Press Officer

An exciting permanent opportunity for a Press Officer has arisen to join the publicity team within HQ and Mills & Boon, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, to work on innovative campaigns for some of the leading names in commercial fiction and non-fiction.

Specialising in commercial fiction, non-fiction and innovative digital publishing, HQ is a young, ambitious and award-winning imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.  HQ prides itself on publishing books that are bold, brave, inclusive and always with a compelling story to tell

Core Accountabilities

• Plan and implement fully integrated PR campaigns for books across our list (HQ and Mills & Boon) by liaising with the media, festivals, bookshops, and by using our digital platforms.

• Develop innovative and creative publicity campaigns in line with key objectives across individual titles or brand authors

• Generate and foster review and feature coverage across relevant media, including newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, online and social media

• Plan and execute author tours

• Work closely with the Editorial, Marketing and Sales teams to ensure publicity opportunities are fully maximised

• Generate trade press releases

• Maintain, develop and grow relationships with key journalists, producers and new media contacts across all channels

• Stay in tune with trends and news within fiction and non-fiction publishing, to maintain an awareness of the market.

Experience required

• Experience of working on PR campaigns

• Experience or knowledge of publishing

• Proven track record of providing high levels of author care or talent management

• Knowledge of different media opportunities across print, broadcast and online

• A genuine passion for commercial fiction and non-fiction books

Skills required

• A team player with excellent communication skills

• Innovative and creative with a strong eye for detail

• A motivated self-starter with a ‘can-do’ attitude

• Energy, passion and enthusiasm to juggle workload under pressure, prioritise work effectively and be part of a dynamic publicity team

• Fantastic organisation skills

• Ability to work evenings and weekends as required

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to our Senior Recruitment Manager at Kally.simmonds@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

HQ and Mills & Boon

HQ Fiction is proud to publish The Sunday Times bestselling authors such as Adele Parks, Linwood Barclay, B A Paris and Sarah Morgan. Debut novels published by HQ, The Family Tree by Sairish Hussain and This Lovely City by Louise Hare, were recently shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2020 and the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2021 respectively.

HQ Non-Fiction publishes The Sunday Times bestselling BOSH!, The Batch Lady and The Prison Doctor books, as well as June Sarpong’s award-winning books on Diversity and Inclusion. In 2020 HQ celebrated two industry Number 1s with the record-breaking Skincare by Caroline Hirons and the biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Finding Freedom.

Sweeping women off their feet for over 100 years, Mills & Boon is the UKs #1 publisher of romantic fiction and won the RNA Industry Award for Publisher of the Year 2020. In the UK a Mills & Boon novel is sold once every ten seconds.  It has a romance for every reader promising a happily-ever-after ending every time. Mills & Boon publishes Georgia Toffolo’s Sunday Times bestselling novels and historical romance by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.