Editorial Assistant (Headline)

Job description

Reporting to the Editorial Director, you’ll be assisting a small number of editors in the Fiction team on their publishing, seeing books through from acquisition to publication. This will predominantly consist of working on books in the crime and thriller genre, but could involve working on books across the commercial fiction spectrum. You will get involved with all aspects of the publication process, from managing the copyediting and proofreading of manuscripts to liaising with authors and agents, reading and reporting on submissions, taking minutes and maintaining schedules.

Meanwhile, you’ll be developing your commercial and creative skills through writing copy and honing metadata – and learning what it takes to acquire new fiction and how we build our publishing strategies and campaigns.

This is a busy, collaborative, varied, but above all really rewarding entry role in publishing. This role can be based at our Sheffield or London office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

We’d love it if you had…

First and foremost, we’re looking for someone who really loves books – especially crime and thriller fiction – and wants to throw themselves into learning how the editorial side of publishing works. You’ll be as full of creative energy as you are detail-orientated, thriving on working with brilliant authors and ideas as part of a dynamic editorial team.

There are a few other things that will also be really important:
• You’ll be passionate about different ways of telling stories and interested in the publishing and media landscape, as well as the wider world around you
• Your attention to detail will be meticulous
• You’ll be calm and organised, and confident juggling lots of things at once
• You’ll know your way around Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams etc.
• You will enjoy bringing your own ideas to work and working closely and collaboratively as part of a team – and with colleagues across all other departments in the division

Employer details

Headline Fiction is the core fiction team within Headline Publishing Group which was founded in 1986 with a single promise at its heart – to publish the books people want to read. We remain faithful to that vision nearly four decades later.

From chart toppers to award-winners, conversation starters to page-turners, our list offers brilliant books for every type of reader. We’re proud to be the home of some of the biggest, bestselling and most celebrated authors in fiction, including Martina Cole, Maggie O’Farrell, Steve Cavanagh, Jill Mansell, Victoria Hislop, Simon Scarrow, Dorothy Koomson and Deborah Harkness. And we continue to invest in new talent, launching an array of exciting new voices in recent years including Bolu Babalola, Alex Hay and Bobby Palmer.