Editorial or Publishing Director, General Division, c10-month fixed term - 4 or 5 days per week

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading publishing company based in London seeks an Editorial Director on a circa 10-month fixed-term contract to lead the Bloomsbury Archer list. The role involves delivering publishing strategies, overseeing editorial processes, and managing a team. Ideal candidates will have deep SFF knowledge, strong editorial experience, and proven managerial skills. The position offers a competitive salary starting from £56,500 and a hybrid working pattern.

Benefits

Hybrid working pattern

25 days holiday

Two paid Personal Wellness Days

Flexible Fridays

Work Anywhere Fortnight

Season Ticket Loan

Free LinkedIn Learning access

AXA Healthcare Plan

In-house Doctor

Qualifications

• Ideally experience of subscription/specials market and genre-specific retailers.
• Strong relationships with agents.

Responsibilities

• Deliver strategy for division ensuring growth targets are met.
• Publish profitable and bestselling projects.
• Acquire selectively to strategy.
• Identify market trends and opportunities.
• Oversee publishing and maintain critical paths.
• Manage an Assistant Editor.

Skills

Deep knowledge of the market and fluctuations, ideally SFF expert

Extensive editorial experience in commercial SFF publishing

Managerial experience

Job description

Editorial Director / Publishing Director – circa 10 month fixed term contract (4 or 5 days per week)

The opportunity

A really exciting opportunity to head up the newest star in the Bloomsbury constellation : the Bloomsbury Archer list.

The Bloomsbury Archer imprint, launched in 2025, already boasts multiple Sunday Times bestsellers, Waterstones Books of the Month and more. Building on Bloomsbury’s heritage as a genre heavyweight, the imprint covers the full spectrum of commercial SFF fiction including fantasy, science fiction, speculative romance, horror and mythological retellings. Authors include brands such as Samantha Shannon and Alan Moore, Paul Tremblay, super-star Alex Aster, #1 bestselling debut Brittney Arena, historical fantasy master Natasha Siegel, and forthcoming authors Sarah Mughal Rana, Sam Beckbessinger and Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson amongst others.

About the team

Bloomsbury General is the commercial heart of Bloomsbury. Launched two and a half years ago, we publish fiction and non-fiction for readers seeking entertainment and escape, as much as challenge and inspiration. We are home to Stuart Turton, Laura Purcell, Sally Smith, the cast and creators of Ghosts , Penny Lancaster, Samantha Shannon, Alan Moore, Brittney Arena, Ali McNamara, Katie Fforde, Alex Aster, Bal Khabra and many more.

The role

• Deliver strategy for the division, as a member of the Bloomsbury General management team, ensuring growth targets are met.
• Deliver viable, creative, innovative publishing that is profitable, bestselling, prize-winning etc.
• They will continue to progress the new list per strategic directives
• Acquire selectively to strategy
• Identify market trends and publishing opportunities, feeding these into any acquiring they do following the set strategy
• Take the list’s books from pitch to publication and drive strategy for their publishing.
• Oversee publishing on the Bloomsbury Archer list, ensuring that critical path is kept to for their books.
• Review, develop, maintain and deliver profitable publishing of their books in line with divisional targets.
• Manage an Assistant Editor.
• Maintain team spirit and positivity and set expectations for the highest standards from team members across the division.
• Communicate confidently with a network of authors, agents and media and keep colleagues on side and work effectively under pressure.
• Be scrupulous and dynamic, develop ideas into commercially successful projects and enjoy working as part of an ambitious, forward-thinking, mutually-respectful team. Deliver brilliant author care and support
• Represent Bloomsbury internally and externally in a respectful and professional manner.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Deep knowledge of the market and its fluctuations, ideally an SFF (and specifically Fantasy) expert, with experience of the subscription / specials market and genre-specific retailers. Has strong relationships with agents
• Extensive editorial experience in commercial SFF publishing, ideally across major brands and new launches
• Managerial experience

Additional information

Salary: starting from £56,500 pa, full-time equivalent (depending on experience)

The role is a c10-month fixed term contract with a view to extending. 4 days per week (28 hours) will be considered.

The role is based at our London office (50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP) on a hybrid-working pattern. You will be required to be in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays. For the rest of the week you can work from home or you can come into the office as you prefer.

Please apply with a CV and covering letter addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via the ‘APPLY NOW’ button detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by 23 : 59 on Tuesday 2nd of December 2025.

For best results, please use a desktop to apply as some mobile browsers may not fully support the application portal.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications

Bloomsbury Benefits

As well as a fantastic opportunity to join a global award‑winning organisation, Bloomsbury offers the following competitive benefits package :

Working Pattern

• Hybrid working pattern of : 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred)

Holidays

• 25 days holiday
• 3.5 days Christmas company holiday

Other Benefits

• Two paid Personal Wellness Days
• Flexible Fridays – take Friday afternoon off by working an additional 3 hours and 30 minutes earlier in the week
• Work Anywhere Fortnight - For two weeks of any calendar year. The minimum period for Working Anywhere is one week, the maximum period is two weeks.
• Season Ticket Loan
• Learning & Development - Free access to LinkedIn Learning, BookMachine Campus, InRehearsal & IPG Skills Hub
• Share Save Scheme
• AXA Healthcare Plan (Private Medical Insurance)
• Ride to Work Scheme
• Peppy Health App
• In-house Doctor
• Eye Care Voucher Scheme
• EAP Advice and Counselling

Company culture – Employee Voice Meetings, Staff Networks (Bloom, Accessibility, Mental Health, Pride, and Parents, Guardians and Carers, Multi-Faith) and Mental Health First Aiders trained across the UK offices, Publishing Events and access to free Publishing Resources

For additional benefits see below

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.