Michael Joseph Editorial Trainee in City of London

The Scheme is for voices we want to hear more of in publishing. Could yours be one of them? Make your mark by spending six months between January – July 2026 working with the best at the number one publisher in the UK. You’ll immerse yourself within one of our key business areas, learning the ropes, taking ownership of projects and contributing to our mission to make books for everyone.

Whatever team you’re placed with, you’ll gain universally applicable skills that will equip you for wherever you go next. We’ll teach you about all publishing and Penguin, and support you to make the next steps in your career journey.

The Scheme is for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. If you meet this eligibility criteria but perhaps you’re changing careers, don’t have a degree, or haven’t often seen yourself reflected in publishing, we’d love you to apply! Whatever your gender, background, or community, we want to hear your story.

All trainees are paid £25,500 per annum (equivalent to £12,750 for the six months of the traineeship). We also offer a travel bursary for those commuting from outside of London.

Penguin Michael Joseph publishes some of the world’s most popular authors. We specialise in women’s fiction, crime, thriller, cookery, memoir and lifestyle books. Many of our authors are now, or soon will be, household names, here in the UK and around the world. In a crowded market, our books shine. Earlier this year we were excited to announce our partnership with Red Tower Books, a US publisher who are home to authors like Rebecca Yarros and Hannah Nicole Maehrer. We will be launching Red Tower’s sister imprint, Mayhem Books, in 2026, publishing a range of fantasy, romance, crime and horror titles for young adult readers.

As an editorial trainee with Michael Joseph, you will work predominantly on Michael Joseph’s flourishing fantasy lists, including the Red Tower and Mayhem imprints, with the opportunity to be involved in every stage of the publishing process. You’ll support Michael Joseph’s Fantasy Taskforce with reading submissions and providing feedback and you’ll have the opportunity to attend and contribute to cover art and campaign meetings. You’ll take the lead on some administrative tasks including mailing out proofs, writing the Fiction team newsletter and ensuring metadata is up to date.

Knowledge and skills you’ll gain: an insight into the inner workings of a leading fantasy imprint; a detailed understanding of the publishing critical path, from acquisition to publication; organisational skills; communication skills; IT proficiency across Microsoft Office, Biblio, Power BI and SAP P2P invoice processing.

Eligibility criteria

You’ll need to have a pre-existing right to work in the UK for the duration of the traineeship as unfortunately we are not able to offer visa sponsorship. You don’t need a degree, you just need to be over 18.

To achieve our mission to make books for everyone because a book can change anyone, we are seeking out new voices. To apply, you’ll need to identify as from a lower socio-economic background.

We use parental occupation at age 14 to measure this as the Social Mobility Commission suggests it to be the most accurate measure available to assess socio-economic background, as well as being accessible to those from all nationalities.

• technical and craft occupations such as motor mechanic, plumber, printer, electrician, gardener, train driver
• routine, semi-routine manual and service occupations such as postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, HGV driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter or waitress, bar staff
• unemployed (claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance or earlier unemployment benefit for more than a year)

We recognise these are broad categories that may not fully reflect the many hundreds of jobs out there, or exactly fit your family situation. Please use your judgement when self-identifying.