design and build. Their publishing industry expertise was especially helpful, when it came to understanding specific issues we needed to tackle and the practical delivery of live Onix data feeds.

We would definitely recommend using Bookswarm to other publishers seeking to develop their web presence. “

Andy Riddle, Founder – Heartwood Publishing

“I’m delighted with my new author website and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Bookswarm.

The things that particularly impressed me were

1. Planning – Simon took a lot of time and care to establish exactly what I needed (as well as the bells and whistles I fancied), but he didn’t complain (or charge me more) when I made late additions to requirements. He’s experienced in the publishing world, and made some excellent suggestions and challenges.
2. Smooth transition – The information on my old home-made website was transferred to the new and we have a period of transition to decide what to hide and what new material was required. I never felt rushed and could work on content at my own pace without having to worry about the magic that makes everything work underneath.
3. Ongoing support – this is a team, not a one man band, so there is always someone on hand to help resolve issues.

If you’re in need of a new website or considering an upgrade to your old one, then I heartily recommend a chat with Simon.”

Fiona Erskine, crime novelist

“Working with Simon and Bookswarm to make our website has been really easy and efficient. Simon listened to our ideas, made updates quickly and kept the whole process clear and straightforward. He is responsive, very experienced and great to collaborate with. We’re really pleased with how our website turned out!”

Joanna McInerney, Editorial Director, Post Wave Publishing

“Simon and his team are fantastic to work with – adaptable, responsive and they really understand the requirements of a small publisher. They immediately understood our unique challenges and came up with cost-effective solutions to meet our needs, WHILST ALSO BEING A JOY TO WORK WITH. Highly recommend!”

Alison Fox, Marketing and Distribution Manager, UCL Press

“I had been looking for a website designer, specific to writers and authors. Up until this time I had built my own websites with varying degrees of success.

Then I found Bookswarm and Simon Appleby. After a conversation we seemed a good fit and the price was not as extortionate as some website designers.

Simon and his team produced an amazing site – professional looking and a professional team that provided just what I needed. Thank you Simon and your team.”

Stephen Collier, crime writer for page and screen

“I’ve never seen anyone in this field, or related fields, move so quickly and with such expertise. We discussed ideas and they were executed. We discussed some more ideas, they were executed. We discussed tweaks and they were done.

AND Simon was an absolute pleasure to work with. I think the price was an absolute bargain!”

Andrew Saffron, author of Better Culture, Faster

“I could not have asked for a finer designer than Simon, and cannot recommend him highly enough. In a short matter of days, he completely revamped my website to my exact specifications, and he did so at far less cost than what other designers would have charged. He is inventive, responsive, and endlessly helpful.”

James Verini, magazine journalist and book author

“As a novice I was very dependent on Simon Appleby to take me through the creation and operation of a website point by point. He was clear in instruction, efficient in execution and immediately responsive to all my requests for help. I am confident that his support will continue as I gradually acquire the skills needed to improve my use the website. The initial design was his, and I like it very much.”

Hugo de Burgh, professor, novelist

“Getting a website up and running was, frankly, a very daunting prospect but, from the first conversation with Simon, I knew I was in a safe pair of expert hands and the whole experience turned out to be quick, smooth and clear. And I’m absolutely delighted with how the website looks and functions, and how easy it is to keep it up to date.”

Antony Harwood, literary agent

“I’m delighted with the site. I think it’s terrific. Really clean, clear, attractive, modern and easy to use. Perfect for authors.”

Paul Adam, author

“I met Simon Appleby from Bookswarm when he spoke at a panel during The London Book Fair. He had such astute and relevant insight of the current status of the publishing industry and this led me to consider his firm to help me improve my communications strategy. The first order was to redesign my personal website. Beyond the choice of fonts, colour palette and motifs, the overarching benefit was getting Simon’s advice on how to work around the various social media channels, obtaining the most suitable website name, building content and managing the various functions on WordPress. He was always courteous, patient and the response turnaround was swift. For a tech dinosaur like me, the guidance was valuable and much appreciated. Thank you!”

Sharon Wee, author and blogger

“I enjoyed working with Simon on the website. I was impressed by his patience answering any questions I had, and also by the way he was able to make suggestions that we could then discuss and tweak so that the website would meet my requirements. I’m really pleased with the end result.”

Lucienne Boyce, author

“I contacted Bookswarm to completely rebuild and update my author website. Simon had many creative suggestions that make the website much more than simply an introduction to my novels. With a photo gallery, map, and photos linked to places of interest on the map, it is now an interactive place to visit. Simon very patiently explained in video calls and emails how to update and add content, and he is consistently responsive to follow-up questions. I highly recommend Simon and Bookswarm to any author, wherever based, and whether for one book or many. I look forward to continued work with this team as I add books.”

Jane Ross Potter, author

“Bookswarm was professional and efficient at handling our website redevelopment. They understood our needs well and were always eager to offer advice and direction where needed. They also happily answered our questions as we developed the final website without imposing any further time or financial restrictions on us. This allowed us to experiment and get to grips with the technology. We felt safe and supported throughout the whole process. We highly recommend them!”

The Scottish Literary Tour Trust Ltd.

“Simon and Bookswarm did an amazing job on my website and they were friendly, responsive, and highly professional at every step. The website looks beautiful and functions like clockwork. Their customer support is superb. Anyone looking for a perfectly designed website through easy, worry-free experience should definitely use them. Can’t recommend them enough!”

Anna Kashina, Author, Lacrimosa of Dana

“It has been an absolute pleasure working with Simon and Bookswarm on our new website for the University of London Press. As a small university press team publishing both open access and non-open access books, Simon worked closely and patiently with us to make the experience easy, enjoyable and on budget. We’re delighted with our new website which really enhances the visibility and discoverability of our books and have already recommended Bookswarm to other publishers!”

Paula Kennedy, Head Of Publishing at University of London Press

“When I reached out to Simon about creating my new website I had two sites that had evolved in random and confusing ways, and I had absolutely no idea how to make sense of it all. Luckily Simon and his team did! I now have an amazing new site that I’m proud to shout about, and direct people to. I am still amazed every time I look at it, that a tangled mess could become such a thing of beauty. More than that, it made me consider what, and how, I communicate with my audiences and has really boosted the content and how I interconnect all the elements.”

Kate Cunningham, children’s author

“I am absolutely thrilled with the beautiful website the Bookswarm team have created for me and am getting great feedback on it, too. Simon and Susie bring the highest technical and design skills, creating bespoke sites that reflect the writer’s personality, always working with utmost professionalism and customer support. I cannot recommend them highly enough.”

Merryn Glover, author and community gatherer

“Working with Bookswarm has been an absolute pleasure. Simon and Susie have been brilliant, fully understanding the brief both on what I needed from the website, and on branding and design. They’ve been able to make really helpful suggestions and their experience working with publishing sites mean they already fully understood what was required. They made the whole process really easy and I feel confident keeping my website updated.”

Hannah Sheppard, founder, HS-LA

“I wasn’t sure about having a website but Bookswarm came up trumps. I’m not that technical so need someone like them loitering in the background when I get lost. Brilliant!”

Jean Goodhind, historical romance and cosy crime author

“Simon and his team were helpful and professional in creating a new website to best suit my company.”

Brian J. Showers, founder, Swan River Press

“It’s been a pleasure working with Simon and Bookswarm on the development of our new website. From initial design meeting, through development and final rollout, Simon and his team have been unfailingly responsive, diligent and professional. We are very pleased with our new site and have noticed an increase in sales and traffic immediately. I have no hesitation in recommending Bookswarm to any potential customer.”

David Hoek, Sales Manager, Reaktion Books

“Starting with no knowledge or experience of creating a website, Simon steadily and methodically guided me through the creation and establishment of my site. His straightforward, jargon-free and practical approach was perfect and I’m delighted with what we jointly created. I even feel confident about developing it further, especially knowing he is available for help and advice at the touch of a button.”

Nick Black, historical fiction author

“Loved working with Simon! Professional, creative, and went above and beyond!”

Cat Castellanos, author

“We had a fantastic experience working with Simon and the Bookswarm team. Simon was able to create a new website for our bookshop that now runs efficiently – and looks fantastic too! All our queries were answered, and Simon was incredibly helpful with launching our new site. We cannot recommend them enough!”

Olivia Rosenthal, Owner, Maldon Books

“We are delighted with our new website. We’d already worked with Simon and Bookswarm on another project so had high expectations which were fully met. We had lots of requirements and ideas and it was great to have Simon’s creative and technical input. The final website works really well and looks great. It’s good to have maintenance and ongoing support too.”

Joan Lyle, Training and Information Manager at Publishing Scotland

“I went to Simon at Bookswarm because of his track record and specialism in authors, finding him able and willing to incorporate special features into my website that would not have been available under other standardised packages. I was delighted with the look, feel and dynamism of the site he produced, as well as the training to operate it largely myself. For aspects beyond my capabilities his Ninja Support plugin does exactly what its name suggests, responding swiftly and efficiently to sort things out. I would wholeheartedly recommend Bookswarm to other authors.”

David G Bailey, author

“Dear Simon

I wanted to just drop you a short line to say thank you for delivering my new author website .

As you know I was rather scared of starting this as not only is it a new career choice for me, but also the thought of a website and social media etc is well out of my comfort zone. I was therefore so happy to have been introduced to you as you made the whole process not only easy for me but also allowed me to be part of the entire process without having to be involved in the building of it. It really was a great experience for me and I not only have ended up with a fantastic website, but I feel like I understand how it works and what I need to do to progress in this new adventure. You really were a joy to work with on this.

Thanks so much

Rob Starr”

Rob Starr, author of What The Tide Brings Back

“The website, an essential tool for any author, will become the focus and anchor of your marketing drive.

I have found that Simon Appleby’s experience of specialist author websites after a background in book publishing, can be relied on to create an efficient website.

A nice man, helpful and accessible.”

Colin Fletcher, author

“From the outset, Simon was clearly interested in my writing projects and asked questions that hit exactly the right note. He created an author website which reflects my taste and style and he gave very helpful guidance over what to include and the value of a newsletter, which took a little persuasion! I’m now thoroughly delighted with the look and the content of the site, which is easy to manage and has attracted many compliments. I’m now building my network and readership with confidence, proudly presenting my work on a professional platform that I can update at any time.”

Jane Austin, author

“Simon is outstanding. He has excellent technical skills, responds extremely quickly to questions and requests, explains everything clearly, and is a pleasure to work with in every way.”

Richard Sclove, author of Escaping Maya’s Palace

“Simon Appleby designed my literary fiction website, and it’s gorgeous. It has the look I wanted, raised to several powers above my expectations. His work combines a high degree of technical expertise and creative intuition. His approach to working is clear and systematic, and he is equally professional in client relations. He patiently explains terminology and processes, and I never felt lost. His training session is brilliant and includes a recording for easy referral later and a built-in support system. I am not much at home in the digital world, have had difficulty with websites in the past and was dreading maintaining this one. But it’s a delight.”

Janet Savin, author

“When my publisher informed me it was due time to establish an author webpage I was refereed to Bookswarm. And it was wise advice. Simon Appleby is top of the game. He understands authors and is well capable of capturing the spirit of them digitally.”

RA Williams, author of The Gift trilogy

“I was bowled over by Simon and his team at Bookswarm. They were efficient, creative and incredibly helpful. I couldn’t recommend them more.”

Abi Elphinstone, children’s author

“Right from the very first phone conversation I felt I had an ally in Simon. He wanted to understand what we were about, how our market worked, what the priorities were, how quickly we wanted to be up and running, and he created a plan to deliver it on time and cost-effectively. Once we were underway progress was good, and the Bookswarm team were helpful and responsive, happy to engage in robust debate about design and functionality. The finished product is excellent and has been extremely well received by authors and prospective customers. Highly recommended!”

Jonathan Harris, Director, Fink Publishing

“I’ve had a complicated career that’s involved multiple projects and many publications on a wide variety of themes. In the past, I’ve commissioned personal websites but never been satisfied with the results. Until now, no one has ever managed to build something that strikes the right balance between breadth and depth. I’m delighted to say that Simon and Bookswarm have managed to build me a website that allows me to publicise my books while also housing my personal archive. I was hugely impressed with the patience with which Simon discussed my needs with me and then developed a website that reflected my idiosyncrasies. He responded quickly to enquiries and was happy to go through several rounds of changes until we got to a result I was happy with. I would recommend him to any author who wants to have a website they can be proud of.”

Keith Kahn-Harris, sociologist and writer

“A sweet aspect of Bookswarm is their focus on books. They bring wide and relevant experience to the table. That gave us clear direction in creating Barbican Press’s new website. In our meetings there was real focus on understanding how we want to communicate with our readers and the book industry. Our site feels distinctly ours, meets our needs, looks good, works cleanly, and the support in finessing it once it went live has been prompt and effective. We’ve been really happy to recommend them to others.”

Martin Goodman, Publisher, Barbican Press

“From the first conversation with Simon I knew I was in safe hands, and working with an industry expert. I had a very specific requirement – to have a website where I could showcase both parts of my business – Author arm and Copywriting arm – rather than host two separate sites. Simon listened to my specific needs and presented a number of choices/solutions. The process was fast, efficient, and stress free, and Simon was a pleasure to work with, providing updates and advice along the way, and support at go-live. I am over the moon with my website and I’ve received a great deal of feedback and compliments on it! Thanks, Simon.”

Fran Grant, author and copywriting professional

“The kind folks at Headline (who publish my Pepys Books) recommended Simon at Bookswarm, and immediately I was having a sensible conversation with someone who was used to making websites for authors. He tidied up the muddle that the other company had left behind, streamlined the design, and made it all functional so that a non-techie person like me could update it with the minimum of fuss. And all for a reasonable cost.”

Deborah Swift, author of historical fiction

“We are absolutely over the moon with our new website! It really is fantastic. A huge thanks to for all the time, effort and creativity that has gone into making this happen for us. It’s a fabulous showcase for our publishing, and just what we hoped for.”

Rick Jackman, Director and Co-owner at Illuminate Publishing

“What a great experience working with Simon. The entire process – from brief, to wireframes, to design images, to implementation – was beyond expectation. Best of all was he would work to what I asked for, but would also gently push back whenever he had a better idea.

I am delighted with the design and functionality of my new website, and I would definitely recommend his services. He is a consumate professional.”

Nathan Rose, business author

“Simon listened carefully to my brief and came back with a design that was exactly what I had in mind – a user friendly, simple yet beautiful blog. I’m delighted with it. And I couldn’t be happier with their friendly and prompt service.”

Joanna Wing, writer and photographer

“Working with Simon, Hazel and Alex at Bookswarm has been an absolute delight. My needs were moving beyond DIY WordPress and I’m delighted to have made the step into their hosted environment. The site looks fantastic and is a step-change in functionality. Even better, it will scale with me as more books are published. Strongly recommended.”

Geoffrey Gudgion, author of Draca and Saxon’s Bane

“Simon and his team designed a website that did everything I wanted it to, plus some more things I hadn’t thought of! They got back very quickly to all my queries and the whole process was very smooth and speedy.”

Daisy Christodoulou, author and educationalist

“Simon exceeded all of my expectations. He quickly grasped the vision I had for my author website and took it to another level, both in terms of aesthetic and feature set. He was responsive from the get-go and added value at every step, from initial consultation to post-publishing technical support. Simon and the Bookswarm team are world class. I am confident that any writer hiring them would be well served.”

Mark H. Fitzpatrick, author of Made of Stars

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Simon to develop the new Quiller Publishing website. He has been highly knowledgeable and supportive throughout the process. No question was too daft and no request was ever too hard, complex or unachievable. Simon works through problems methodically, providing easy and effective solutions. We are delighted with our finished product and think it’s fair to say Simon and his team absolutely nailed it!”

Becky Bowyer, Production Manager, Quiller Publishing

“My recent experience of working with Simon Appleby and his team at Bookswarm was entirely positive. I could not have wished for a more professional collaboration, Simon, with whom I had two face-to-face meetings, was always charming, understanding, good-humoured, and patient, as I sought to grasp the relationship between the ‘Dashboard’ and editing screen, on the one hand, and the website, on the other. He always responded immediately to any query of mine, while his instructions and explanations as to how the ‘Dashboard’ works were so simple and illuminating that I soon mastered how to update text and images for myself. The design of my website seems to me brilliant, eye-catching and yet, as befits an academic, tasteful. Its uncluttered simplicity makes even abstract ideas easy to take in. Simon seemed to know what I wanted almost from the start. I am absolutely delighted with the result.”

Sophie Botros, philosopher and author of Truth, Time and History

“I find Simon and Bookswarm to be responsive, creative, easy to work with, eager to interpret my vision in an appropriate way, and above all prompt.  I am in safe hands. Bottom line – the page they created helped secure the signing of Lap Of Honour.”

Tim Hain, author, Lap of Honour

“I’d wholeheartedly recommend Bookswarm. Simon is efficient, patient and communicative. He did everything he said he would and more and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him and his colleagues. Perhaps most importantly, I didn’t get any sense that he was bored with the project and wanting to move on once the site was delivered but there was lots of tweaking to do. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that sort of start to finish service with an IT-type project before – or any other sort of project, for that matter.”

Lisa Kemmer, Sales and Operations Manager, Yale Representation

“Simon and team have been fantastic throughout the process. It has been a pleasure working with them and building a great new website.”

John Peck, one half of writing duo Jack Heckel

“Bookswarm really are the people to go if you an author looking for your ideal website. They have made my vision into a reality, and I couldn’t be more delighted with the final result.  Simon is highly professional, genuine, so supportive, a great communicator and always easily contactable. Highly recommend!”

Dr Genevieve Von Lob, author of parenting books Five Deep Breaths and Happy Parent, Happy Child

“Simon and his colleagues at Bookswarm were fantastic when building a website for my freelance editorial business. They were knowledgeable, expert and professional in a real, human, warm and patient kind of way. Bookswarm know exactly what they are doing, they do it brilliantly and so I was able to get on with doing my ‘thing’. Use them… you’ll live happily ever after!”

Lynne Humphreys, Publisher, Oxford Edit Write

“Simon has just rebuilt the Byte The Book website and done a superb job, we’re over the moon and so proud of our lovely new site and all he has done for us. He and the team at Bookswarm are a joy to work with. Simon has an almost a psychic ability to understand exactly what you need, is incredibly intelligent, genuinely seems to want to help you and your business without fleecing you for every penny and has a really broad experience in the publishing industry, all of which combine in a beautiful confluence of wonder. Hats off to you sir! If you’re an author or a publishing company and need a new website, Simon is your man!”

Justine Solomons, Founder, Byte The Book

“Having designed me a stylish website, which is simplicity itself for me to maintain and update, Bookswarm have always been wonderfully speedy and a pleasure to deal with when I’ve needed some radical change making to the site’s structure or functions. I’d recommend them highly to any other writers or creative types who need a website and don’t want to know too much about what happens under the bonnet…”

Patrick Gale, author of Richard and Judy bestsellers Notes From An Exhibition and A Perfectly Good Man

“As soon as I started talking to Bookswarm about the feel that I wanted for my website I could tell that they were with me and understood what I was looking for. The resulting site is exactly what I had in mind and was achieved quickly and with the minimum of fuss. They were pro-active in making suggestions for things that I hadn’t considered and patient when I changed my mind. I cannot recommend them highly enough.”

Imogen Clark, author

“I wanted to transform my website into something more playful and eye-catching. I had a fairly clear picture in my mind and sent Simon a fairly detailed brief. He was attentive and thorough and keen to interpret what I wanted. I love what he and his team have produced. The new website is fun, yet clean and professional and everything I imagined it to be.

Bookswarm was always efficient, prompt with delivery and patient in dealing with my queries. I will definitely use Simon and his team again.”

Sam Angus, author of historical adventure children’s novels including Solider Dog

“The folks at Bookswarm understood exactly what I needed and worked to build a great website. I am very satisfied with the results. The team is friendly, experienced and I highly recommend them.”

Alex Seymour, author of Pyschedelic Marine

“Simon and his team did a phenomenal job on creating my author website. His team was flexible and accommodated the various edits and really understood the vision of the site. I would highly recommend Simon and the Bookswarm team.”

Christina Enquist, author of The Immundus

“Simon and his group have a great system for authors to express their creativity and passion through their website. If you are an author in need of a site to highlight your writing and other work, Simon is the right guy for you!”

Matthew S. Bennett, speaker, trainer, author

“Authors should look no further: Bookswarm completely understand our needs.”

Annabel Kantaria, author of domestic noir including The One That Got Away

“I’m an electrical engineer and also a popular author with a good eye for design, so I’ve maintained my own website for many years. I finally took the plunge and had Bookswarm remake my site. What an incredible difference! The site is SO beautifully designed and easy-to-use! Bookswarm took my ideas and shape shifted them to bring out exactly what I wanted, but in ways far better than I’d originally envisioned. Really, website design and implementation doesn’t get any better or easier than with Bookswarm – I cannot recommend them more highly!”

Dr Barbara Oakley, author

“I’m so proud and delighted with the new Summersdale website. It’s been a long time coming, but has been well worth the wait. I genuinely believe that we have one of the best websites out there. It looks stylish and modern, but it is also very functional. One of the site’s primary functions is to showcase our beautiful books, and they sure look good. Choosing Bookswarm to create our new site was the right choice, they have been magnificent.”

Alastair Williams, Managing Director, Summersdale

“Working with Bookswarm on both the branding and website development of our new fiction imprint, Hoopoe, was both a pleasure and a breeze. The Bookswarm team understood our needs with least effort and promptly came back with ideas that were just what we were looking for but could not conceptualize ourselves. They combine technical experience with creativity, and love for books with a deep understanding of the publishing industry. You can’t wish for a more innovative, supportive, and responsive team!”

Tarek El-Elaimy, Marketing Manager for North America, The American University in Cairo Press

“When we decided to give our website a makeover, we were very keen to work with someone who truly understood the needs of a publisher, and Bookswarm have been second-to-none in that regard. From the off they ‘got it’ – both in terms of how our new website needed to be intuitive to use for us as publishers, and in terms of how it performed for readers and the wider books industry.

Simon and his team have been superb to work with and we’re delighted with the final website – it really does look better than we could have hoped for.”

Sara Hunt, Publisher, Saraband

“When a project comes along I can work with Bookswarm on I immediately feel more relaxed. Communication on projects from start to finish is outstanding (and so important) which helps to move things along at a good pace and get the results we all want. Simon is always on hand for questions and advice throughout the project, and is incredibly tolerant of the unrelenting change requests and tweaks from our many stakeholders.”

Amy Dolman, Digital Marketing Manager, Hodder & Stoughton

“For so long we had been looking for a way to improve our profile and display a more professional image. Our website was the last step in a new chapter in our company and Bookswarm were integral in getting us there. Not only did they design a website with everything we needed, but their personal-touch approach and dedication to keeping our individuality meant that we felt secure all the way through the process. Their after-care is also fantastic and we feel we can contact them at any point for technical help or follow up design queries.”

James Shaw, Publisher, Matthew James Publishing

“Bookswarm’s classy design has transformed my website. It looks great, is simple to navigate, and – vital for a non-techno like me – even easier to update.”

Saul David, Historian, Novelist and Broadcaster (Penguin / Hodder & Stoughton)

“The Bookswarm team built me a site that was not only lovely-looking, but intuitive to use. I can thoroughly recommend them and have done so already to some of my fellow authors.”

Christina Hopkinson, author of The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs and Just Like Proper Grown-Ups (Hodder & Stoughton)

“Simon is fantastic to work with: he makes the briefing process simple and straightforward, provides ideas and encourages creative thinking. He is a man who does not say ‘no, it can’t be done’ but rather ‘how can we get around this to make it happen’.”

David Roche, Owner, David Roche Enterprises Ltd

“The team at Bookswarm gave me a site that met my brief perfectly and went well beyond, with support and advice on areas I hadn’t considered – or hadn’t considered I would be able to manage so easily! They opened my eyes to all the options, and provided training and guidance that make the site really work for me and my books.”

Helen Bell, author of The Ilamen Quartet

“I feel so lucky to have been able to put my website in the hands of Bookswarm. Their vision for The It Girl brand was spot on and I could not be happier with how the website has turned out, it’s exactly what I wanted. Simon and the Bookswarm team are incredibly knowledgeable and made the process ridiculously easy for me. I would highly recommend them.”

Katy Birchall, author of The It Girl (Egmont)

“Simon has successfully delivered a diverse range of projects for us at Octopus, from hand-crafted illustrated e-books and complex apps to websites and databases. He understands book publishing extremely well, is bang up to date yet refreshingly free of geek-speak, and is a highly creative, nimble problem solver.”

Denise Bates, Group Publishing Director, Octopus Publishing Group

“Bookswarm have been a pleasure to work with. They are highly creative, super-organised, and have an excellent understanding of how to run effective social media campaigns.”

Jodie Mullish, Senior Marketing Manager, Pan Macmillan

“Bookswarm have a strong understanding of the role websites play within the publishing industry and, specifically in my case, within the world of children’s fiction. They created a site that perfectly captured the playfulness of my stories, was easy to navigate, colourful and intelligently designed.”

Jo Simmons, author of the Pip Street books for children (Scholastic)

“I had been struggling to launch a website on my own for five years, and with Bookswarm’s expertise, I finally did it. The feedback, too, has been fantastic – so I know we got it absolutely right.”

Liz Dean, author, editor, teacher and publisher

“Bookswarm did a brilliant job with my website – from initial design though to final implementation. After one conversation with Simon I had total confidence in them and they didn’t disappoint. Their genuine love of books shines through in every thing they do.”

D.D. Everest, author of Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret (Faber)

“Bookswarm made everything straightforward. My author site is great to look at, well-designed and easy to find your way around. Excellent WordPress training and support guaranteed to give even the most reluctant operator like me the confidence to add content and manage the site by themselves.”

Jennifer Gray, author of the Atticus Claw series for children (Faber)

“Bookswarm are an excellent agency resource for the book industry. They have a deep knowledge of the trade but crucially they also bring new learnings and tech ideas from other sectors to publisher projects, which allows the scoping to be collaborative and progressive.

They are extremely accurate with their costings and timings and this makes the work easy to budget, and the account management is as good as I’ve experienced at any agency of any size. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Bookswarm to anyone.”

Matt Haslum, Managing Director, Chelsea Green Publishing UK

“I can’t speak highly enough of Simon Appleby and the team at Bookswarm. They built a beautiful website for me and Simon was always available to help me learn how to use it.”

Pam Evans, family saga author

“Genuine 24/7 support, full of good ideas and advice, and an ability to make the most complicated web-speak accessible to a Luddite (and techo-phobe) like myself, I can’t recommend Simon Appleby and the Bookswarm crew more highly.”

Lesley Lokko, bestselling author (Orion)

“My collaboration with Simon Appleby was so friction-free and productive that, had he been a woman, I would have asked him to marry me.”

Peter Watson, award-winning author and journalist

“The Bookswarm team are very professional, really know their technology and social media, and above all love books.”

Joanna Ellis, COO, The Literary Platform

“Bookswarm’s experience in creating author-related websites is really invaluable. Not only did they design the website for me, they actually helped me understand what it was that I wanted for my own website, which was not an easy thing to do considering that I had not thought this through myself. Bookswarm made the entire process intelligent, swift, and professional and it was a pleasure to have worked with them.”

Zaid Al-Ali, author, The Struggle for Iraq’s Future (Yale University Press)

“It was so straightforward and easy working with Bookswarm to design my website. They really listened to what I needed and kept my costs down. I especially liked that they love books too and seem to understand what writers and publishers are looking for.”

Jennifer Grigg, Publisher, Green Bottle Press

“Working with Bookswarm on [Penny Vincenzi’s website] was a completely positive and painless experience – you made everything as easy and straightforward as possible and everyone is thrilled with the result.”

Jo Liddiard, Head of Marketing, Headline Publishing Group

“From the very beginning Bookswarm fully understood our brief. We felt completely at ease working with, and handing over to them, and feel that they have helped above and beyond what we would have expected. The dedication and creativity that they brought to the initial meetings enthused us with confidence and the beautiful, clear and practical site that they have created for us reflects William Morris’s aesthetic and approach perfectly. We are beyond happy with the work they have done and would recommend working with them to any interested party – we felt supported and treated as individuals and no question was too small!”

Alice Woodhouse, Society Manager, The William Morris Society