12 months placement in Edinburgh
Start date: September 2024
Canongate Books is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers and we’re looking for an enthusiastic and hard-working Editorial and Rights Intern. The role is full time, reporting into our Head of Editorial Management, and is based in our Edinburgh office.
In this role you would work to support both Editorial (2.5 days per week) and Rights (2.5 day per week) departments and learn how these teams work within a publishing house. You do not need to have worked in publishing before, but good organisational skills, attention to detail and a love of reading are essential!
What you will learn:
– An understanding of how a commercial book publisher operates – particularly how Editorial buy and produce books and how important Rights sales are to the profitability of a book
– What we look for in a manuscript and what makes a book/author a good business proposition in the UK and in other countries
– How we sell international rights and the stages of pitching, negotiating and reaching a deal – and the importance of communication with potential publishers and with authors and agents throughout the process
– How copyright works and how to request permission for using another author’s work in a book
– How a book is put together, including stages of editing, drafting prelims, typesetting, proofreading and getting ready to print
– How to proofread, including working on book covers
– How quotes promote an author’s work and how to source them through mail-outs and press coverage, and how to select the best quote for the book
– How to create rights guides and catalogues for our mailing lists, ensuring they are appealing and informative
– The importance of strategic and rigorous preparation for book fairs and international rights trips
– How to use business systems such as Biblio, Sage and Slack
– What it’s like to work as part of a dynamic team, managing a busy workload and multiple demands on your time.
What knowledge, skills, experience we are looking for:
– Passion for reading
– Meticulous attention to detail
– Excellent English – good grammar, spelling and fluent command of the language
– Exceptional organisational skills
– Able to respond flexibly to a busy workload and multiple deadlines
– Confident communication skills and ability to talk about why you love a particular book
– IT skills such as a working knowledge of Office (especially Word, Outlook, Excel and Powerpoint)
Salary: £25k plus benefits (see here for details of benefits at Canongate)
This is an entry-level, full-time position, based out of our Edinburgh office.
To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter to Vicki Rutherford, Head of Editorial Management, detailing why you feel you are suitable for this role. Email to recruitment@canongate.co.uk. The deadline for applications is 9am Monday 29 July 2024.
PLEASE NOTE:
Canongate is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in employment and its employment policies for recruitment are designed to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Due to the high volume of applications we receive we are unable to respond to everyone. If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of the closing date then unfortunately you have not been shortlisted for the position. We will keep your information securely until 30th September 2024. Unless you are the successful applicant, all of your information will be deleted from our systems at that point.