David Higham Associates was established in 1935 and represents novelists, historians, biographers, screenwriters, playwrights, and children's writers and illustrators. The agency handles all rights in a client's work, including film and television, and is represented in all foreign markets.

Among the more recent UEA alumni to be represented by the agency are:

  • Naomi Alderman
  • Julia Bell
  • Sarah Ridgard
  • Clare George
  • Edward Hogan
  • Jennifer Tuckett
    • Tiffany Murray.

Naomi Alderman was the first recipient of the David Higham Award in 2002 and has been succeeded by:

  • Edward Hogan
  • Lauren Frankel
  • Alex Sheal
  • Katy Darby
  • Martha Schabas
  • Gabrielle Barnes
  • Philip Langeskov
  • Rob Magnusson Smith
  • Sarah Lewis-Hammond
  • Sara Sha'ath
  • Kiare Ladner.

The bursary is worth £5,000 and is awarded annually at the start of the MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) to a student chosen by a panel of David Higham agents. All students accepted for a place on the course are automatically eligible for consideration, and the agents' decision is based on the material originally submitted by students in their application portfolio.