Editorial Assistant, HQ Fiction

Job description

Specialising in commercial fiction and innovative digital publishing, HQ publishes a wide range of fiction titles including contemporary fiction, historical, crime, thrillers and book club, alongside our bestselling non-fiction list, and thriving digital-first imprint. Combining rapid growth with commercial success, HQ has a stellar record in launching fiction debuts such as Ellie Keel’s The Four, Nadine Matheson’s The Jigsaw Man, Georgina Moore’s The Garnett Girls, and This Lovely City by Louise Hare, along with an array of outstanding Sunday Times bestsellers such as Adele Parks, Linwood Barclay, Sarah Morgan, Robert Thorogood and Erica James.

As Editorial Assistant, you will provide administrative and editorial support to the Publishing Director and Editorial Director, and the wider HQ Fiction team. This role is ideally suited to an organised and detail-focused candidate who has both initiative and energy and is looking for their first entry-level role in commercial fiction publishing. They will have a keen interest in all genres of commercial fiction, read widely, and be excited at the prospect of applying creative flair to the editorial process.

Key tasks and accountabilities:
- Maintaining the smooth running of the division alongside the other editorial assistants and assistant editors, managing the division’s roster of meetings and collating minutes as required
- Assisting with desk-editing
- Liaising with external freelancers on bookings and purchase orders
- Ensuring that books meet critical path in conjunction with the HQ production team
- Proofreading jacket copy, catalogue copy, AIs, and divisional documents as necessary
- Creating presentations as requested
- Writing copy as required, organising and creating back ads, as well as extra endmatter
- Reading and reporting on a range of fiction submissions
- Communicating with authors and agents on a regular basis
- Offering significant support to the Fiction editorial team as necessary

We’d love it if you had…

- Excellent command of the English language
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- An effective multi-tasker, with experience of coping in a pressurised environment
- Excellent attention to detail and organisational skills
- Voracious reader of commercial fiction
- Advanced MS Word and experience of working with Excel and Powerpoint
- Some experience working with Adobe is desirable
- Reliable, with the ability to use own initiative
- Flexible, proactive and a team player
- Digtally savvy