Editorial Assistant (Transworld)

Editorial Assistant (Transworld)

Are you passionate about fantasy and romantasy? BookTok obsessed? Highly organised and calm under pressure? We are seeking an Editorial Assistant for Transworld’s brand-new, industry-leading SFF imprint in partnership with FairyLoot.

About Transworld  

At Transworld, we love great storytelling. In books and stories, we find our community – of authors, readers and colleagues. We publish the UK’s very best and most-loved fiction and non-fiction. Our authors are master storytellers, commercial giants, and game-changing experts who challenge readers to open their hearts and minds. A Transworld book demands to be discussed, shared, and loved.

This year, Transworld is launching a brand-new fantasy imprint in partnership with the book subscription service, FairyLoot. The new imprint combines Transworld’s publishing expertise, brand building and commercial drive with FairyLoot’s unparalleled taste-making talent and deeply engaged, growing audience of genre fiction devotees.

Key responsibilities:

Administration

• Managing the editorial team’s diaries and assisting with meetings, including arranging meetings/booking meeting rooms, book fair appointments, compiling agendas, taking minutes and circulating as directed

• General office administration, e.g., sorting post, photocopying, filing, arranging couriers and transport

• Logging submissions

• Submitting books for prizes

• Sending bound proofs and finished copies/foreign editions to author and/or agent

• Liaising with agents/authors 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

• Dealing with complaints (e.g. typos, missing pages, correspondence to customers)

Editorial

• Assisting with the internal book process, from acquisition to publication, to ensure that deadlines and critical path are met, including special editions and assisting with artwork approvals

• Proactively supporting the manager and team to meet Critical Path deadlines

• Sending TCM Bookscan sales figures to designated authors and agents

• Acting as a point of contact for authors, to answer questions where possible and passing other queries on to manager. The Editorial Assistant is expected to provide excellent author care at all times

• Assisting on book proofs as required (including mail outs)

• Supporting the editors with submissions by reading and reporting on specific titles as required

• Taking on some day-to-day responsibility for a particular author or series

• Taking responsibility for writing cover copy/Title Information forms/preparing cover briefs, as directed by the lead editor

• Attending new project meetings and taking part in discussions around potential new books

• Preparation for second formats – fill in the relevant forms, discuss with editors, source the ads, etc.

• Providing support at author signings and events as requested

• Checking jackets and covers, including special editions and their artwork

• Entering Biblio data for new titles, setting up new title records, and making changes to copy or other data when changes occur (schedule, updating metadata), keeping all title data up-to-date, complete and high quality at all times

• Seeking text permissions and illustration permissions as required

What you’ll bring

Essential criteria:

• A love for romantasy and fantasy books is essential for this role

• Demonstrable interest in Publishing and being part of the Editorial team at Transworld and the new SFF imprint is essential too

• Experience/knowledge of MS Office Excel/Word/Outlook

• Highly organised with the ability to multitask and handle competing priorities

• Strong attention to detail

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of people

• Proven written ability showcased through your application

• The ability to work autonomously using initiative, as well as with multiple stakeholders

• Dedication to being creative and innovative

Disability Confident

If you have opted into our disability confident scheme, the above is 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 22nd May 2025.

• 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.

• We anticipate a two-stage interview process which will include a virtual first-stage interview and in-person second stage interview. We are happy to discuss this further with you throughout the recruitment process.

Salary

£27,500 plus 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.

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 our London-based office a minimum on three days per week and offer two days per week working remotely.

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

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 PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. 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: The Random House Group Limited 

Country: United Kingdom 

State/Region: London 

City: London 

Postal Code: SW11 7BW 

Job ID: 279938