Pitch Writing for Non-fiction Picturebooks

Meet award-winning science writer and children's book author Isabel Thomas as she goes through her career journey and discusses the authors and books that have inspired her.

Begin by getting to know the world of children’s non-fiction and Isabel’s three key ingredients for making a stand-out, original non-fiction picturebook. See her methods for generating ideas and important questions to ask yourself in deciding which idea to develop. Then, turn your idea into a fully-fledged concept with her guidance.

Discover Isabel’s tried-and-tested approach to pitching and put together the essential elements of a pitch document. Then explore the physical features of a picturebook, observing certain rules and terminology. Isabel shows you strategies for researching your idea and how to use storyboarding to plan each page. Condense your planning into a short proposal before creating a title and writing the all-important overview.

Next, develop your own voice to effectively communicate with your reader. Use this as you craft a text sample to accompany your pitch and hear Isabel’s advice on how best to showcase your story and your writing. End the course with tips on the process of sharing your pitch.