Are you passionate about literary fiction? This is a rare opportunity for a highly organised and proactive Editorial Assistant to help shape a new generation of books at Penguin General.
Viking, an imprint of Penguin General, is home to one of the most prestigious literary lists in the industry. We publish a wide range of prize-winning, bestselling novelists and pride ourselves on our ability to launch brilliant new literary careers and take established authors to new heights, combining critical success with commercial ambition. Our authors include: Elif Shafak, Jonathan Coe, Elizabeth Strout, Hisham Matar, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Miranda Cowley Heller, Alice Winn, Nadifa Mohamed, Nina Stibbe, Frances Cha, Cressida Connolly, Benjamin Wood, William Boyd and Yaa Gyasi.
We are also home to some of the greatest writers of the past century and never stop championing the timeless classics on our backlist, from John Steinbeck to Gabriel García Márquez.
The opportunity
In this role, you will work as part of a collaborative and supportive team, curious and open to new and innovative ideas. We work hard to nurture individual talent as part of our collective success. At Penguin General, we strive for working life to be progressive, energising, motivating, and rewarding for all our colleagues at every level.
Reporting into the Editorial Director, the Editorial Assistant will be responsible for a wide range of editorial and administrative tasks which include:
Managing the internal book process under supervision, from acquisition to publication, to ensure that deadlines are met-
Diary management: organising meetings, taking minutes, and organising schedules for book fairs and overseas trips
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Populating computer systems, including processing invoices and expenses
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Organising mailings for bound proofs, sending out contractual author copies, submitting books for prizes
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Reading submissions and sharing verbal and written feedback
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Writing persuasive cover copy and keeping all title data up-to-date
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Acting as a point of contact for authors and agents
What you’ll bring
This is an entry level position and no prior experience in publishing is required but we are looking for someone who is inquisitive and an avid reader of literary fiction.
You will be proactive, highly organised and efficient, have a fantastic eye for detail and be reliable and calm under pressure. The role of an Editorial Assistant is varied and fast-paced, so you’ll need exceptional and time management skills to juggle many priorities and projects at once. You’ll also be working closely and collaboratively with colleagues across the business as well as authors and agents, so you’ll need to have the ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of people. And, of course, you will have a genuine passion for books, ideas and stories.
How to apply
Please apply with your CV and covering letter, addressed to Isabel Wall, by 23:59 on Thursday 16th March. As part of your covering letter, please make reference to recent literary fiction titles you have read and enjoyed.
What you can expect from us:
Salary: You‘ll start on £26,500. Expect a £1,000 increase on your first anniversary in this role to reflect your growing contribution.
PRH is currently experimenting with hybrid working and involving colleagues across the business to shape our future ways of working. The needs of our teams and individuals are different, so we’re not taking a one-size-fits-all approach. For this role, we’ll expect you to work 3 days a week from our Pimlico office in London. The exact balance of office to remote working will depend on the nature of your role and team needs, and we are open to discussing this through the recruitment process.
Our employees are the heart of our business. We have a range of benefits to reflect our commitment to our employees, some of which are:
- 27 days paid holiday entitlement in year one (plus bank holidays), increasing a day each year up to 30 days
- Medical cover
- Life assurance
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Discounted gym membership
- Generous pension scheme
- Summer working hours (role dependent)
- Volunteering policy and charity matching
- Employee Assistance programme
- Mentoring programme
- Extended gender neutral parental leave
- Access to books and eBooks across Penguin Random House UK
- Each site has trained mental health first aiders
- We plant a tree for every new employee to our business
Our creativity is inspired by different perspectives, so we want our culture to be one of belonging, where everyone feels welcome and where differences are celebrated.
As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we're part of the offer an interview scheme. This is where disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role can opt in to get to the next recruitment stage. There may be some situations where volume of applicants means we can't take all eligible candidates to interview.
We want to make sure disabled applicants can be their best at each step of the recruitment journey. If you need adjustments during the application process, we encourage you to get in touch with us at http://PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your adjustment request. Find out more about our approach here: http://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/applying-for-roles-with-a-disability
We partner with The Book Trade Charity, who provide financial assistance for people looking to get into the publishing industry; you can find more information and talk directly here: https://btbs.org/grants
Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.
Company: Penguin Books Limited
Country: United Kingdom
State/Region: London
City: London
Postal Code: SW11
Job ID: 258152