Senior commissioning editor

Closing date: 31 May 2026

Salary: £34,000 - £45,000 dependent on experience and location (+bonus +benefits)

Could you spot next year’s bestselling novel? Do you love working with an author to shape their manuscript to fulfil its potential? We are looking for an energetic senior commissioning editor to build and manage an exciting and eclectic fiction list and make it their own.

Who we are and what we do

Wildfire Books is a boutique imprint of Headline Publishing Group that launched in 2016. Our aim is to publish forward-thinking, agenda-setting fiction and non-fiction that spark conversation and spread like wildfire – books, as we like to say, that have a bit of soul. The results speak for themselves: we’re proud to have had many Sunday Times bestsellers and our books have been nominated for the Women’s Prize, International Booker Prize, the Orwell Prize, Cundill History Prize, Hawthornden Prize, Baillie Gifford Prize, National Book Award, Carnegie Medal, Book of the Year at the Nibbies, McKitterick Prize, National Book Critics Circle, Pulitzer Prize, CWA Daggers, and more.

Our fiction list comprises everything from must-read crime and thriller novels to big-scale historical fiction, imaginative concept-led narratives and immersive translated fiction from around the globe. We are so proud to publish a range of brilliant, unique and dynamic storytellers, including Harriet Tyce, Chris Hammer, Miye Lee, M.L. Rio, Matt Coyne, Ia Genberg, and Taffy Brodesser-Akner.

What you'll be doing

Reporting to the editorial director, you will have a focus on acquiring general commercial fiction for the book club/reading group space, but with a wide remit to acquire distinctive, high-quality fiction across genres (including but not limited to uplit, horror, historical, romance, women’s fiction, fantasy and crime and thriller) as well as fiction in translation.

Supported by our brilliant publishing team with its extensive track record of success, your job will be to find the bestsellers of the future, manage relationships with those authors and help them develop their careers, and project manage each publication with a keen eye on finding the widest possible audience.

At Wildfire we also have a market-leading IP development programme, and we’re looking for someone with the creativity and entrepreneurial drive to continue to build upon this.

Fiction editorial director Rachel Hart says: “The Wildfire fiction list has the benefit of being highly curated and sitting within a boutique imprint but with the commercial backing of a phenomenally successful division. This is the perfect role for someone who is keen to work with a collection of established authors whilst having the freedom to chase down tomorrow’s bestsellers and acquire broadly in line with their own unique tastes. If you enjoy working in a small, collaborative and creative team, we’d love to hear from you.”

Non-fiction editorial director Phil Connor says: “This will be my fifth year at Wildfire in a role I really love. For me, it's the perfect balance of a small editorially-driven team with the backing and infrastructure of the biggest and best in the business. This is the ideal role for an entrepreneurial editor, which leaves plenty of room to hone your skills and follow exciting ideas wherever they may lead you.”

Who we are looking for

We’re looking for someone with commissioning experience as well as a strong sense of their own distinct taste and clear vision of what they’d like to publish.

You’ll be full of creative energy, thriving on working with brilliant authors and amazing ideas. A few other qualities will also be important:

• You’ll be brimming with awareness of what the fiction market is looking for
• You’ll be a confident communicator, able to pitch a book in a way that hooks a reader, but also present yourself as a perfect partner for authors and agents
• You’ll be energised by building and spearheading innovative publication campaigns – working closely with our sales, marketing and PR teams
• You’ll love coming up with ideas for new, trend-led projects
• You’ll have great relationships with literary agents and scouts
• You’ll want to work in a close-knit and supportive team

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you. Please apply with your CV and cover letter (addressed to Rachel and Alex), by 11:59pm on Sunday 31st May.

As part of your cover letter, please write 200 words on one author in the book club/reading group space that you think would be a brilliant addition to the Wildfire Fiction list and why.

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
• An active range of staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing, Women in Techand religious networks
• Season ticket loans
• And much more!

This role can be based at our London office, or at any of our regional offices in Sheffield, or Edinburgh, 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.

We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, you can let us know at the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application. We’ll make sure you’re supported throughout the process.

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 make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.