Publicity assistant

Closing date: 6th January 2025

Salary: £27,000 per annum (+bonus +benefits)

Location: The role will be based at our London office, Carmelite House, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.

Are you passionate about books and eager to share your love of reading with others?

Little, Brown's identity is personified by our innovative, dynamic and free-thinking people. Across our thirteen imprints, you won't find a wider range of titles anywhere in UK publishing. We pride ourselves on quality and diversity. A repeat recipient of the Publisher of the Year award, we're one of the most successful and dynamic publishers in the UK. Little, Brown is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 12 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.

An individual who is creative as well as efficient will thrive in this role with opportunities to write copy, undertake research for projects, participate in group brainstorms and support publicity campaigns. The ideal candidate will have had some experience demonstrating reliability, responsibility and interaction with the public, not necessarily in publishing, or has had experience working in an administrative or organisational role in a busy environment.

What you'll be doing

• Work closely with publicity team, authors and marketing/sales/editorial colleagues to ensure the efficient day-to-day running of the department's systems and contributing to raising the profile of authors and their titles.
• Provide administrative support for three senior publicists, including handling author mail, sending out proofs and press releases, circulating and updating media lists, ordering up review copies, maintaining budget sheets, processing invoices, filing and circulating cuttings etc.
• Handle enquiries/requests from media, authors, customers and general public in a timely manner.
• Maintain publicity databases such and daily circulation of media coverage.
• Liaison with bookshops, festivals, libraries etc in the run up to events.
• Produce digital promotional material for author events when required using design programmes such as Canva.
• Create bi-annual catalogue with the co-assistant, liaising with editorial & design.
• Arrange travel and accommodation for authors and, when relevant, the accompanying publicist.
• Provide support for key campaigns and events, attending events and accompanying authors as required.
• Contribute to team brain storms and shared departmental projects. 

The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the job holder may be required to undertake such other duties as may reasonably be required.

Who we are looking for

• We are looking for a candidate who has a passionate interest in reading - especially in literary fiction and non-fiction - and who is interested in how books are brought to a wider audience.
• Exceptional written and spoken communication is key and you will have a good knowledge of both social and traditional media.
• You will have an awareness of conversations around key book campaigns and an enthusiasm to learn about publishing and publicity.
• Working in a busy press office, you will need to be a confident self-starter who can take direction but use initiative.
• You should be highly organised and able to prioritise, adaptable and able to cope with the unexpected.
• Knowledge of Word, Excel, Canva and PowerPoint is a must as well as an aptitude for systems and databases.
• You will have an eye for detail and hold problem-solving skills.
• Your collaborative teamwork and interpersonal skills will be standout, with an ability to build relationships with key internal and external contacts, maintaining positive working relationships across authors, colleagues and media contacts.

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!

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