Barrington Stoke has been publishing super-readable, dyslexia-friendly fiction and non-fiction by a stable of highly acclaimed authors and illustrators, for nearly 30 years. Barrington Stoke has a strong brand presence in the trade and is much loved by parents, teachers, librarians and children. Its catalogue spans pre-school to YA, publishing around 40 frontlist titles a year. With a specialised editing process and its own specially designed font, accessibility is at the heart of everything the company does, and the list includes work from many of the country’s most beloved writers. We aim to break down barriers and help every child to experience the joy of reading.

We’re seeking a skilled Senior Publicity Manager to join our Barrington Stoke division. In this role, you will collaborate closely with the PR team, as well as your editorial and marketing colleagues, to develop and execute creative and targeted publicity campaigns for our authors. You will manage all title campaigns within a defined budget, oversee author events, and build strong relationships with key stakeholders to enhance our brand presence. Your expertise will be crucial in creating press releases, managing media outreach, and representing Barrington Stoke at key events, all while ensuring that accessibility remains at the heart of our mission.

Key Tasks and Accountabilities

• Responsible for handling Barrington Stoke authors and company PR

• Managing all title campaigns and working to a PR budget as agreed with the Sales and Marketing Director

• Overseeing all author events, including festivals

• Managing the Campaigns Manager who works in PR 2 days a week

• With the Sales and Marketing Director, building relations with key company stakeholders

• Creating press releases and managing the press mailings

• Representing Barrington Stoke at key events and managing the events calendar

• Managing Netgalley

• Editorial input – feeding into Editorial and Design team

Experience Required

• Excellent author care skills and experience

• Proven track record of sales generating media strategy across a variety of authors and campaigns

• Extensive experience of organizing and managing author tours and events

• Proven experience in crisis comms management

• Extensive and proven network of media, literary, bookseller and event contacts

Skills Required

• Social media savvy

• A team player with excellent communication skills

• A high level of organisational skills

• Motivated self-starter with a ‘can-do’ attitude

• The ability and nimbleness to multitask and juggle a heavy workload under pressure

• Ability to work evenings and weekends as required for events

Benefits

• Hybrid working model

• 27/28 days holiday plus bank holidays

• Private healthcare cover and life assurance

• Summer Hours 

• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal

• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work

• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal

• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers

• Gym membership discount

• Charitable donation matching and 2 volunteering days

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company

• Free e-books and audiobooks, newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts

• Onsite prayer room 

At HarperCollins, we value authenticity and integrity in our recruitment process. To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own thoughts, experiences, and capabilities.  This allows us to fairly assess your knowledge, skills, and experience to determine how they align with the role. We value diverse perspectives and genuine contributions, even if answers are not perfect. The use of AI tools or external assistance to generate responses is discouraged unless explicitly permitted for specific tasks.

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to stephanie.jemmett@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.