A former Walker Books and Templar/Big Picture Press commissioning editor, Isobel Boston joined David Higham Associates in 2025 and is actively building a children's illustrated list that prizes originality, format innovation, and books with lasting shelf life across picture books, non-fiction, comics, and middle grade.
In brief
Isobel Boston is a children's books specialist with deep editorial roots — over nine years commissioning illustrated titles at Templar, Big Picture Press, and Walker Books before moving to agenting. This is a genuinely editorial agent who thinks in terms of positioning and market fit, not just story.
Their client roster at David Higham is largely inherited from the agency's existing children's list (names like Emma Chichester Clark, Catherine Rayner, and Martin Waddell are long-established DHA clients), so the list as published reflects the agency's history more than Boston's own signings to date. Writers querying now are likely to be among Boston's earliest new signings — both an opportunity and a consideration.
Boston's editorial background skews strongly illustrated: picture books, novelty, gift, activity, and non-fiction dominate their experience. Middle grade appears on the wishlist but is the least-evidenced category given the career history — writers with heavily text-led MG may find less traction than those with a strong visual hook or author-illustrator profile.
They actively scout in non-traditional spaces — graduate shows, crowdfunding platforms, social media — which signals genuine openness to debut and unconventional creators, not just polished, agency-ready submissions.
Their touchstone book is Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are: a picture book that is simultaneously mischievous, emotionally resonant, and timeless. That framing tells you a lot — Boston is drawn to work that carries both immediacy and longevity.
Lately
Boston joined David Higham Associates in 2025 following more than nine years on the editorial side of children's illustrated publishing, most recently as a commissioning editor at a major children's publisher. Their agency profile describes actively building a new list and seeking exciting new talent — signalling genuine openness to debut creators.
What Isobel is looking for
This is Boston's home territory — the format they have spent a decade commissioning and shaping. They want picture books that feel both perfectly pitched and genuinely original: a fresh angle on an evergreen subject, a distinctive voice, or an image that stops you cold. Author-illustrators are especially welcome, given Boston's background scouting visual talent at graduate shows and on social media. The Sendak touchstone signals a taste for books with emotional wildness contained within elegant form.
Narrative and general non-fiction for children is explicitly named and matches Boston's commissioning history at Templar and Big Picture Press, where high-end illustrated non-fiction was a core output. They want visually extraordinary objects — books you return to again and again — that spark genuine curiosity. Concept-led, design-forward, or activity-integrated non-fiction all fit the brief. Think books that sit at the intersection of information and wonder.
Boston explicitly lists pre-school, novelty, and gift formats and has direct editorial experience commissioning them. High-end activity and gift books are part of the brief — this is a format area where many agents have little background, but Boston does. Innovative physical formats that push what a children's book can be are particularly sought.
Comics and graphic novels for young readers sit within Boston's stated remit, consistent with their illustrated-publishing background. The heat here is medium — it's welcomed but not foregrounded as a top priority in the way picture books and non-fiction are.
Middle grade appears on the wishlist, but it is the least-evidenced category relative to Boston's editorial history, which skews illustrated and younger. Writers querying with MG should consider whether their project has a strong visual dimension, a high-concept hook, or some quality that connects to Boston's broader interest in innovation and longevity. Purely text-led, conventional MG is likely a harder sell than MG with illustrated elements or an unusually fresh format approach.
Not the right fit
On Isobel's list
Taste fingerprint
How to query Isobel
Email submissions go to a dedicated address (isobelsubmissions@davidhigham.co.uk) — not the general contact address. Using the wrong address is an easy, avoidable mistake.
Review David Higham Associates' submission guidelines on their website before writing a word of your query — Boston explicitly asks for this and will notice if you haven't.
The 12-week no-response rule is firm: if you haven't heard back within three months, consider it a pass. Do not follow up before then.
Boston's entire career has been about finding the right book for the right market. Frame your submission around why your book is original AND why it has longevity — not just what it's about. These are the two values they name most consistently.
If you are an author-illustrator, lead with that. Boston has spent a career scouting visual talent and will respond strongly to a distinctive illustration style paired with a strong concept — include sample art or a portfolio link.
If you are a writer without illustration, be explicit about the visual world of your book and, if relevant, whether you have an illustrator in mind or are open to being paired. Boston thinks in visual terms.
Avoid generic 'comps by committee' — Boston's editorial sensibility values genuine originality. If your pitch sounds like a mashup of existing titles, rethink the framing. Lead with what is genuinely new.
Middle grade writers should consider whether their project has a format or visual hook that connects to Boston's illustrated-publishing background — purely text-led MG with no visual dimension is a harder case to make to this particular agent.
Boston is building a list from scratch as a new agent, which means there is real room for new clients — but also that you may be querying someone still establishing their agenting workflow. Patience and professionalism are especially important.