Assistant editor

Salary: £30,000 - £33,000 dependent on experience (+bonus +benefits)

Location: The role will be based at our London office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Develop editorial experience across literary fiction and non-fiction, supporting acquisitions, author relationships and the publication process.

Little, Brown is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 10 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Named Publisher of the Year in the 2026 British Book Awards, we're one of the most successful and dynamic publishers in the UK. Abacus, Virago and The Bridge Street Press are three of our prize-winning literary imprints, publishing the very best in literary fiction and non-fiction.

What you'll be doing

• Supporting the smooth running of the Abacus, Virago and The Bridge Street imprints
• Assisting the Abacus Publisher, Abacus/Virago Publishing Director and The Bridge Street Publisher
• Managing publication of books from receipt of manuscript to finished copies, including liaising with other internal departments as necessary
• Liaising with authors and maintaining a good relationship between each author and the business
• Managing legal reads and clearing permissions
• Checking proofs and ebook files; liaising with authors during proof stages and collating corrections; monitoring and championing accuracy and quality of all elements
• Creating, sending and tracking author and freelance contracts where appropriate
• Writing Title Information sheets and cover copy
• Proof-reading cover copy
• Reading submissions and contributing to Editorial Meetings and acquisition discussions
• Supporting acquisition process by preparing costings and looking up sales figures
• Maintaining correct information and metadata on Biblio
• Admin including expenses, meeting room bookings and diary management

Who we are looking for

We're looking for a candidate with proven experience as an Editorial Assistant. You will be:

• A passionate reader, with an interest in both literary fiction and non-fiction
• Proactive
• A problem solver, able to identify potential problems and propose solutions
• Meticulous, with excellent attention to detail
• Keen to learn
• Adaptable
• Commercially minded, with a good understanding of the book market

You will have excellent communication skills and organisational skills, and will be confident project-managing multiple publications. Knowledge of Biblio is desirable.

What we offer

Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:

• 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Generous pension schemes
• Rent deposit loans
• 2 community days per year
• Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
• Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Eye care vouchers
• Wide-ranging training library
• Development programmes (including mentoring)
• Up to 70% off book purchases
• A charity bookshelf
• An active range of staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing, Women in Techand religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

Our commitment

Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, you can let us know at the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application. We’ll make sure you’re supported throughout the process.

The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org

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.