Lorella Belli Literary Agency: Agency Assistant

A great opportunity for a Literary Agency Assistant to join and play an integral part in our successful boutique agency in Notting Hill, West London, to assist Lorella and the LBLA team, and work with our authors and clients worldwide.

The Role: Agency Assistant (Full time, permanent)
This crucial role would suit a proactive, highly organized, and enthusiastic individual who already has some relevant publishing experience and is keen to develop their career. The chance to be a key player at the agency for an outgoing, self-motivated, and driven person with a genuine interest in agenting. Initially a support role, the position offers an exciting opportunity for the role to grow and expand, in time, to Junior Agent level for the right candidate. This position is office-based at Westbourne Studios.

The Company: The Lorella Belli Literary Agency Ltd is a dynamic and thriving agency with over 20 years’ experience of representing bestselling, award-winning, and debut authors of fiction and general non-fiction, as well as publishing clients worldwide.

The Ideal Candidate:
• Genuinely keen on a career in agenting and client management
• A hardworking individual capable of moving up at the agency from their initial role and taking on more responsibility
• Experience of working towards deadlines with the ability to prioritize and manage workloads
• Good at multi-tasking and using own initiative (we value an entrepreneurial spirit!)
• Excellent organizational and communication skills, both in writing and verbally
• Flexible and practical; able to work autonomously and in a small team environment
• A voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction, with an emphasis on commercial mainstream projects
• Knowledge of contemporary publishing and media trends
• Able to handle social media
• Thrives on having a varied, busy, and dynamic workday, as well as recognizing the value of efficient administration and meticulous attention to detail
• A trustworthy individual, appreciative of the confidential nature of agency work on behalf of our clients.

Responsibilities:
• The smooth running of the agency: liaising with clients and publishers, handling approvals, booking trips and events, preparing schedules and rights guides for book fairs, and attending book fairs and other publishing events as needed.
• Overall administrative tasks: diary management; updating rights management database; ad hoc research projects; creating and updating presentation materials; answering the phone and dealing with day-to-day queries.
• Contracts & Accounts: raising, tracking, and processing agreements and tax forms; monitoring publication schedules; dealing with rights renewal/reversion; checking/processing royalty statements; invoicing and tracking payments.
• Editorial: some reading and evaluating manuscripts, and developing pitches and submission strategies/packages (although we have a dedicated reader).
• Agency social media/marketing for the agency.
• Client care and promotion: authors and clients management is at the heart of what we do. You will help to provide excellent client care, dealing with all matters in a confidential, fast, reliable, and efficient way.

Experience/Skills Required:
• A minimum of at least 6-12 months of relevant experience working in publishing is essential (at a literary agency, scouting agency, at a trade publisher, or in other creative industries).
• Strong literacy and communication skills (in writing and in person).
• Good numeracy skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs and rights management database software (training can be provided if needed).

Salary: £25,000 per annum, and commensurate with experience; it may be subject to a review after six months depending on performance.

Start Date: As soon as possible.

To Apply:
1) Please email CV and cover letter to Lorella Belli (lorella@lorellabelliagency.com), stating current salary/salary expectations and your notice period if applicable.
2) Also please mention three recently published books you enjoyed and would have loved to work on, and explain why.
Closing date: 30th May 2024 (we reserve the right to close the process earlier if the right candidate is found). We are looking for someone who can be an ambassador for the agency at all times and can thrive and fit in nicely with our successful and very busy small team!

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