Maker of curious books for curious minds

David Salariya has a flair for bookmaking and an eye for detail. He has spent a lifetime conjuring up worlds for children - dinosaurs that dance and gladiators who squirm. With a forensic eye and a flair for the blackly comic, he has smuggled gore, panic, and astonishing facts into classrooms for decades. Children approve, parents are and teachers are traumatised.

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A recognised concept creator, designer, writer, and publisher of children’s books, David is driven by a passion for lifelong literacy, inclusion, and creative storytelling. Known for blending factual content with brilliant  illustrations, innovative design, and humour, he has made complex topics engaging and accessible for young readers across the globe.

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As the founder of The Salariya Book Company in 1989, David established the imprints Book House, Scribblers, and Scribo, producing award-winning titles across picture books, non-fiction, and young adult fiction. His backlist includes over 1,100 titles, translated into numerous languages, and honoured with:

• IPG Children’s Publisher of the Year

• Three Times Educational Supplement Awards

• British Book Design and Production Awards

He has also written under the noms de plume David Stewart and Max Marlborough.

A Book is a Team Effort

“Books are made by teams of minds and hands. I've had the joy of working with remarkable artists, writers, and editors over the past four decades.”

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• Artists: David Antram, Mark Bergin, John James, Carolyn Scrace, Giovanni Caselli, Shirley Salariya, Penko Gelev

• Writers: Jacqueline Morley, Fiona Macdonald, John Townsend, Kathryn Senior, Penny Clarke, Scott Steedman, Alex Woolf

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A Few Favourites:

• The X-Ray Picture Book Series: Layered, cutaway illustrations revealing the mysteries of subjects like the human body, animals, and technology.

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• You Wouldn’t Want To Be... A humorous, gruesome, award-winning history series putting readers in history’s worst shoes translated into 35 languages and sold in 16 million copies and counting.

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• A Very Peculiar History: Pocket-sized guides packed with quirky facts, aimed at readers aged 8 to 80.

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• Timelines: Chronological explorations of historical themes, stretching across time and into the future.

Past, Present... Future

David’s creative DNA is woven into every book he has worked on, from concept to design. When David sold The Salariya Book Company to Bonnier UK in 2022, his concept-driven books continued to be published under the Hatch imprint.​

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As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and founder of the Salariya Stratford Picture Book Prize,

David continues the work he began more than four decades ago - supporting literacy, visual thinking, and the belief that beautifully made books can change the way children see the world. His creative process remains as dynamic as ever: titles change, ideas evolve, and new stories emerge- because, for David, the act of making books is never static.

The titles may change mid-flight (sometimes more than once), but that’s all part of the process. Creativity, after all, is rarely neat and never predictable.

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Explore the curiosities, the workings and thought process behind the books.

​Non-Fiction Series​​​

• Adventures in the Real World (4 titles)

• A Very Peculiar History (60 titles(

• Amaze (6 titles)

• Battlezones (4 titles)

• Big Ideas (2 titles)

• Books with X-Ray Vision (4 titles)

• Boredom Busters (8 titles)

• Brain Power (4 titles)

• Checkers (6 titles)

• Chronicles (4 titles)

• Drawing (4 titles)

• Draw 1001 (2 titles)

• First Facts (6 titles)

• Graffex (24 titles)

• Gods and Goddesses (4 titles)

• Hand-Drawn Lettering

• Heroes, Gods & Monsters (2 titles)

• How to Draw (50 titles)

• Inside Story (18 titles)

• Kids in History (4 titles)

• Learning to Draw and Drawing to Learn (4 titles)

• Life-Sized (4 titles)

• Little Learners

• Live from the Crypt (8 titles)

• Look & Learn (4 titles)

• Look & Wonder (4 titles)

• Magnifications (6 titles; became Spectacular Visual Guides)

• Metropolis (8 titles)

• Pinpoints (6 titles)

• Prof. Zacharias Zog's Splat-A-Fact (6 titles)

• Quick Draw (2 titles)

• Science

• Scary Creatures (18 titles)

• Scribble Monsters Guide to Modern Manners (8 titles)

• Scribblers Board Books

• Spectacular Visual Guides

• Starters

• The Animal: How Would You Survive series(4 titles)

• The Art of Drawing Manga (4 titles)

• The Danger Zone (63 titles)

• The Eureka Moment (8 titles)

• The Explosion Zone

• The Long-Lost Secret Diary... (10 titles)

• The Secret Diary of Victor Frankenstein on the Workings of the Human Body

• Top Ten Worst (10 titles)

• Truly Foul & Cheesy (22 titles)

• You Wouldn’t Want To Be... / You Wouldn't Want To Live Without (72 titles)

• Your Guide to a New Life (2 titles)Myths & Fiction Series 

• Animal Stories (2 titles)

• Ballet School (6 titles)

• Bible Stories (2 titles)

• Egyptian Myths (2 titles)

• Gladiator School (6 titles)

• Graffex Series (24 Titles)

• Greek Myths (2 titles)

• Hans Christian Andersen (2 titles)

• Iron Sky

• The Christmas Chronicles (2 titles)

• The Shakespeare Plot

• Timeslip (4 titles)

• Viking Myths (2 titles)

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Scribblers Imprint 

• All About Me 

• Brighter Baby

• Chunkie Hunkies

• Dressing Dolls

• EyeBaby

• First... (Introductory books on basic concepts)

• Hunkie Chunkies

• Ring for Rescue

• Spot and Match

• Teddy Time

• Tiara Sticker Books

• Touch Feel Flip Flap

Picture Books

• Tyrone The Clean-O-Saurus  Augmented Reality

• Lola & Monty Augmented Reality

• Gladys the Cow - Rosie Glow Farm, Book & App

• Hector the Sheep - Rosie Glow Farm, Book & App 

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