Editor, Penguin Michael Joseph Penguin Random House

Publishers Association Limited; London; Hybrid; GBP 33,000 - 37,000

Job description

Do you love working with an author on all elements of their publication to ensure it fulfills its potential? Do you want to work in a team that publishes some of the industry’s best-selling commercial titles? Penguin Michael Joseph are hiring for an Editor to support a list of outstanding fiction and non-fiction, at every step of its journey to publication.

About the team

Penguin Michael Joseph is a leading commercial fiction and non-fiction imprint of Penguin Random House, publishing best-selling titles across an array of genres such as crime and thriller, romance, cookery, memoir and lifestyle. Our authors include household names like Marian Keyes, Holly Jackson, Dawn French, Jeremy Clarkson, Jamie Oliver and Stephen Fry.

The role

In this exciting role, you’ll be responsible for guiding a range of books through the critical path to publication.

Key responsibilities:

• Working closely with authors on existing projects at different stages of publication
• Editing manuscripts for a select number of titles
• Reading submissions from agents and liaising with acquiring editors about potential
• Writing title information sheets, cover copy, and other marketing materials
• Liaising with in-house teams such as production and managing editorial, and external stakeholders such as agents
• Presenting titles at in-house meetings
• Contributing to new ideas meetings, with new projects in mind.

In this role, you can expect to be working on bestselling authors including Stephen Fry, Miranda Hart and David Mitchell, as well as new talent across all genres.

What’s important to us is that you know what it takes to make a bestseller, to work with authors closely and bring the rest of the team at Penguin Michael Joseph along with you.

What you’ll bring

We’re open to considering candidates at different stages of their career. Perhaps you’re an Assistant Editor looking to step up, or an Editor wanting hands-on experience on a different type of list. What we need is someone who is excited by the prospect of working across a range of titles and authors, who is ready to develop their own editorial taste, and can find the fun in working under pressure and to tight deadlines.

Essential criteria:

• Demonstrable editorial or shadow editorial experience, and familiarity with the lifecycle of a book
• Proven experience working with authors and agents
• Able to multitask and handle competing priorities, whilst remaining calm under pressure and without sacrificing attention to detail
• Creative and collaborative
• Demonstrable interest in commercial fiction and non-fiction publishing

Application instructions

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on 16th April. As part of your cover letter, please answer the following question: Tell us about a recently published commercial non-fiction book you’ve read and why you would recommend it (in no more than 200 words).

Please ensure you include a cover letter, as it is a crucial part of our assessment process. The cover letter offers an opportunity to show how your experience and interests align with the role requirements. Typically, we expect the cover letter to be no more than one or two pages in length.

Please note we are looking for someone to join the team as soon as possible, but we are also happy to accommodate a reasonable notice period for the right candidate.

Salary

£33,000 – £37,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

What you can expect from us

Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition.

Our benefits include:

• Financial – discounted shopping, season ticket loan, rental deposit loan
• Wellbeing – healthcare cash plan, employee assistance, gym loan
• Lifestyle – taste card, tech scheme, free and discounted books

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/

Hybrid working

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from the office 3 days a week.

About Penguin

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone.

The recruitment process

You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing [e-mail]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request.

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee.

Company: Penguin Books Limited

Country: United Kingdom

State/Region: London

City: London

Postal Code: SW11 7BW

Job ID: 278626

Date:2 Apr 2025

Location:

London, LND, GB, SW11 7BW