Bookcareers

Episode 271 of bookcareers.com Live – Publishing Job Market Update

What’s happening within the book publishing job market? Why does the job market feel flat and is it going to improve? And what should we be looking out for over the next few months? In this episode of bookcareers Live, we take a look at some of the issues affecting the publishing job market in October 2026.

We’re asking whether apprenticeships in publishing are genuinely creating additional jobs or whether some traditional entry-level roles are disappearing. We also look at the Milburn review into young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), and why you should look out for it if you are a publishing jobseeker or looking for an entry-level role.

There’s also AI and its impact on publishing jobs, along with some thoughts about international rights and whether the maturity of different publishing territories affects how rights are sold.

We talk about salaries, career development and why we need reliable information about what’s happening in the industry. And with the Autumn Budget approaching, Suzanne highlights some of the announcements she’ll be watching.

Suzanne doesn’t pretend to have all the answers and would like your input on this episode too. What do you think is happening within the industry?

Prefer to watch? You can watch this episode on YouTube below.

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Episode 270 of bookcareers.com Live – Future Skills for Publishing Professionals
Sponsored by Redwood Publishing Recruitment

We were delighted to launch the Innovation Stage at this year's Frankfurter Buchmesse, and we did it with a cracker of a panel discussing Future Skills for Publishing Professionals with Nigel Newton CBE, Founder and Executive Chairman of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Sarah Arbuthnot, President of Supadu and Suzanne Collier, Founder of bookcareers.com. Prashant Pathak of Sharjah Book Authority expertly chaired the session.

Do you want to know if AI is going to cost everyone their job? What technologies and skills are going to be in demand going forward? How can you protect your long-term career longevity? Are there any new roles being created? What actions can you take now to develop your skills for the future?
The panel discuss this and so much more, as well as give examples of when they personally were ahead of the curve and used their initiative.

This is one episode of bookcareers.com Live you will not want to miss and it continues our ongoing discussion on Publishing Jobs of the Future.

The recording of this episode was sponsored by Redwood Publishing Recruitment. 
Redwood Publishing Recruitment is a leading specialist recruitment organisation for the publishing industry, recruiting roles from entry level to C-Suite across all genres of the industry. With over 30 years’ experience, they provide a personalised service that builds careers and transforms businesses.

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Our podcast will be relaunching on Monday, 12th October 2026 with a cracking episode, sponsored by Redwood Publishing Recruitment.

This Coming Up episode tells you to expect a recording of our Future Skills for Publishing Professionals panel discussion at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which featured Nigel Newton CBE, Founder and Executive Chair, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Sarah Arbuthnot, President, Supadu and Suzanne Collier, Founder and Career Development Consultant, bookcareers.com. The discussion was chaired by Prashant Pathak, Sharjah Book Authority.

This episode also mentions our Go All In campaign to support the National Year of Reading, where we award prizes. Details and how to enter can be found here. https://www.bookcareers.com/national_year_reading

You can view a video of this episode here.

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Episode 269 of bookcareers.com Live – How to be a Rising Star with The Printing Charity

In episode 269 of bookcareers.com live we speak to Sam Nelson, Senior Relationship Manager – Careers and Development at The Printing Charity about the Rising Star Awards — training grants for 18–35-year-olds working in the industry. In this episode, we explore The Printing Charity’s mission and dive into how the awards are designed to help you grow your career. We cover what’s available, how to apply, what makes a strong application, and common reasons some submissions don’t succeed. If you’re ready to invest in your future, this one’s for you.

The book Sam is reading is The Outcast: The Empire's Corps Book 5 by Christopher Nuttall, Published by Createspace/Amazon*

In this episode the following are referenced:

*Affiliate link

If you like to watch video, the video of this episode can be found online here.

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Episode 268 of bookcareers.com Live – Q & A with Stephanie Jemmett, HarperCollins Publishers

Are you looking for a job in UK book publishing?

If you prefer to watch the video, it is online here

You can find HarperCollins careers page here.

We’d like to thank Stephanie and HarperCollins for allowing us to make this recording available.

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Episode 267 of bookcareers.com Live – Work in Publishing 2025 with the Publishers Association

It is Work in Publishing Week!

You'll learn what the Publishers Association does, how it supports the industry and some of its current campaigns (as well as one or two of its big successes). We also discuss the Publishing Jobs of the Future and areas of the industry that are expanding, according to the PA's statistics.

The video of this episode can be found on YouTube by clicking here.

Mentioned in this episode:-

The book Jasmine is reading is The God of the Woods by Liz Moore and Published by The Borough Press.*

*Affiliate Link

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Episode 266 of bookcareers.com Live – Staff Wellbeing at Book Fairs

Suzanne Collier spoke to many people whilst at the Frankfurt Book Fair about their ‘Frankfurt experience’. How did their employer look after them whilst at the Frankfurt Book Fair? One thing that came from the answers, was that all Frankfurt experiences were not equal.

In this episode of bookcareers.com live we discuss Staff Wellbeing at Book Fairs and how simple changes as regards hotel, travel and food can make the greatest difference and ensure staff feel looked after.

It gives tips and suggestions for both employers and employees alike, and demonstrates why the wellbeing of any member of staff should be given equal, if not more importance, than the exhibition stand itself.

The video of this episode can be found on YouTube by clicking here.

Mentioned in this episode.

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Episode 265 of bookcareers.com Live – Planning for a Publishing Trade Exhibition

We’ve spoken a lot recently about the Frankfurt Book Fair, and also about selling rights. However, there is so much that goes into making a Publisher’s presence at a trade exhibition a success.

In this episode of bookcareers.com Live, Suzanne Collier talks us through Planning for a Publishing Trade Exhibition. From the initial booking of stand space, deciding on marketing, getting stock or samples ready to following up after. At the end of this episode Publishing Hopefuls and book fair novices of all ages will have a clearer idea of what actions need to be taken and when.

We’d like to apologise for the low volume on the audio. As a result we have had issues producing a transcript. This may be added at a later date.

The video of this episode can be found on YouTube by clicking here.

Mentioned in this episode.

Our activities at Frankfurt

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bookcareers.com Live Episode 264 – Careers in Book Publishing Rights with Clare Hodder

In this episode of bookcareers.com Live we speak to Clare Hodder, co-founder of RightsZone, which is a software system to support Rights Teams in publishing, and make their job easier.

Clare talks about her earlier career in book publishing, what rights are, the job titles to look out for and the difference between working for Academic and Trade Publishers in rights. You’ll also discover whether you need language skills to work in book publishing rights. Plus much more.

The link for the audio is below, or if you prefer, you can watch the video here https://youtu.be/I71lTZ4CJmw 

After we finished recording, Clare had some comments to add, but we didn’t have time to re-record. Here are her extra thoughts.

Working in rights is very person centred. Rights are sold by people passionate about books to people who are passionate about books.  Buyers have a lot of choice about who to buy from, so being someone who can build strong, long-term relationships with potential customers is a critical skill, and rights relationships really can be long term, its not uncommon to find that rights people have friends to stay with anywhere in the world, thanks to the connections they have made through their work! I think rights roles suit people who take an interest in what is going on in the world, who are interested to learn more about different cultures, who can think creatively about how stories and information might be presented differently to appeal to different sorts of people.

It is important to be able to think through an opportunity, to be able to evaluate the pros and cons and come to an informed decision – so I think rights suits people who are naturally curious and ask lots of questions, those who can be analytical.

Ultimately like so much of publishing, basic business skills are vital. Selling rights is about making money. Even as a not for profit you have to generate revenue to keep your organisation afloat. So it is important to understand what your overheads are, how to manage a budget, how to negotiate a deal that is going to be profitable for your organisation and will deliver an appropriate return to the authors and creators that you are working for as well. 

Listeners might also find it useful to check out the rights&licensing hub from Publishers Licensing Services which has a working in rights section: https://www.rightsandlicensing.co.uk/working-in-rights/

There are also some free online training courses on the hub that will give a greater understanding of how rights works  https://pls.thinkific.com/

The book Clare mentioned in the episode was The StichWort Curse by Alexandra Dawe.

Also mentioned in this episode:

*Affiliate Links

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Episode 263 of bookcareers.com Live – The Myths of Working in Book Publishing

Are you looking for a book publishing job and thinking you must have industry connections in order to get employed? Or maybe you’re worried about whether you chose the right degree for a career within book publishing, or if you don’t have a degree at all? Do you think all book publishing jobs are in London? Maybe you think you need to work for free to get a book publishing job.

All of these are myths about working in book publishing. In this episode of bookcareers.com Live, Suzanne Collier, talks through these myths, dispels those which really are not true (all of them!) and proves that book publishing really is open to all.

The video of this episode can be found on YouTube by clicking here: https://youtu.be/Mil5eQnf2LU

Items mentioned in this episode:

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