Commissioning editor

Closing date for applications: 21st March 2025

Salary: £32,000-£38,000 dependent on experience and location (+bonus +benefits)

Contract: Permanent


Shape the next generation of thriller or crime fiction. Sphere Fiction, a Publisher of the Year, is looking for an Editor to join their team

Sphere is the commercial hub of Little, Brown, a major trade division within Hachette and four-time winner of the Publisher of the Year Award.

Sphere Fiction is one of the most innovative and successful commercial imprints in the UK and the proud home of globally bestselling brands Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Patricia Cornwell, Nicholas Sparks and more, as well as some of the biggest recent bestsellers and brands of the future, including Ali Hazelwood and Colleen Hoover. Our ethos is to publish something for everyone; we put what readers want front and centre and aim to reach mass audiences who might be traditional book-buyers as well as those who might instead be entertainment consumers first and foremost.

What you'll be doing

You’ll be working closely on the Fiction Publisher’s titles, an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in everything from brand publishing to debut launches. The majority of this list consists of crime and thriller fiction, with the occasional general fiction or historical project.

Reporting to the Sphere Fiction Publishing Director, you will inherit a small number of authors for your own list, and this role also has scope to commission new titles for Sphere, working in close conjunction with the senior publishing team.

Responsibilities also include, but aren’t limited to:

• Proactively supporting on the Publisher’s titles throughout the publication process, including managing the critical path, attending campaign meetings and contributing to edits
• Championing a select list of your own titles
• Working effectively with marketing, sales, publicity, production, design and rights teams
• Establishing strong relationships with authors
• Maintaining good relationships with literary agents and scouts
• Finding and acquiring new talent for the Sphere fiction list

Who we are looking for

We are looking for a proactive, highly organised candidate who loves commercial fiction – especially crime fiction – and has demonstrable experience contributing to publication plans through their own publishing or through supporting senior colleagues. This is an opportunity for an editor looking to gain experience across a wide variety of publications with the added opportunity to acquire and publish their own list.

We are also looking for:

• Strong awareness of the crime fiction market and trends
• Experience communicating with and editing authors
• Experience briefing jackets, writing cover copy and metadata
• Attention to detail and ability to hit deadlines
• Some commissioning and/or IP development experience is advantageous but not essential

Alongside how your experiences fit the role, in your covering letter we would also love to hear about the commercial crime fiction publication (from any publisher) that has most impressed you in the past twelve months, and why.

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
• 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
• 12 Staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing and religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

This role can be based at our London, Sheffield, or Edinburgh office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

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.

If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.

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

Please include in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.