John Murray
Publishing Director, Arcadia and Renegade
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Who we are and what we do
At the John Murray Publishing Group, we publish books of excellence and lasting value written by authors with passion and expertise. Our fiction imprints include John Murray, Quecus, Baskerville, Dialogue, Riverrun and MacLehose. From Navessa Allen, Mick Herron and Lucy Steeds to David Attenborough we're home to popular fiction and non-fiction writers alongside some of the most progressive new voices.
John Murray Publishing Group is a division of Hachette, one of the largest publishing groups in the UK, with 10 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. Everyone here is proud to be in the business of opening doors and minds.
What you'll be doing
As the Publishing Director at Arcadia you will have a bold and ambitious plan to build our thriving science fiction, fantasy and horror list. Home to prize-winning, bestselling authors and cult classics, our authors include Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, E J Swift, Sebastian de Castell, India Holton, Silvia Moren Garcia and Lindsay Straube and have won the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards. This is a fantastic opportunity for a passionate and experienced publisher with a deep knowledge of this area of the market and a proven track record. You will also be responsible for the continued growth of our newest imprint, Renegade, a list with a remit to break rules in how it discovers and publishes writers. You should enjoy working collaboratively and creatively and be able to empower the team to anticipate the market, jump on trends and build brands.
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Reporting to Jocasta Hamilton, Executive Publisher for Fiction at the John Murray Group you'll be responsible for the publishing and profitability of our Arcadia and Renegade imprints and developing a strategy for ambitious growth. You will be acquiring and publishing your own titles, as well as managing a team of two editors and an assistant editor, who work across both lists.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for a Publishing Director to head up two imprints, leading a brilliant team. We are looking for someone who has strong commercial instincts, who can run the imprint P&L and will use their experience to create and implement an ambitious plan to take Arcadia and Renegade to new heights in this exciting area of the market. The successful candidate will be:
- Experienced publisher with a proven critical and commercial track record
- Passionate and informed awareness of the market
- Creative in their approach to IP, special editions and book adjacent products
- Excellent relationships within the wider sci-fi, fantasy and sub-box community
- Excellent inter-personal skills
What we offer
Our staff are our greatest asset, and our benefits reflect this:
- 28 annual leave days per year, increases to 29 days after 2 years' service and goes up to 30 days after 5 years' (+ bank holidays)
- Private medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Generous pension schemes
- Rent deposit loans
- 2 community days per year
- Summer hours (finishing at 1pm on Fridays during the summer months)
- Retail discounts through Hachette rewards
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Eye care vouchers
- Wide-ranging training library
- Development programmes (including mentoring)
- Up to 70% off book purchases
- A charity bookshelf
- An active range of staff-led employee networks that are voluntary, including AgeWise, Gender Balance, Thrive, Pride, All Together, Wellbeing, Women in Tech and religious networks
- Season ticket loans
- And much more!
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The role will be based at our London office, with a blend of in-office (3 days) and homeworking (2 days) per week.
Our commitment
Hachette employs people on the basis of their abilities. We aim to attract and develop talent from a base as broad as the world of readers we want to reach, with a wide and representative range of age, faith, disability, race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic, regional and cultural backgrounds.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to perform at their best during our recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, you can let us know at the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application. We’ll make sure you’re supported throughout the process.
The Book Trade Charity offers financial support to people looking to enter the book trade but who may struggle to afford the costs of attending interviews and undertaking junior roles. For more information visit https://btbs.org/grants.
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