Isobel Boston
David Higham Associates
My Manuscript Wish List®
I joined David Higham in 2025 after ten years working in illustrated children’s publishing. I began my career at Templar Publishing and Big Picture Press, where I worked across their boutique list of illustrated books – commissioning everything from non-fiction and high-end activity to comics, gift and picture books. As Commissioning Editor at Walker Books, I worked across a trusted and much-loved list, building on its heritage while also helping to shape its future publishing programme.
I love seeking out talent in unexpected places – I’ve scouted illustrators on Instagram, commissioned picture-book creators from graduate shows, trawled through Kickstarter campaigns and found inspiration from podcasts and TED talks. For me, the most exciting moment is when an original voice or a single image captures your imagination – and then comes the delicate craft of shaping that idea into a book and positioning it perfectly in the market.
At David Higham I am building a list of exceptional children’s book creators. I am on the lookout for exciting new talent and market-leading concepts that reflect the qualities I value most: innovation, longevity and – above all else – truly original publishing. My taste is eclectic – I am just as excited by a perfectly pitched picture book as I am by visually extraordinary non-fiction – and I enjoy working across all formats.
Children’s books are a kind of magic. I’m sure many of us remember the first book that sparked our imagination – for me, it was the mischief of Max and his monsters in Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I believe every child deserves that moment, and those of us who work in children’s publishing have a responsibility to help tackle the reading crisis – and to share the joy and transformative power of books.
I represent award-winning authors and illustrators working across pre-school, novelty, picture books, narrative non-fiction, general non-fiction, gift, comics/graphic novels, high-end activity and middle grade.
I am particularly interested in:
– Inventive approaches to familiar themes and evergreen subjects
– Passion projects from diverse and exceptional new talents
– Innovative new formats that push the boundaries of children’s publishing
– Books that spark curiosity and wonder – visually extraordinary objects that can be returned to again and again
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to isobelsubmissions@davidhigham.co.uk
If you’d like to submit your work to me, please first review our submission guidelines, then email me at is***************@************co.uk. I’m grateful to every writer who shares their work with me, but the volume of submissions I receive makes it impossible for me to respond to all of them. If you don’t receive a response from me within twelve weeks, then I won’t be pursuing your work. Thank you.
Vital Info
Favorite sub-genres:
#ownvoices, Action-Adventure, Author-Illustrator, Author-Illustrators, Children's, Children's Nonfiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction, Clever picture book, Commercial MG, Commercial YA, Contemporary YA, Cozy Mystery, Cozy mysteries, Fairytale Retellings, Fantasy, Fantasy YA, Folklore, Funny MG, Gaming, Gothic, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels (for all ages), High Concept, High-concept YA/MG, Historical Fiction YA, Humor, Humor YA, Illustrated, Illustrated/Gift, Illustration (for all ages), Illustrator, Illustrators, Illustrators and Author/Illustrators, Immigrant Experiences, Inspirational/Gift, LGBT YA, LGBTQ Contemporary, Literary MG, Literary Middle Grade, Lyrical picture book, MG, MG Action Adventure, MG Fantasy, MG Horror, MG Nonfiction, MG Sci-Fi, MG adventure, MG contemporary, MG mystery, MG/YA, Magic, Magic Realism, Magical Realism, Magical Realism YA, Marginalized Voices, Mental Health, Middle Grade, Middle Grade Adventure, Middle Grade Contemporary, Middle Grade Fantasy, Middle Grade Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Horror, Middle Grade Humor, Middle Grade Mystery, Middle grade magical realism, Narrative, Narrative Nonfiction, Nature, Nature Writing, Romantic Comedy, Speculative Middle Grade, YA, YA Contemporary, YA Contemporary Romance, YA Contemporary Romance with layers, YA Crossover, YA Fantasy, YA Mystery, YA Nonfiction, YA Rom-Coms, YA RomCom, YA Romance, YA Romantasy, YA SF/F, YA Sci-fi, YA Science Fiction, YA horror, YA rom com, YA/MG graphic novel, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction (Historical Fiction only), Young Adult Narrative Non-Fiction (Both Contemporary and Historical Narrative Non-Fiction), Young Adult Non-Fiction, action-packed graphic novels, activity books, chapter books, children's diversity, children's graphic novels, comedy, comics, coming of age, commercial, commercial middle grade, contemporary MG, contemporary middle grade, crossover, diverse and own voices, fairy tales, folklore history, friendship, friendship stories, fun SF/F, ghost story, historical, interactive, international, mental illness, middle grade non-fiction, narrative non-fiction, narrative non-fiction YA/MG, speculative slice of life, stories that don't fit neatly into a genre
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