Greg Swearingen was born in Ohio and grew up throughout the midwest in Illinois, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. He received his BFA from Columbus College of Art and Design in 1998 and then worked at American Greetings for a short time before launching his freelance career. His first freelance project was accepted in several national competitions and his work has continued to gain recognition. Today, Greg's illustrations can be seen regularly on young adult book covers and in the Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, and Spectrum annuals. In 2005 Greg was awarded a silver medal in Spectrum 11 for his illustration "Deep Wizardry" and in February of 2007 he was awarded a silver medal from Society of Illustrators for his illustration of Cyrano de Bergerac.