Commissioning Editor, HarperMagpie & HarperVoyager

We have an exciting opportunity for a Commissioning Editor at HarperVoyager & HarperMagpie. This is a great opportunity for an editor with some commissioning experience to step up and commission onto award-winning and bestselling Science Fiction and Fantasy imprints. The successful candidate will be commercially savvy, having an extensive knowledge of the market and a passion for the bestselling books that we publish.

The role will also involve supporting on one or more of our big brand authors, working with the Publisher to manage brand publishing, internal team comms and brand strategies. This will also include some desk editing.

Responsibilities

• Acquiring titles in line with HarperVoyager & HarperMagpie’s acquisition strategy

• Fantastic publishing vision: taking full ownership of every title you work on, devising a launch strategy and developing the publishing plan with internal stakeholders, then communicating it consistently to authors and agents

• Excellent author care: supporting authors from acquisition to publication with excellent communication, sales data, industry and market context and editorial support

• Structural and line-edits, discussing new ideas and developing projects with your authors

• Launching and presenting titles at International, sales and marketing meetings.

• Negotiating deals with agents for the best possible outcome, in line with HC best practice and guidelines, preparing deal memos and progressing contracts for all acquisitions.

• Putting books through production, liaising with the production team in line with critical path.

• Briefing market-informed jackets and liaising with designers; writing market-informed copy and ensuring covers meet all deadlines for retailer sell-in.

• Ownership of metadata and AIs, ensuring these fit with emerging trends in the market.

• Building strong and dynamic relationships with agents, ensuring GF sees the best talent and best debuts in this area as well as being a first port of call for existing authors looking to move

• Building great relationships with internal colleagues across the business

• Attending launches, industry events and festivals.

Experience Required

• Previous experience of working on a commercially focused, popular Science fiction and Fantasy list or on SFF within a non-genre list

• Experience of owning, devising and implementing publishing strategy

• Experience working at an editor level or above

• Sound market knowledge of popular fiction, and especially crime, thriller and historical authors and trends

• Full knowledge of desk editing and publishing processes

• Experience of working directly with authors and agents

Skills Required

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; a keen eye for detail

• Digital skills -- able to drive digital and audio initiatives and innovation

• Ability to own and drive own workload

• Ability to work in a very fast-paced environment across multiple titles with multiple stakeholders

• Quick-thinking and extremely organised

• Creative 

• Ability to work individually and collaboratively as part of a cross-divisional team

• Strong awareness of market trends

• Computer skills: Word, Excel, PowerPoint

 Benefits

• Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)

• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days)

• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave

• Private healthcare cover and life assurance

• Summer Hours 

• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal

• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme

• Relocation Rent Support Loan 

• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work

• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes

• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers

• Gym membership discount

• Onsite physiotherapy (London only)

• Charitable donation matching and 2 volunteering days

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company

• Free e-books and audiobooks, digital newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts

• Onsite prayer room

At HarperCollins, we value authenticity and integrity in our recruitment process. To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own thoughts, experiences, and capabilities.  This allows us to fairly assess your knowledge, skills, and experience to determine how they align with the role. We value diverse perspectives and genuine contributions, even if answers are not perfect. The use of AI tools or external assistance to generate responses is discouraged unless explicitly permitted for specific tasks. 

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to [email removed - click apply for more details] 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.