Have you got plans for the summer? 

Make your mark by spending eight weeks this summer working with the UK’s largest publisher. Our paid summer internship roles sit across 9 different teams, with opportunities to contribute to projects in one of our publishing houses or specialist group functions. 

You don’t have to have previous experience to join our summer internship programme. With our support, you’ll gain universally applicable skills that will benefit you wherever your career takes you – whether that’s the publishing industry or elsewhere.  

Our summer interns are paid the London living wage and we offer financial support to those commuting from outside of London.

Read about the 2026 projects on our careers site. 

Eligibility criteria 

Our mission is to make books for everyone, because we believe a book can change anyone. To achieve this, we are always seeking new voices to join us.  

If you identify as coming from a lower socio-economic background, this internship is for you.

You’ll either have been eligible for free school meals, or at age 14 your highest-earning parent/guardian was not self-employed or in senior management, and was employed in one of the following categories: 

• Technical and craft occupations such as: motor mechanic, fitter, inspector, plumber, printer, tool maker, electrician, gardener, train driver 

• Semi-routine manual and service occupations such as: postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, receptionist, sales assistant 

• Routine manual and service occupations such as: HGV driver, van driver, cleaner, porter, packer, sewing machinist, messenger, labourer, waiter/waitress, bar staff 

• Unemployed but seeking work 

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

If you meet this eligibility criteria and 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.

It’s not a requirement to have completed any formal work experience in or outside of the publishing industry. You also don't need to be studying or have studied at degree-level to apply.

Please note that in order to apply you must be over the age of 18 and have a pre-established right to work in the UK for the entirety of the internship. Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor visas as the summer internship does not meet the minimum requirements for visa sponsorship.

While we hope that this internship may lead to a permanent role, progression isn’t guaranteed. Due to current Skilled Worker visa requirements, we are unfortunately unable to offer visa sponsorship for ongoing employment in entry-level roles. If you’re unsure about how this might affect you, we’re always happy to have a conversation.  

If you have previously completed one of our programmes (such as The Scheme or Summer Internship), we'd encourage you to get in touch with us before applying. We're committed to creating opportunities for as many people as possible, so it's unlikely we would support someone undertaking the same type of programme more than once. This doesn't apply to applicants who have completed our 2 week Work Experience programme.

What will you be doing? 

Join one of 9 teams at Penguin Random House UK with this summer’s internship programme. You’ll be asked to select your top 3 project preferences in the application form. 

• Michael Joseph Marketing Intern

• Harvill Editorial Intern

• Digital Marketing and Ecommerce Intern

• Children's Licensing Editorial Intern

• Hamish Hamilton Editorial Intern

• Commercial Legal Intern

• Audio Publishing Operations Intern

• Viking Fiction Editorial Intern

• Penguin Classics Marketing Intern

 Our application process  

Stage 1 - No need to spend ages crafting the perfect CV and cover letter. To apply to the Summer Internship, you will answer three short questions on an inclusive hiring platform called Applied. We’ll ask you about your project preferences and three of the core qualities that we’re looking for - scored anonymously.

Stage 2 - Highest scoring applicants will be emailed about interviewing for one of their preferred projects. You will complete a short video task on the HireVue platform, to answer a few questions about your skills and interest in the role. Based on these answers, we will select the finalist candidates for each role.

Stage 3 - The finalists for each role will be invited to our online Learning and Selection Days. Over two days, you will complete an individual interview and a group task, assessing the core qualities we are looking for, as well as your interest in the role and team.

If you have any further questions about the summer internship or the recruitment process, please contact us at PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

We will provide reasonable adjustments to those with a disability at all stages of the recruitment process and encourage any requests that will make the process more comfortable for you.

Application deadline: midnight on Sunday 29th March 2026

Using AI in your application

At Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. As you apply, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team. Here’s how you can use AI tools effectively while ensuring your responses reflect your true self: 

  AI could help you to: 

• Get inspiration: AI can help you brainstorm ideas and structure your thoughts, but ensure the final content is your own 

• Check for consistency: making sure your answers align with your personal experiences and the assessment qualities we are looking for.  

• Proofread and edit: Use AI tools to refine your language, check grammar and spelling but always review your answers to ensure they sound like you 

• Research and prepare: AI could help you to research our business and books, or come up with some example interview questions to help you prepare for meeting the team (just make sure to check for accuracy!) 

• Format your responses: we recommend using a Situation, Task, Action, Response (STAR) format for written and interview question responses. AI could help structure your answers into a concise format 

AI should not be used to: 

• Write your entire responses: we start to notice a pattern of similar and generic answers that lack your personal touch and don’t stand out as unique to the person assessing you (who is reviewing hundreds of applications!) 

• Generate fake scenarios: hearing about your real-life experiences helps us ensure we're the right match for one another, and authenticity is key to making a strong impression! 

• Copy and paste: avoid copying AI-generated text directly into your application. Modify and personalise it to reflect your own voice and experiences 

• Help you in a live assessment: unless discussed as a Reasonable Adjustment with a recruiter in advance, AI should not be used to help you in live interviews or group tasks