Publishing jobs in United States

Join our award-winning MCB and First Ink publishing team! As a Commissioning Editor, you'll have the exciting opportunity to inspire a new generation by publishing outstanding books for young readers from middle-grade to YA and crossover.

Your Team
You will be an essential part of a passionate and creative team dedicated to publishing a diverse, engaging and dynamic list for young readers. We have an exceptional list of authors and high-profile brands, which includes YA voices such as Tomi Adeyemi, Elle McNicoll and Hafsah Faizal, middle-grade authors like MG Leonard, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Pari Thomson, and non-fiction from influential figures like Hamza Yassin, Marcus Rashford and Dara McAnulty. And we have been publishing poetry at Macmillan for thirty years on our award-winning list.

Your Role
As a Commissioning Editor, your primary responsibilities will revolve around strategically acquiring and launching new titles and championing your books through to publication, including for our dedicated young adult imprint First Ink. You will work collaboratively with authors, agents and internal teams to ensure each book reaches its full commercial potential and resonates with our readers.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Publishing existing titles to commercial success
• Acquiring and developing new books for publication and collaborating with authors, agents and external partners to build your list of middle-grade and YA publishing
• Reading and reporting on submissions
• Managing all of your titles from acquisition through to publication and beyond, including pitching and presenting, writing TI sheets, briefing covers, drafting copy, database management, sales and insight reporting and other associated publishing tasks
• Editing your titles at every stage from structural to line edit
• Monitoring market trends to inform acquisitions and publishing strategies
• Drafting, negotiating and finalizing contracts for new acquisitions
• Working closely with the design, production, sales, rights and communications teams to effectively publish, launch and promote titles.

Essential Experience, Abilities And Knowledge You'll Need To Succeed

• Significant experience working in the publishing industry commissioning Children's and YA books
• Commercially-minded with a proven ability to publish bestsellers
• The ability to negotiate financially viable and favourable contracts with external parties
• An excellent knowledge of the editorial process from start to finish
• The skills to complete structural and developmental edits and line-edits to a high standard, as well as experience of contributing to edits for US-originated books
• The ability to manage projects effectively
• Excellent administration skills with the ability to organize, prioritize and manage workflow to deadlines
• An excellent eye for detail
• Effective oral and written communication skills
• Familiarity with the Biblio title-management system
• Passionate about Children's and YA literature and staying current with market trends
• Experience commissioning new projects through active acquisition
• Excellent relationships with agents and a network within the wider publishing community.

Desirable Skills We'd Love You To Have

• Proficiency with IT tools and software, including Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace.

What You'll Get In Return
In return we can offer you a range of great projects and a supportive and collaborative working environment as well as a competitive salary and benefits package.

Salary starting from: £38,000
Closing Date: 13 April 2025
Some Of The Benefits We Offer

• 28 days annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Discounted private medical insurance
• Group income protection scheme
• Enhanced family pay and leave
• Flexible working hours and summer hours (early finish on a Friday during summer months)
• 2 Volunteer Days per year
• 75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales (highly reduced rates)
• Season ticket loan/advance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on shopping and gym memberships; Christmas club savings
• Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch

This is a full time, permanent role, and will be based in our offices in Farringdon, London, with some flexibility to work from home each week.
All applicants must be able to demonstrate the right to live and work in the UK in order to be considered for this role.

At Pan Macmillan, we are highly committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at every level of our organisation. We welcome applications from all individuals, including any age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. Our efforts to promote DEI are ongoing, and we continually strive to learn and improve our policies and practices. You can read our full Diversity & Inclusion Pledge here.

We want to ensure that all candidates are supported throughout the recruitment process, if you have any reasonable adjustments or accessibility requirements please contact Kayelle Danyluk (Head of Talent Acquisition).

Please note that all personal information which we process in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our Recruitment Privacy Notice available here. Please read our Recruitment Privacy Notice before submitting your application.