Bea Schares is a nonbinary designer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed midwestern weirdo. They adamantly believe in curiosity and fun, and have never met an art form they didn’t want to try.

Bea has served as Chief Editor of Emily Cotton Cram’s The Vampire Librarian since its January 2022 launch on Webtoon CANVAS. They also recently edited Jessica Walsh’s queer supernatural mystery novel, Uncertain Aspects. They are currently editing J. Clarke’s The Arrangement.

Bea debuted as a print illustrator in 2012, on friend and longtime-collaborator A.R. Kahler’s Runebinder and Immortal Circus books. Their designs can also be found on Gary Arms’ Jack DeWitt novels and Katie Sinn’s Millennial Poetry: Classic Poems as Interpreted by a Millennial.

It was Bea’s distinct honor to be chosen to design costumes for the world premiere of Joe Klinebriel’s sabbatical project, PersonA: A Theatrical Journey of the Self, at Clarke University.

Between collaborations, Bea can be found displaying at art shows, drawing comics of their own, writing poetry, learning new crochet stitches, reading picture books to kids, and enjoying their garden with their spouse.