Editorial Director, William Collins - News Corp
Editorial Director, William Collins HarperCollins Publishers
Employment Type: Full time
Location: Hybrid · London, UK 3+ days office based
Team: William Collins
Seniority: Mid-level
Closing: 11:55pm, 14th Apr 2025 BST
Perks and Benefits:
1. Work from home option
2. Wellness programs
3. Employee Assistance Programme
4. Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
5. Mentoring/coaching
6. Cycle to work scheme
Job Description:
Are you a successful Fiction editor with an entrepreneurial streak? William Collins is looking for a dynamic, experienced Fiction Editorial Director to launch and run a new fiction imprint within William Collins. This is an exciting opportunity for a self-starting editor to curate a list of their own and complement William Collins’ strength in non-fiction publishing with a best-selling and prize-winning fiction list.
The successful candidate will have a proven track record in discovering and championing top authors and their work, with an eye for great storytelling and commercial relevance. We envision the successful candidate as someone who is comfortable with up-market commercial publishing from political thrillers to historical fiction, stories which will appeal across male and female readerships.
You would be a senior member of the William Collins publishing team and would be instrumental in launching this new list, one that we are looking to invest in and grow in the years to come. The precise editorial scope of the list is open for discussion, but editorial acumen, ambition, and energy are key attributes we’re looking for.
Key Accountabilities:
1. Nurture strong contacts with agents so we are first to consider key, commercial projects.
2. Make author care a priority so we are the first choice for authors and agents.
3. Develop strong awareness of market trends and competition in order to make informed decisions and to identify new publishing opportunities.
4. Cost all projects accurately and negotiate the best deals possible with agents and authors.
5. Ensure all deadlines are met and costs controlled.
6. Share information/communicate with editorial managers, production, design, sales (home/export/special/rights), and marketing.
7. Assist in successfully positioning and promoting all titles.
8. Communicate key selling points of all titles to maximise sales performance.
9. Contribute to overall profile and brand development.
Skills Required:
1. Significant successful commissioning experience
2. Demonstrate entrepreneurial publishing talent
3. Self-motivated worker, able to spur themselves on to achieve company goals without micro-managing
4. Global thinker – someone able to think ‘beyond the book’ and help us develop digital, e-book and audio
5. Cross-company thinker: someone who can work across News Corp when possible, to best effect
6. Excellent communicator (presentations) and writer (catalogue, cover copy)
7. Comfortable with taking responsibility and owning decisions
8. Organised multi-tasker, who delivers briefs, edits and so on to schedule
9. Detail-oriented and cost-aware
If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.
Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.
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