Louise Dickie tells us about her role as Penguin Random House UK Children’s publicity assistant.
Describe your role. 
My role involves supporting the publicity team with general administration, providing support on large campaigns, and looking after some campaigns of my own. Part of my job is also to ensure that the office space is neat and tidy, and well stocked with all the stationary and books that publicists need.
What do you like best about your role as publicity assistant?
I love the variety of my role. My day can involve anything from mailing out books to journalists, writing a press release, or preparing for an event. I also like seeing some of the fan mail that gets sent in to us, it’s so great to see that children still enjoy taking the time to write a note to their favourite authors.
Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working on a fantastic picture book called The Spectacular City by Teresa Heapy and illustrated by David Litchfield. It has this gorgeous dark blue cityscape cover and is a touching story about the power of friendship.
What skills do you need to be a publicity assistant?
I think it definitely pays to be organised! The more organised I am, the easier it is to prioritise tasks and make the most of my work day. Work experience is always great of course, but it doesn’t have to be in publishing necessarily, I think any office experience gives you great transferrable skills.
What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?
It’s always handy to have a bit of an idea of what’s going on currently in the publishing industry. Not only is this handy for interviews, because you can talk about specific books or campaigns you have admired, it also gives you an awareness of any particular trends or brands. I’d advise either taking out a subscription to The Bookseller or even just looking at the book review coverage in most newspapers.
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