Editorial assistants for the Illustrated Books team and the Fiction team

Closing date: 3rd May 2024

Starting salary: £27,000

This is a rare chance to work at the grassroots of children’s publishing, liaising closely with small, busy teams of editors in an exciting, creative environment. 

Nosy Crow is a multi-award winning, independent children’s publishing company with operations in both the UK and the USA. We make child-focused, parent-friendly children’s books for ages 0–12. 

We have two brilliant opportunities for highly organised and capable Editorial Assistants to support the Nosy Crow editorial teams on a full-time basis. One will be Editorial Assistant for the Illustrated books team, which includes Non-fiction, Preschool and Licensing. One will be Editorial Assistant for the Fiction team. 

The role of Editorial Assistant includes a range of administrative and editorial tasks to support and contribute to our dedicated and vibrant editorial departments, from inputting data and proofreading layouts, to helping authors, illustrators and agents both over email and when visiting our office, as well as liaising with other key areas of the business.

This is an entry-level role, with no previous publishing experience required, but a self-motivated individual with a can-do approach and demonstrable passion for children’s books is essential. 

Each role is a full-time position and is a hybrid role, working a minimum of three days per week in our office near to London Bridge. 

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

Illustrated Books team

The Illustrated Non-fiction, Preschool and Licensing teams work on a wide range of books for ages 0–12. This includes board books for babies and toddlers with novelty elements such as flaps and sliders, series of books that have been adapted for TV such as Pip and Posy and Unicorn Academy, and non-fiction and activity books across our National Trust, British Museum and University of Cambridge partnerships.

The Editorial Assistant for Illustrated Books reports jointly to the Publishing Director for Non-Fiction and the Editorial Director for Preschool, while working closely with the Head of Brands and Licensing. 

Fiction team

The Fiction team work on a variety of books for readers ages 5-12, working closely with multi-award-winning and bestselling authors and illustrators, as well as creating story concepts in-house. Our focus is on creating and sustaining confident readers from the moment children can independently read for themselves and nurturing a love of stories.

The Editorial Assistant for Fiction reports to the Publishing Director of Fiction, while working closely with the Senior Editor and Editorial Director. 

Key responsibilities

• Providing general administrative support to each editorial team, including scheduling and Biblio upkeep, managing reprints and special sales, preparing team presentations, processing invoices and proof/advance mailing
• Providing editorial support across each list on a wide range of editorial tasks, including reading submissions, proofreading and copy writing 
• Liaising with other departments in Nosy Crow, working especially closely with Design, Production and Audio 
• Liaising with our American partners and our authors to produce Americanised editions of our titles
• Overseeing the reprints process for all titles
• Working on catalogues and writing copy for Advance Information sheets
• Acting as a key point of contact for authors and illustrators, and providing them with excellent care
• Assisting in the smooth running of the office

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to multi-task, take initiative and prioritise your own workload in a busy and sometimes high-pressure environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a meticulous eye for detail and creative flair
• To be a strong team player with the ability to liaise and work closely with others
• A demonstrable passion for children’s books
• A good working knowledge of Office 365 including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Benefits

• Pension scheme
• Hybrid working
• 25 days paid holiday, plus bank holidays
• Christmas closure
• Summer hours
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Income Protection
• Critical Illness cover
• Group Life Assurance
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/partner/adoption leave
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Season ticket loans
• Eye care vouchers
• Up to 80% off RRP for Nosy Crow book purchases
• Emergency loans

Candidates can apply for both or either role, but need to supply individual cover letters and clearly specify which role they are applying for in the subject line.

If this sounds like you, please email your CV, accompanied by a cover letter of no more than 500 words, specifying which role you are applying for and outlining why you think you would be the perfect candidate for these exciting new opportunities to Rhianna Sandford via clicking the 'Apply' button. We really look forward to reading your application.

The closing date for applications is midnight (UK time) on Friday 3rd May 2024.

Applications are treated with due confidentiality.

Nosy Crow is a member of the Living Wage foundation.

Nosy Crow is a Disability Confident, committed equal opportunities employer. We believe that employing a diverse workforce is an important factor in success and make recruiting decisions based on applicants’ experience and skills.  We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage or civil partnership. 

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