ASH Literary: part-time assistant

ASH Literary is looking for a fantastic part-time assistant, someone who is genuinely excited about children’s books and wants to get a foot in the door of the publishing industry. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to get stuck into the growth of a new agency and work with some of the most talented creators and agents in the industry. Launched in September 2020, we are comprised of agents Alice Sutherland-Hawes and Saffron Dodd, and are looking for someone to come on board and help grow the agency further. The role will report directly to Alice and you will be assisting the running of her list and the agency.

ASH Literary represents creators working in picture books to YA (and the occasional adult title) including Carnegie Medal nominated and Waterstones Children’s Prize shortlisted Kereen Getten, British Book Award winner Harry Woodgate, Waterstones Children’s Prize shortlisted Katie Cottle, Marcus Rashford’s co-writer Alex Falase-Koya, bestselling Ravena Guron and many more.

The role will mostly be admin based – helping keep track of schedules, payments and submissions, as well as website upkeep and some social media work. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

• Keeping the website up to date with news and client work
• Keeping the database up to date including tracking submission statuses, payments, uploading documents and keeping contacts updated
• Ensuring client schedule documents are updated
• Diary management, particularly around book fairs
• Assisting with the client on-boarding process
• Occasional proof-reading
• Creating social media posts

We use Carrd for the website, Microsoft Office for emails, word processing etc., RightsZone for our database, and Dropbox for our servers. Training will be given on these systems and others. The agency phone line will not be your responsibility.

This entry level role is part-time, two days a week. The time can be split to suit you, e.g. Two full days or four half days. Alice’s working days are Monday to Thursday so your time must be split among those days. This role is initially for six months. Alice is based in London, but this role is fully remote. You must live in the UK and have the right to work here, but outside of that we do not mind where you’re based.

We strongly encourage those who have been historically excluded from the publishing industry across class, race and gender to apply.

Requirements:

• Must have right to live and work in the UK
• A genuine desire to learn
• A genuine passion for children’s books

To apply, please send your CV (as a PDF) and a covering letter with a little about yourself, why you want to work in children’s publishing, and your favourite and least favourite recent books you’ve read to work@ashliterary.com by Tuesday 7th November. Interviews will be virtual by phone or video call, and please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments. We anticipate interviews will take place the week of 13th November with a start date of the beginning of January and possibly a short paid handover period in early December.

Please note that much as we love working with creators, we are very much looking for someone who is interested in building a career as an agent, not someone looking for representation.