Role: Full time, permanent
Salary: £32,016
Location: Wolverhampton
We are looking for an aspiring writer/editor to join Usborne’s friendly and talented team, working on all stages of our award-winning illustrated information and activity books for children.
Usborne is an independent, family business, creating books which spark curiosity in children of all ages. These range from books for babies such as the bestselling THAT’S NOT MY series of touchy-feely books, to YA fiction from acclaimed authors such as Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Ravena Guron – with everything from Sticker Dolly Dressing to Philosophy for Beginners in between.
While Usborne is now a market-leader in children’s publishing and one of the best-known brands in children’s books, the company retains a friendly, family feel. If you want to work somewhere close-knit enough for people to know your name, but which has a first-class reputation around the world, Usborne is the place for you.
You will be part of a team of writer/editors in our Wolverhampton office who create a wide variety of books including sticker books, puzzle books, activity books, sound books and nature spotter’s guides, as well as jigsaws. You can see some of the books our team create here: https://usborne.com/gb/books/series/spotter-s-guides.
Responsibilities
You will be involved in working on and developing a range of our titles and series, and broadly the role includes:
* Writing new books, or parts of books, as well as updating text in existing books. This is carried out under close supervision and with support from senior editors.
* Collaborating with other writer/editors, designers and production staff on the creation of new books.
* Assisting other members of the editorial team with proof-reading and researching.
* Writing back cover blurb and providing the sales and marketing teams with information and copy to assist with the promotion of new books.
* Coming up with ideas for new titles and series that will be commercial in a diverse, international market, to appeal to children of all ages.
Knowledge, skills and experience
This is an entry-level role within our team suitable for someone at the early stages of their writing career and we will provide full on-the-job training. What we will be looking for from the successful candidate is:
* Excellent written skills and a sound grasp of grammar.
* The ability to write with flair on a wide range of subjects, from science and history to retellings of classic stories, and be able to put together clear instructions for activities, games and puzzles.
* Delight in making information irresistible to children, with a sense of what children of different ages understand and enjoy.
* The ability to think logically, creatively and visually, with a clear sense of how words and pictures can work together.
* Methodical research skills and a meticulous eye for detail.
* A degree or equivalent experience and skills.
Location and benefits
This role is based in our Wolverhampton office and we work a 35-hour working week, where after a successful initial induction period where we require new staff to work in the office for 4 days per week, we then operate a hybrid working model of 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home, which we feel optimises our opportunities for creative collaboration and contact with our colleagues.
In addition to our transparent salary grading structure, for this role we also offer a range of excellent benefits which include:
* 25 days paid holiday entitlement increasing with service to 30 days after 5 years service plus bank holidays;
* Industry-leading Pension Scheme and Life Assurance;
* Employee Assistance Programme through Health Assured and Mental Health First Aiders;
* Healthcare Cashback scheme;
* Virtual GP service;
* Enhanced Family Friendly benefits;
* Paid Volunteer Day;
* Rewards and Discount services and shopping;
* Cycle to Work Scheme;
* 75% discount on Usborne books.
Usborne is dedicated to building a diverse taskforce that reflects the wide range of communities that read our books globally. Decisions are made based on the individual’s skills and experiences and we particularly encourage applications from underrepresented demographics in Publishing.
We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role and therefore applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK permanently before making their application.
Recruitment process
If you have applied for a Writer / Editor role at Usborne in the last 12 months we will not be able to consider your application for this role.
After an anonymised shortlisting process, we anticipate first interviews taking place in person at our Wolverhampton office in early March 2025, with successful candidates being invited to complete a spec and subsequently a final stage in-person interview at our offices in London around the end of March, with the successful candidate starting the role shortly after this.
Please let us know if you require reasonable adjustments at any point during the application and/or recruitment process.
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