Agent's assistant, books and speaking department

Closing date for applications: The closing date is the 21st September 2026 at 9am. We reserve the right to close the process early if we find the right candidate.

Hours: Monday-Friday 9.30am-6pm – office based in Central London

Salary: £29k+ per annum commensurate with experience. Permanent contract, full-time

Start date: ASAP

Get behind the scenes of a busy literary and talent agency, supporting agents, authors, speakers and corporate clients.

The Soho Agency is a leading literary, theatrical and talent agency based in Central London. We represent clients across a range of areas including internationally best-selling authors and illustrators, leading writers, high-profile speaker, directors and creatives for theatre, film and TV, award-winning on-screen and digital talent, and major brands. We are a boutique agency (with 22 employees) with a rich history and a high-profile client list. See our website at www.thesohoagency.co.uk

The Soho Agency is recruiting an Agent's Assistant to join our books & speaking department.

Duties and responsibilities

This is an office-based role supporting Managing Director and literary agent Rowan Lawton and Head of Books and Speaking departments Alice Saunders, whose respective client lists include Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling authors and speakers including Cecelia Ahern, Lindsey Kelk, Frank Gardner and Tim Peake. On Rowan’s client list you will also work closely with associate literary agent, Eleanor Lawlor.

As a key member of the agency, you will provide high-level administrative and organisational support across a varied and fast-moving range of responsibilities. The role will focus in-part on the agency’s thriving corporate speaking business, supporting opportunities from initial enquiry through to confirmed booking and event completion. You will also provide day-to-day support to the Managing Director, alongside managing the administrative requirements of book clients across both agents’ lists and assisting with wider agency and office operations.

This is a varied and highly trusted role, offering the opportunity to work closely with senior agents and company directors, leading authors and speakers, corporate clients and a wide range of industry contacts. It will suit someone who enjoys working behind the scenes to keep things moving, is comfortable switching between different types of work and takes great satisfaction in getting every detail right.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Providing day-to-day administrative and logistical support, including diary and inbox management, meeting coordination, expenses, invoicing, client and industry correspondence and ad hoc research and projects.
• Supporting the corporate speaking business, including liaising with clients and organisers, coordinating travel and accommodation, preparing itineraries and briefing calls, and managing contracts, invoicing and payments.
• Managing the administrative requirements of the MD, clients, including contracts, royalties, tracking key dates, sales reporting and updating client records.
• Supporting book-related activity including organising bookfairs, scheduling meetings, preparing industry pitch materials and liaising with publishers on assets and updates.
• Supporting client communications and administration, including translation and international deal administration, maintaining client and agency information and reading submissions.
• Coordinating internal and external meetings, events and travel, and providing general office and agency support as part of the wider assistant team.
• Maintaining company systems, supplier accounts and administrative processes, and assisting with wider agency projects and requirements as needed.
• Updating the agency website, rights guides and contributing to the agency’s social media.
• Attending industry events and book launches.

Skills and experience

This role will suit someone who has experience working in a literary and/or talent agency, speakers bureau, scouting agency, publishing house or equivalent office environment. You will be a proactive and practical team player, comfortable managing a varied workload, multi-tasking and communicating with a range of internal and external contacts. An interest in the business of corporate speaking, events and talent, in additional to publishing, would be valuable.

While there is a creative and client-facing thread to the role, administration underpins everything we do. Strong organisational skills, excellent attention to detail and a willingness to take ownership of the practical and procedural aspects of the agents’ work are therefore essential.

We are looking for someone with strong literacy and numeracy skills, and a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office programs (including Outlook, OneNote, Word, Excel & PowerPoint) and Canva. Bradbury Philips experience would be a bonus.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply please send a cover letter (including your notice period, if relevant) and a CV. Please mark applications for the attention of Alice Saunders. Please do not use AI tools to prepare your application. We will not accept such applications.

The Soho Agency employs people on the basis of their abilities. We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

The successful candidate will have the right to live and work in the UK.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.