Senior Editor, Children's Fiction

The opportunity

This is a rare opportunity to join the Bloomsbury Children's fiction team at the Nibbies-winning Children’s Publisher of the Year 2024, in an exciting role. The chosen candidate will be working on a list packed with bestselling and award-winning books for readers from the age of six to young adult, and helping to create the successes of the future. This role involves taking responsibility for a carefully selected list of titles in line with our fiction strategy. The candidate will work collaboratively with authors, illustrators and colleagues across the business. This role will report to the Head of Fiction, tbc.

The role

• Overseeing titles from acquisition through to publication and beyond
• Reading and reviewing submissions, using strong market awareness to select and pitch the best ones in editorial meetings and, potentially, in acquisitions meetings
• Working closely with agents and authors to ensure that Bloomsbury remains a destination publisher for fiction talent
• Running title costings, getting approval on advances and some deal negotiation, dependent on experience
• With the wider team, shaping the publishing plan for the authors, books and series you are responsible for and representing those interests in key meetings: CPM (acquisitions), Start-Up (launch), cover briefing, etc
• Writing excellent cover copy, AI copy and metadata for best possible sales and SEO
• Ensuring that books on our list are published to the highest standards with excellent author care
• Working closely with Managing Editors, Design and Production to ensure that titles meet their scheduled key dates, and are on budget
• The role may include some commissioning, dependent on experience and the needs of the list

Knowledge, skills and experience 

• An experienced children’s fiction editor, with excellent editorial skills
• Strong knowledge of the fiction market in both the UK and internationally
• Able to brief market-facing covers
• Able to assess the commercial value of a project, with good understanding of title financials
• An ability to create and maintain excellent relations with authors and agents, to help ensure that we are a destination publisher for the very best talent
• Knowledge and experience of how to publish successfully and a willingness to learn more
• A hard-working team player with great time-management skills
• Ideally, a polished and confident presenter who can sell a project to the wider team

Additional information

The role is a full-time permanent position

Salary Pay Point or Range: £35,000+ depending on skills and experience

The role is based at our London office 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP on a hybrid working pattern of 2 days office-based / 3 days home-based (or fully office-based if preferred).  Allocated office days for this role are Monday and Tuesday.

Please apply with a CV and covering letter addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via the ‘APPLY NOW’ button detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by 30 June 2024.

For best results, please use a desktop to apply as some mobile browsers may not fully support the application portal.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications

Bloomsbury Benefits

As well as a fantastic opportunity to join a global award-winning organisation, Bloomsbury offers the following competitive benefits package:

Working Pattern

• hybrid working pattern of: 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred)

Holidays

• 25 days holiday
• 3.5 days Christmas company holiday

Other Benefits

• Two paid Personal Wellness Days
• Flexible Fridays – take Friday afternoon off by working an additional 3 hours and 30 minutes earlier in the week
• Season Ticket Loan
• Sharesave Scheme
• AXA Healthcare Plan (Private Medical Insurance)
• In-house Doctor
• Eyecare Voucher Scheme

Company culture – Employee Voice Meetings, Staff Networks (Bloom (BAME), Accessibility, Mental Health, Pride, and Parents, Guardians and Carers, Multi-Faith) and 21 Mental Health First Aiders trained across the UK offices, Publishing Events and access to free Publishing Resources

For additional benefits see below

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. 

The Company

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes, and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names. Read Our Story for how it all began. 

 Bloomsbury is committed to creating a working environment that stimulates creativity and collaboration, is respectful of difference, is inclusive and ethical in its practice, and promotes well-being. We are determined to nurture and develop our employees to reach their highest potential, and we know that our success is down to the passion, commitment and hard work of our talented people. We recognise the urgent need to attract and support applicants from all backgrounds and identities to become part of the global publishing industry, allowing diverse voices to reflect and shape our culture and society.

Please read more on our Missions and Values here.

Please read our environmental policy here.