Editorial assistant, Non-Fiction

Closing date for applications: 3 July 2025

Salary: £24,840 (+bonus +benefits)

Kickstart your publishing journey and join Quercus as an editorial assistant.

Quercus is a dynamic, award-winning publisher. Known as a hit-maker that regularly finds books that surprise and delight readers, we are international in our outlook and publish an exciting and diverse range of authors. From established bestsellers to new voices, what draws our publishing together is the magic ‘quirk' in Quercus: independence, flair, warmth and creativity.

Quercus is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 11 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

What you'll be doing

The role will involve a combination of:

• Proof reading, checking permissions
• Researching and helping to make plate sections
• Working on advance sales materials, creating keywords, writing copy, writing metadata
• Taking minutes at meetings, including editorial meetings
• Writing cover briefs and completing TIs (under supervision)
• Collating proofs, checking copy-edits
• Organising meetings and travel where needed
• Liaising with internal/external contacts to ensure adherence to critical path
• Managing purchase orders and payments
• Writing copy, checking proofs, checking ebooks
• Maintaining submissions log
• Liaising with authors and agents, with guidance
• Processing expenses as required
• Managing purchase orders and payments and delivery advances

Who we are looking for

We are looking for someone with:

• A meticulous eye for detail
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team
• A pro-active, problem-solving attitude
• Coolness under pressure
• An interest in commercial non-fiction
• Knowledge of, or aptitude for, relevant applications/systems
• Personal organization
• Excellent standard of written and spoken English
• Ability to communicate and build positive working relationship with contacts at all levels
• An opinion on what makes a great book
• Adaptability

Experience:

• Work or other experience demonstrating reliability and adaptability, not necessarily in publishing

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
• 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!

The role will be based at our Manchester or Sheffield 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.