Overview
What you’ll be doing
Your current experience will determine how much of the following you’ll do: commission books that adhere to Sphere Non-Fiction’s strategy; learn from and support on the Publisher’s titles as needed, including editing them to an excellent standard and providing general acquisition and campaign assistance (these titles could be on any topic that falls under commercial non-fiction, from entertainment, politics, health, sport, lifestyle etc. Knowledge of these subjects at the outset isn’t expected, but willingness and excitement to work on all of them is); manage the publishing of the beloved and perennially successful Asterix brand and ensure we’re maximising its sales.
Who we are looking for
You might be a fantastic editor who already has some commissioning success under your belt and who’s now ready to start building your own list, or you might be an industrious assistant editor with lots of commercial ideas who’s ready to take their first step into commissioning. If you work in journalism or Film/TV/theatre, we’d also love to hear from you. Whatever your experience, we’re looking for a proactive, enthusiastic, highly organised and efficient team player who loves originating book concepts with readers in mind. You must have demonstrable editing experience, impeccable spelling and grammar, brilliant communication skills, the ability to prioritise, an expanding knowledge of the commercial non-fiction market, a hunger to learn and listen to feedback, and you’ll work well under pressure. Commercial non-fiction is exciting because it is so broad and Sphere is an imprint committed to every type of readership, so an appetite to work on any topic is a must. A passion for staying on top of different pop culture trends will be key, as well as an eagerness to consume different types of media outside of personal preference.
What we offer
Our staff are our greatest asset and our benefits reflect this. In addition to 28 days annual leave days per year + bank holidays, we have an extensive list of benefits that include: a wide-ranging training library, development programmes including mentoring, Cycle to Work vouchers, Private Medical Insurance, eye care vouchers, up to 70% off book purchases, a charity book shelf, 2 community days per year, many employee networks to join, summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months!), season ticket loans, rent deposit loans, generous pension schemes and much more!
This role can be based at our London office, or at any of our new regional offices in Edinburgh, or Sheffield, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.
Who we are and what we do
Sphere is the commercial hub of Little, Brown (the largest company within Hachette and four-time winner of the trade’s Publisher of the Year Award). Sphere non-fiction is home to big bestsellers and award-winning titles across cookery, fitness, memoir, nature, true crime, gift and humour, pop history, pop culture and all manner of celebrity books. We work with brands like The Great British Bake Off and Have I Got News for You and past titles of ours include Seth Rogen’s Yearbook, Lenny Kravitz’s Let Love Rule, Vicky Pattison’s The Secret to Happy, Ross Edgley’s The World’s Fittest Book, James Felton’s 52 Times Britain was a Bellend, Angela Harding’s Wild Light and David Wilson’s My Life with Murderers. Our list puts what readers want front and centre and aims to reach mass audiences who might be traditional book-buyers, but who might instead be entertainment consumers first and foremost. What we don’t do: MBS, literary memoir and other literary non-fiction, coffee table books, fiction.
Our Commitment
Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.
If you are shortlisted and need us to make any adjustments to help you attend for interview, please let us know.
The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit www.booktradeentrysupport.org
Salary:
£30,000 – £34,000, dependent on experience and location (+bonus + benefits)
