JOBS AT JOFFE
EDITOR
Hybrid — office-based in Shoreditch, with the option to work from home on Wednesdays and Fridays
Hours: 10 a.m.–4.30 p.m., Monday to Friday
Salary: £31,000–£36,000 depending on experience
About the role
Joffe Books is looking for an experienced, commercially minded Editor to join our growing editorial team, working across our list of commercial crime, mystery and thriller fiction.
This is a hands-on role combining editing, project management and commercial judgement. You'll edit new titles and also refresh, repackage and relaunch newly acquired backlist books — making good books sell better through sharper positioning, copy, covers and metadata. One day you might be desk editing the latest title in a long-running police procedural series; the next, repositioning a previously self-published psychological thriller or building a box set from the backlist.
The focus is editing and project editing rather than commissioning, though there is scope to acquire and develop your own authors as you grow into the role. It would suit an experienced Editorial Assistant, Assistant Editor or Editor who loves genre crime fiction and is ambitious about making their books sell.
You'll manage your own authors and projects, working closely with our Publishing Director, Editorial Director, and marketing and production teams.
Key responsibilities
• Manage authors and their titles from editorial review through to publication, including newly acquired books.
• Structurally edit fiction, and brief and manage freelance development editors.
• Build strong author relationships, developing their books and publishing plans.
• Refresh, repackage and reposition backlist titles — series relaunches, box sets, promotional editions.
• Write blurbs, hooks, taglines and series copy, and brief designers on covers.
• Research where books sit in their genre: comp titles, reader trends, categories, keywords, retailer pages.
• Check book files, series order, rights information and metadata.
• Project-manage publication schedules and hit deadlines.
• Work with marketing on campaigns across Amazon, social and other platforms.
• Prepare older or scanned manuscripts for publication.
• Support the Publishing Director and Editorial Director on wider priorities across the list.
What we're looking for
Essential
• 2–3+ years' editorial, desk-editing or project-editing experience in publishing.
• Strong commercial judgement and an understanding of genre fiction markets.
• Excellent instincts for positioning and packaging books — covers, blurbs, metadata, genre fit, reader promise.
• First-rate copywriting, particularly blurbs, hooks and taglines.
• Experience working directly with authors and with editorial freelancers.
• Meticulous attention to detail, and the organisation to run multiple projects and shifting deadlines.
• Real curiosity about why readers buy books.
Desirable
• Structural editing experience.
• Trade publishing experience, particularly crime, mystery and thriller.
• Experience repackaging or relaunching backlist titles, box sets or promotional editions.
• Familiarity with Amazon, Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and other digital retailers.
• An interest in cover design, metadata, categories, keywords and online book marketing.
What we offer
• 10 a.m.–4.30 p.m. working hours — great for work/life balance.
• Hybrid working, with three office days and the option to work from home on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• 20 days' holiday plus bank holidays, plus five extra paid days over Christmas — 33 days in total.
• Mental health days.
• Health insurance and pension scheme.
• Access to publishing resources, training and development, and publishing events.
• Staff-nominated charitable giving.
• A supportive, innovative culture where you'll be heard and encouraged to innovate.
• Doughnuts.
Application task
Choose a backlist genre crime fiction title you think could be successfully relaunched in the digital market, and send us:
1. Blurb — a punchy, engaging blurb, no more than 150 words.
2. Relaunch pitch — no more than 150 words on who the book is for, how you'd position it, and what you'd change about the current package.
Shortlisted candidates will be asked for a short cover brief at interview stage.
How to apply
Send your CV, a short covering note and the application task to work@joffebooks.com, stating the job reference 'JB EDITOR' in the subject line, by 10 October.
Priority for interview will be given to early applicants. Ideally to start as soon as possible.
Contact: Rachel Slatter, work@joffebooks.com
Equal opportunities
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability or socio-economic status. We strive to be a company where you will thrive.
ABOUT JOFFE BOOKS
Joffe Books is one of the UK's leading independent publishers of bestselling fiction, with a huge international audience. We publish crime, mystery, thriller, romance and historical fiction, and we care deeply about our authors and readers.
We sold more than 3 million books last year and want to get more books into readers' hands. One of our biggest opportunities is our extensive backlist: thousands of brilliant books that can be rediscovered, refreshed and relaunched for new audiences.
We have been nominated for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards and won IPG Trade Publisher of the Year in 2023 and 2026. Our initiatives include the Joffe Books Prize, launched in 2021 to discover and support new voices in crime fiction from underrepresented backgrounds.
Joffe Books is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the varied communities that read our books across the world. We encourage applications from all individuals, regardless of age, religion, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or social background.