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First Edition: Paid work placements in the book industry

First Edition is giving 18-25 year olds from Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland the chance to gain valuable paid experience in the book industry. We have partnered with nationally recognised publishers, literary agencies, scouting agencies and more to offer a range of flexible and accessible work placements for 2025.

Springboard your career into the book industry with a 5-day work placement and a bursary of £500 to support your involvement. Whether you’re a budding bookseller, a prospective publisher or someone keen to know more about book prizes and events, you’ll gain real world experience to allow you to take the next steps in your career. We are offering both in-person and remote placements that will see you working alongside industry professionals and expand your knowledge and skills.

This is an exciting time for the book industry, as more opportunities outside of London are becoming realised. Along with our funder North East Combined Authority, we want to prepare the next generation of North East talent.

Spring 2025 placements

Where could you work?

  • 1b Books/The Crack

    1b Books opened in December 2023 in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne. They sell a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, with a focus on queer books and translated fiction. They also host a range of regular and one-off book events and groups. 1b Books is part of The Crack Limited, a monthly arts magazine for the North East which is based in the offices above the shop.

  • Atlantic Books

    Atlantic Books is an independent publishing company based in central London.  Founded in 2000, we will be celebrating our 25thanniversary in 2025.  We have a world-wide reputation for quality, originality and breadth across literary fiction, commercial fiction and history, politics, memoir and current affairs.   Our recent successes include In Ascension (Martin MacInnes), Kala (Colin Walsh), The Bandit Queens (Parini Shroff), American Prometheus (Kai Bird) and Johnson at 10 (Anthony Seldon).

  • Curtis Brown Group

    Founded in 1899, the Books Department of Curtis Brown has been at the forefront of international publishing and a leading literary agency for over one hundred years. Today, The Curtis Brown Group, encompassing both Curtis Brown and C&W literary agencies, represents many of the world’s best-selling and award-winning authors and estates.

  • Faber

    Faber is one of the world’s great independent publishing houses. Since they were founded in 1929, poetry has been at the heart of their publishing, with T. S. Eliot as our first Poetry Editor. In every generation, Faber has sought to find the very best writers and they are proud to publish the foremost voices in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, film and children’s books. Thirteen Nobel Laureates and six Booker Prize-winners have been published by Faber, with awards most recently for Kazuo Ishiguro and Anna Burns.

  • Fitzcarraldo Editions

    Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent publisher specialising in contemporary fiction and long-form essays. Founded in 2014, it focuses on ambitious, imaginative and innovative writing, both in translation and in the English language. The series, designed by Ray O’Meara, are published as paperback originals with French flaps, using a custom serif typeface (called Fitzcarraldo). Fitzcarraldo Editions publishes, among other authors, the 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature laureates Svetlana Alexievich, Olga Tokarczuk, Annie Ernaux and Jon Fosse.

  • Gardiner Richardson

    Gardiner Richardson is a communications agency based in Newcastle. For over 25 years they’ve been building brands and bringing them to life through PR, media relations, design, video content and social media. They work with brands like The Grainger Market in Newcastle, Northumbria University and Dicksons food.

  • Gordon Burn Prize

    The Gordon Burn Prize was launched by New Writing North, Faber & Faber and the Gordon Burn Trust in 2012. The prize is open to works of fiction and non-fiction written in the English language and recognises literature that is forward-thinking and fearless in its ambition and execution.

  • Hachette (Newcastle)

    Hachette is one of the largest publishing groups in the UK. They have 12 publishing divisions and over 60 imprints. In 2023, Hachette opened a national office in central Newcastle, housing staff from across departments and divisions.

  • HarperNorth

    HarperNorth is part of HarperCollins, which operates in 17 countries, with 200 years of history and more than 120 branded imprints around the world. HarperNorth was established in 2020 to find, nurture and grow northern writing talent and bring the best voices to national and international audiences. At the vanguard of the movement to widen publishing’s regional diversity, HarperNorth offers a dedicated editorial, marketing and publicity function rooted in the north. Based in the heart of Manchester, HarperNorth publishes bestselling fiction and non-fiction across the market.

  • Inpress Books

    Inpress has been supporting independent publishers for 21 years and works with some of the best and most vibrant independent presses in the UK, helping them reach readers through sales to bookshops in the UK and internationally.

  • Poetry Book Society

    The Poetry Book Society was founded by T S Eliot and friends in 1953 to share the joy of poetry books. In 2016, supported by Arts Council England, the Poetry Book Society moved to Newcastle (UK) to join Inpress. We’re at the heart and soul of the poetry community, introducing new readers to poetry and promoting a diverse range of established and emerging poets worldwide.

  • Prototype Publishing

    Prototype is an independent publisher of fiction, poetry and interdisciplinary projects based in London. As a small publishing house, we would be able to tailor the placement to suit the interests of the successful applicant, but would ensure you come away with a good understanding of the basic processes involved in independent publishing.

  • RR Scouting

    RR Scouting was established in 1996 by Rosalind Ramsay and is one of the UK’s leading literary scouting companies with offices in both London and New York. We read and report on manuscripts from publishers and agents from around the globe with a focus on the UK, US and European territories, advising and supporting our clients in their acquisition of books and IP in their own markets, and for adaptation for the screen as feature film and TV. Our aim is to identify and cover the latest fresh, new and distinct voices in both fiction and non-fiction. We also curate a boutique children’s list for a select number of our publishers.

  • The Braag

    The Braag CIC is a publisher of speculative fiction and poetry chapbooks and of the quarterly journal Carmen et Error. It supports emerging writers in the north east of England through publications and events. It focuses on weird, wild fiction and poetry, and aims to produce beautiful things on a small scale.

Browse the placements

Below you’ll find details of all of the available placements for Spring 2025. Many of the placements are offered remotely, and New Writing North can support your participation by providing a laptop and space to work in our central Newcastle office.

We’ve organised these into categories but all placements will give you an introduction into the publishing industry. When you apply, we’ll ask you to fill out one application and then select and rank all of the placements you’d be interested in doing.

Publishing

Atlantic Books (late January/February 2025)

Remote placement
Late January/February 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks

The placement will be a remote position reporting to the Rights Director in the run up to London Book Fair. You will gain insight into the international side of the publishing business and into the organization of a major event in the publishing calendar. You will have the opportunity to meet with other department heads to give you a broad overview publishing different functions.

The placement will take place between late January through February. The ideal working pattern would be one day a week for 5 weeks. There is some flexibility on the specific day.

Faber (April/May 2025)

Remote placement (with in-person visit)
April-May 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks

This placement will give you a broad view into the workings of the whole company including insight meetings with staff from all departments, a day in the London offices, and new experiences to add to your CV.
The placement will take place 1 day a week for 5 weeks with exact dates to be confirmed with the successful candidate.

Travel to visit Faber’s London offices for a day will be provided for free as part of the placement.

Fitzcarraldo Editions (February/April 2025)

Remote placement
February/April 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks

This remote placement in the publicity department at Fitzcarraldo Editions will give you insight into how an independent publisher organises publicity campaigns. You will gain experience in administrative and organisational tasks as well as research and the chance to learn how to write a pitch, make a press release and research a campaign.

The placement will take place between February and April 2025. Ideally the working pattern would be one day a week for five weeks but if one week works better for the successful applicant, there is flexibility.

Hachette (Spring 2025)

Onsite placement
Central Newcastle office 
Spring 2025 (flexible)
1 day a week for 5 weeks

You’ll spend a week in the Hachette Newcastle office, working with a range of staff across departments. Over the course of the week you’ll get an overview of the Hachette divisions and valuable insight into working in publishing.

At Hachette UK, our mission is to make it easy for everyone, everywhere to unlock new world of ideas, learning, entertainment and opportunity. To achieve this, we want to attract and retain talent that is fully reflective of the world we live in, and to become the publisher and employer of choice for everyone.

HarperNorth (March 2025)

Remote placement (with in-person visit)
March 2025
Flexible working pattern

Depending on your preference, you’ll either spend one day a week for five weeks or one full week with us here at HarperNorth. You’ll meet the team and have a chance to come and visit us at our offices in City Centre Manchester. You’ll get an overview of how we work at HarperCollins and gain knowledge of what we do here in publishing.

Travel to visit HarperNorth’s Manchester office will be provided for free as part of the placement.

Inpress Books (March/April 2025)

Onsite placement
Central Newcastle office

March/April 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks 

We’re seeking an Inpress social media content creator to assist in our busy Inpress marketing team. As part of your experience, you’ll be learning how to run consumer and B2B digital marketing campaigns for individual books and for genre promotions. It’s a great opportunity to gain an insight into the world of independent publishing from a sales and marketing perspective and learn about what booksellers are looking for when picking titles to promote. You will assist with creating content, scheduling campaigns and working on SEO.

We’re seeking someone with a positive can-do attitude and tonnes of creativity. This position would suit someone with an interest in independently produced literary fiction, non-fiction or poetry, and a general interest in a career in publishing sales and marketing.

Poetry Book Society (February 2025)

Onsite placement
Central Newcastle office
February 2025
1 week (Monday-Friday)

The Poetry Book Society (PBS) was founded by TS Eliot in 1953 to share the joy of poetry. We’re a unique poetry book club dedicated to promoting a diverse range of poets and publishers. We’re looking for someone with a positive can-do attitude and a love of poetry to join our office team in central Newcastle for 5 days in February (exact dates to be confirmed with candidate).

As our PBS intern, you’ll gain a rare insight into the poetry publishing sector, as well as learning more widely about book marketing, content creation, bookselling, events programming, and the editorial and production processes involved in printing our quarterly poetry magazine. Alongside shadowing key team members, you’ll gain hands-on experience assisting with blog writing and print reviews and helping to devise social media campaigns to reach new readers, for example Gen Z poetry fans on Tiktok. It’s the perfect placement for contemporary poetry fans and all those with an interest in sharing the joy of poetry through innovative marketing campaigns.

Prototype Publishing (Spring 2025)

Remote placement
Spring 2025 (flexible)
1 day a week for 5 weeks 

The placement will involve working as part of our very small team, offering an overview of all sides of the editorial and publication process, from acquiring new titles, to copyediting, preparing marketing copy and sales materials, planning and managing our social media, organising events, publicising new titles, despatching books, and other crucial administrative tasks behind the scenes.

This placement will be delivered remotely, one day a week for five weeks. Prototype have flexibility about when this placement could be done, between February and June 2025. They can also be flexible with the day of the week that you work. You are welcome to conduct the placement from home, or New Writing North can provide you with space in our central Newcastle office.

The Braag (late January/February 2025)

Remote placement (in-person opportunities)
Late January/February 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks 

This placement will give you the chance to see what goes into running a small publishing press. You’ll get a sense of editing and marketing, as well as printing and distribution. The placement will begin in late January and run throughout February. During this time, you’ll assist with preparing two poetry pamphlets for publication and with the opening of their magazine’s next submissions window. You’ll also help in the lead up to a launch event in February. The placement will be largely remote, although there will be opportunities to interact with The Braag in-person, like at the launch event.

You are welcome to conduct the placement from home, or New Writing North can provide you with space in our central Newcastle office.

 

Literary Agenting and Scouting

Curtis Brown Group (17-21 February 2025)

Remote placement (with in-person visit)
17-21 February 2025
1 week (Monday-Friday)

You’ll spend a week working with a range of staff across the book department at Curtis Brown and C&W, gaining insight into different roles and processes across two leading literary agencies within the Curtis Brown Group. You will gain valuable skills for your CV, such as reading and research. The placement will be remote, with the opportunity to visit the Curtis Brown offices for a day.

Curtis Brown Group are keen to be flexible, so if the dates do not work for you, you may still apply if you have availability between mid-January and early March. Travel to visit Curtis Brown’s London office for a day will be provided for free as part of the placement.

RR Scouting (January/February 2025)

Remote placement (with in-person visit)
January/February 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks

An introduction to the secret(ish) world of literary scouting – this is an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about books, loves talking about and engaging with stories across all genres, and wants to learn about the international publishing industry.

You’ll be reading and reporting on the latest submissions for our daily and weekly reports, sitting in on client zoom meetings, and assisting the team with various administrative tasks as we prepare for the London Book Fair.

Bookselling and Book Prizes

1b Books/ The Crack (Feb-March 2025)

Onsite placement
1b Books, Heaton, Newcastle
February/March 2025
1 week (Monday-Friday)

This is a week-long placement at 1b Books. You’ll get the chance to see how an indie bookshop works behind the scenes and have the opportunity to get involved in delivering their vibrant events programme. You may also have the opportunity to assist with the upcoming edition of The Crack magazine, which is based in the offices above the shop. This placement has flexibility to be tailored to your interests, so you may spend more time in the bookshop or on tasks relating to The Crack. Please let us know your interests in your application.

1b Heaton sell a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, with a focus on queer books and translated fiction. They particularly welcome applications from the LGBTQ+ community.

Gordon Burn Prize (January-March 2025)

Onsite placement
Central Newcastle office
5 days across January-March 2025

You’ll see behind the scenes of one of the UK’s major literary prizes. From the shortlist announcement to the ceremony itself, you’ll work with our marketing team to support announcements and create content for social media.

This placement is designed to be flexible around you and around the key points of the Gordon Burn Prize. The prize ceremony will take place on 6 March 2025.

Creative Agencies

Gardiner Richardson (March/April 2025)

Onsite placement
Central Newcastle office
March/April 2025
1 day a week for 5 weeks

Discover what life is like in a creative agency.  On this placement, learn how organisations create their unique brands and tell their stories to the world. From storyboarding videos to writing press releases, you’ll have the opportunity write for different media types. Find out how strategic and creative thinking go hand in hand to deliver exciting campaigns, target specific audiences and achieve important goals.

This placement has flexibility to be tailored to your individual skills and interests. It will be delivered onsite, one day a week for five weeks in March and April 2025, most likely on a Wednesday or Thursday.

How to apply

Who can apply?

The placements are open to anyone aged 18-25 who is living in Newcastle, North Tyneside or Northumberland. Many of the placements are offered remotely and New Writing North can support your participation by providing a laptop and space to work in our central Newcastle office.

We want to make sure everyone can apply for our opportunities. If you have any access requirements at application stage, or would prefer to submit via video or audio file, please email [email protected]

Can I apply to multiple placements?

The application process will ask you to fill in one application and then rank your preferred places. You’ll be able to select as many places as you’d be available to do and then indicate what your first, second and third choice would be. This allows you to express interest in multiple placements without filling in multiple forms, and ensures we are giving opportunity to as many people as we can.

During the application process we’ll also ask you to let us know about your availability for placements that have some flexibility about dates.

 

Where do I apply?

To apply please fill in this form by Monday 6 January, 12pm. For placements that start in January or February, we’ll be in touch with applicants by Monday 13 January 2025. For later placements, we will be in touch by the end of January 2025.

Queries about applications can be made to [email protected]. Please note that the New Writing North office will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period. We will endeavour to answer queries as quickly as we can after Thursday 2 January 2025.