Editorial assistant to Publisher at Large

Salary: £25,500 per annum

Canongate Books is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers and we’re looking for an enthusiastic and hard-working editorial assistant to join the department. 

The role is full-time, reporting into our Publisher at Large, and is based in our Edinburgh office.

This role supports our Publisher at Large, as well as supporting the Editorial department as a whole. You do not need to have worked in publishing before, but a keen eye for detail and an excellent grasp of grammar are a must, along with exceptional organisational and IT skills. This is a busy role where the ability to juggling priorities and multiple deadlines is another essential skill. But above all, a love of reading is a non-negotiable!

Key duties will include:

• Assisting Publisher-at-Large with his day-to-day work: liaising with internal staff across departments as well as with external contacts such as authors and agents, foreign publishers; reporting into meetings; general admin inc diary management, processing expenses and invoices
• Adding titles, and keeping copy, reviews and metadata up to date on Biblio
• Booking travel and managing trip schedules for the Publisher at Large 
• Mail-outs
• Assisting with drafting copy, Heads of Terms, jacket briefs and acquisition forms
• Checking covers and corrections
• Assisting with collations and vertical handovers
• Permissions clearance for text and images as required including accurate record keeping
• Assisting with smooth running of editorial department, including providing cover for the other Editorial Assistants when needed
• Rotate minute-taking at meetings such as Editorial and Acquisitions

Knowledge, skills, experience

• Meticulous attention to detail 
• Exceptional organisational skills with the ability to juggle multiple deadlines and priorities
• Excellent English – good grammar, spelling and fluent command of the language
• Able to respond flexibly to a busy workload
• Passion for reading 
• IT skills such as a working knowledge of Office (especially Word, Outlook, Excel)

We offer a wide range of benefits which can be viewed here. 

To apply

Please send your CV and a covering letter to Jenny Fry, Publisher and Commercial Director, detailing why you feel you are suitable for this role, what your favourite Canongate book is and why. The deadline for applications is 28th November 2024.

Canongate is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment and its employment policies for recruitment are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. 

Due to the high volume of applications we receive we are unable to respond to everyone. If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of the closing date then unfortunately you have not been shortlisted for the position. We will keep your information securely until 1st January 2025. Unless you are the successful applicant, all of your information will be deleted from our systems at that point.

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