Editorial Assistant – Penguin Michael Joseph
We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic, organised and reliable Editorial Assistant to join the fiction team at Penguin Michael Joseph. The Editorial Assistant is responsible for the smooth running of the fiction team by providing administrative support to the Publishers, with scope to work on editorial tasks across the department.
About the team
You will work as part of a collaborative and supportive team, curious and open to new and innovative ideas. Penguin Michael Joseph publishes some of the world’s most popular authors to commercial and bestselling success across genres including crime and thriller, women’s fiction, book club, fantasy and romance, and this role offers the opportunity to work across a range of authors. Our fiction authors include: Jojo Moyes, Liane Moriarty, Claire Douglas, SenLinYu, Carley Fortune, Holly Jackson and Alex Michaelides.
The Role
Key responsibilities:
- General office administration e.g. booking meeting rooms, sorting post, arranging couriers, minuting meetings, processing expenses, coding invoices
- Diary management: organising meetings, organising schedules for book fairs
- Dealing with complaints (e.g. typos, missing pages, correspondence to customers’
- Liaising with agents regarding administrative matters
- Coding invoices, arranging author payments and invoices with Royalties and Purchase Ledger departments
- Providing support at author signings and events as requested
- Monitoring and issuing take-down notices for infringing material posted online
Taking minutes for department meetings and circulating as directed
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Editorial
- Managing the internal book process under supervision, from acquisition to publication, to ensure that deadlines are met – including overseeing and managing spreadsheets and sales reports using Excel and Biblio
- Submitting departmental titles to relevant prize submissions and liaising with the team on deadlines
- Sending TCM Bookscan sales figures to designated authors and agents
- Acting as a point of contact for authors and agents, to answer questions where possible and passing other queries on to manager. The Editorial Assistant is expected to provide excellent author and agent care at all times
- Taking on some day-to-day responsibility for a particular author or series
- Writing cover copy / editorial notes alongside the lead editor
- Attending new project meetings and taking part in discussions around potential new books
Entering Biblio data for new titles, and making changes to copy or other data when changes occur (schedule, any metadata), keeping all title data up-to-date, complete and high quality at all times
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What you’ll bring
You won’t need to have had previous publishing experience as we’ll teach you all you need to know, but previous work experience in an office or customer service environment would be advantageous. We’re interested in finding a candidate who can pick up systems quickly and adapt to a fast-paced work environment, with a passion for the commercial books we publish at Penguin Michael Joseph, and an ability to work calmly, efficiently and effectively as part of a team.
Essential criteria:
- Demonstrable interest in Publishing and/or Editorial team and/or Michael Joseph division
- Proven written ability showcased through your application
- Experience/knowledge of MS Office Excel/Word/Outlook
- Demonstrable understanding of managing multiple stakeholders at varying seniorities
- Demonstrable communication skills
- Highly organised with the ability to multitask and handle competing priorities
- Exceptional personal organisation and time management skills
- Attention to detail
- The ability to work autonomously using initiative
- Dedication to being creative and innovative
Disability Confident
If you have opted into our disability confident scheme, the above are the essential criteria you must meet to be considered for our interview scheme. Please note, there may be occasions where the volume of applicants means we can’t take all eligible candidates to interview.
Application instructions
Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on 4th June 2026.
- 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.
We anticipate a three-stage interview process which will include a virtual first-stage interview, an in-person second stage interview including a task, and a final in-person interview with the Director. We are happy to discuss this further with you throughout the recruitment process.
Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.
We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.
Salary
£29,000 plus benefits.
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 the successful candidate to work from the office a minimum of three days per week, with a maximum of two days per week working remotely.
