Editorial assistants x2, HarperFiction

Closing date for applications: Monday 9th March 2026 11:55pm

Salary: £29,000 - £30,000

Location: London

Want to work with some of the biggest names in commercial fiction? Join the HarperFiction team at HarperCollins as an Editorial Assistant, supporting the journey from manuscript to publication.

With a history stretching back over 200 years, HarperCollins is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world. Here at HarperCollins UK, we publish around 1,500 books a year for readers of all ages and interests. Our bestsellers include Bernard Cornwell, Adele Parks, Jonathan Franzen, David Walliams, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Memoirs of British prime ministers. Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. And legendary titles by legacy authors J.R.R. Tolkien, Agatha Christie and C.S. Lewis.

We are recruiting for two Editorial Assistant's to join our commercial fiction team at HarperFiction. In this role you will facilitate the smooth running of an editorial team, providing administrative and editorial support across a range of authors. This is a terrific opportunity for candidates with excellent administrative skills to broaden their editorial experience and develop their publishing skillset. If you’re looking for an exciting first step into the publishing industry, enjoy working on your own initiative, are passionate about popular fiction, and like the prospect of working in a fast-paced environment and keeping up to date with market trends, we want to hear from you.

HarperFiction is one of the biggest divisions within HarperCollins. From bestselling names such as Cecelia Ahern and Philippa Gregory on the General Fiction list, to international brands such as Karin Slaughter and Jeffrey Archer on the Crime and Thriller list, as well as a vast array of trailblazing debuts, the division publishes some of the best storytellers around.

Key responsibilities

Editorial

• Creating/managing Advanced Information Sheets and updating them through a book’s life
• Monitoring and amending metadata for a range of titles
• Monitoring Amazon to ensure copy and jackets are up to date
• Proofreading copy for covers, catalogues, pitches and AIS
• Managing titles from first manuscript through to publication: Reviewing copy-edits and proofreads from freelancers, preparing prelims and putting books through the production process, checking and collating page proofs, revising, and preparing files for print and E-book editorial checks.
• Working closely with sales, marketing, production and design to ensure all material is available on critical path
• Raising new contracts, managing new contracts through the system
• Collating weekly sales data for sharing with authors and agents
• Arranging author and agent presentations and meetings, and preparing presentation documents
• Writing rejection letters and dealing with general enquiries
• Logging and monitoring submissions

Administration

• Diary management for senior heads
• Organising and managing meetings with internal/external stakeholders
• Agenda-building and minute-taking for team and divisional meetings
• Liaising with freelancers to book copyedits/proofreads, raising purchase orders and processing invoices
• Onboarding new editorial suppliers/freelancers
• Placing author/agent book orders
• Completing prize submissions

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Strong communication, planning and organisational skills
• Excellent problem-solving, decision-making and prioritisation skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office
• Demonstrable interest in popular fiction

Benefits:

• Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)
• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days)
• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Private healthcare cover and life assurance
• Summer Hours
• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal
• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme
• Relocation Rent Support Loan
• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work
• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes
• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers
• Gym membership discount
• Onsite physiotherapy (London only)
• Charitable donation matching and 2 volunteering days
• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company
• Free e-books and audiobooks, digital newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books
• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts
• Onsite prayer room

At HarperCollins, we value authenticity and integrity in our recruitment process. To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own thoughts, experiences, and capabilities. This allows us to fairly assess your knowledge, skills, and experience to determine how they align with the role. We value diverse perspectives and genuine contributions, even if answers are not perfect. The use of AI tools or external assistance to generate responses is discouraged unless explicitly permitted for specific tasks.

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to tarni.crossley-lees@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

We do not accept email applications.

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.