Yselle van der Maas (she/her) Commissioning Editor De Fontein (VBK)

Yselle van der Maas started working in publishing in 2020 after her MA in English comparative literature. She started at the literary agency Sebes & Bisseling, moved to BBNC Publishers, and is a commissioning editor for the children’s books department of De Fontein since 2023.

Yselle looks for children’s books for all ages (picture books, middle-grade, YA) both fiction and non-fiction, but mainly focuses on fiction for ages 7-12. She loves stories full of adventure and humour that make reading fun and accesible. For middle-grade fiction she would love to find more fast paced mysteries/adventures, close to home stories maybe featuring some magic and humorous graphic novels. For YA fiction she is always looking for short, commercial thrillers and has a soft spot for contemporary romances (especially featuring LGBTQAI+/marginalised characters). She very selectively looks at picture books and highly illustrated non-fiction and has recently started acquiring manga-titles for the ages 7-13 and is always looking for more in that genre.