Ronald William "Josh" Kirby (27 November 1928 – 23 October 2001) was a British commercial artist. Over a career spanning 60 years, he was the artist for the covers of many science fiction books including Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Personal life He was born on 27 November 1928 at 58 Argo Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, UK. His parents were Charles William and Ellen (née Marsh) Kirby who ran a grocery shop together, although his father was also a ship owner's freight clerk. They named him Ronald William Kirby. Kirby dreamed of a career in art from a young age. When he was seven he made a trade sign that said "KIRBY – ARTIST". He was also attracted to science fiction and fantasy from images seen in films and magazines. At the beginning of the Second World War, his school was evacuated to Abercraf in South Wales. In 1943, he returned to Liverpool and attended the Junior then Senior Schools of the Liverpool City School of Art from the age of 14 until he was 20. He was trained in drawing, painting and lithography. While he was there, his Old Master-style portraits earned him the nickname "Josh" when colleagues likened his work to that of the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. The nickname stuck. He also met the model June Furlong in 1948 and they remained life-long friends. He moved to London in 1950. In 1965, he married Dianne Kingston and moved to The Old Rectory, Shelfanger, near Diss in Norfolk. They divorced in 1982. He died of natural causes in his sleep at home in Shelfanger at the age of 72 on 23 October 2001 and was survived by his partner Jackie Rigden. Career He worked as freelance all his career, having left his only employment after half a day. After leaving art school, Liverpool City Council commissioned him to paint the Lord Mayor, Alderman Joseph Jackson Cleary, in 1950. Kirby carried out the commission but decided against portraiture as a career and turned to illustration for film posters and books. In the early 1950s, Kirby illustrated film posters for studios in both London and Paris and continued to do some film posters until the '80s. In the '70s, he undertook film poster art for publicity agency feref. Working alongside designer Eddie Paul, Kirby depicted the characters for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; films The Beastmaster and Krull, among others. He