Viking Fiction Editorial Intern
| Posting date: | 16 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £14.80 per hour |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 29 March 2026 |
| Location: | London, UK |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | Penguin Books UK |
| Job type: | Temporary |
| Job reference: |
Summary
Viking Fiction Editorial Intern
A bit about the team and projects you’ll work on:
Viking, an imprint of Penguin General, publishes bestselling, culture-defining fiction (and non-fiction) with literary credibility and popular appeal. We launch brilliant new careers and take established authors to new heights, combining critical success with commercial ambition. Some bestselling fiction authors include Emily Henry, Imani Erriu, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Yaa Gyasi, Richard Osman, Elif Shafak and Donna Tartt. We also never stop championing the timeless classics on our backlist, from John Steinbeck to Gabriel García Márquez.
You’ll work on structured projects across the life cycle of a book, gaining new insight into how Editorial operates. Tasks may include:
Reading book proposals, contributing to editorial notes and providing feedback combining editorial evaluations with market research
Research for book jacket briefs - identifying genre positioning and comparable titles
Contributing to persuasive descriptions to feature on book covers and online retail sights (e.g. Amazon)
Optimising internal Title Information (TI) sheets to ensure clarity, impact, accuracy and tone
Supporting on mailouts of early copies of books and securing endorsements for our titles
BookTok and Instagram trend analysis and market research in the romance and romantasy space
Refreshing the copy for our historic titles (backlist) to increase discoverability
Attending various departmental and divisional meetings, including our weekly Editorial and Covers visuals/briefing meeting
Knowledge and skills you’ll gain: knowledge of every stage of a book’s journey, from acquiring manuscripts to final publication; how teams work together to publish a book; project management; attention to detail; experience working in a fast-paced environment; networking with publishing professionals; understanding essential systems e.g., Microsoft Office, Biblio, PowerBI, Bookscan and the Keyword Management System; knowledge of the fiction market.
About our Summer Internship
This role is part of our summer internship programme at Penguin Random House UK. Please note that our summer internship is a positive action training programme, aimed at bringing new voices into the business. As a result, we will only be accepting applications from candidates who identify as coming from a lower socio-economic background. You can find more information about this eligibility criteria on our careers site or in the application form.
You must also be over the age of 18 and have the existing right to work in the UK in order to apply for this internship role. Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor visas as the summer internship does not meet the minimum requirements for visa sponsorship.
Applications close on Sunday 29th March at 23:59.
Our summer interns are paid the London living wage.
Summer interns will be expected to join us in the business for 8 weeks from Monday 6th July 2026.
Please note that this is a full-time hybrid position. You will be working from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. You will be expected to be in person in our London office for at least 2 days per week.
A bit about the team and projects you’ll work on:
Viking, an imprint of Penguin General, publishes bestselling, culture-defining fiction (and non-fiction) with literary credibility and popular appeal. We launch brilliant new careers and take established authors to new heights, combining critical success with commercial ambition. Some bestselling fiction authors include Emily Henry, Imani Erriu, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Yaa Gyasi, Richard Osman, Elif Shafak and Donna Tartt. We also never stop championing the timeless classics on our backlist, from John Steinbeck to Gabriel García Márquez.
You’ll work on structured projects across the life cycle of a book, gaining new insight into how Editorial operates. Tasks may include:
Reading book proposals, contributing to editorial notes and providing feedback combining editorial evaluations with market research
Research for book jacket briefs - identifying genre positioning and comparable titles
Contributing to persuasive descriptions to feature on book covers and online retail sights (e.g. Amazon)
Optimising internal Title Information (TI) sheets to ensure clarity, impact, accuracy and tone
Supporting on mailouts of early copies of books and securing endorsements for our titles
BookTok and Instagram trend analysis and market research in the romance and romantasy space
Refreshing the copy for our historic titles (backlist) to increase discoverability
Attending various departmental and divisional meetings, including our weekly Editorial and Covers visuals/briefing meeting
Knowledge and skills you’ll gain: knowledge of every stage of a book’s journey, from acquiring manuscripts to final publication; how teams work together to publish a book; project management; attention to detail; experience working in a fast-paced environment; networking with publishing professionals; understanding essential systems e.g., Microsoft Office, Biblio, PowerBI, Bookscan and the Keyword Management System; knowledge of the fiction market.
About our Summer Internship
This role is part of our summer internship programme at Penguin Random House UK. Please note that our summer internship is a positive action training programme, aimed at bringing new voices into the business. As a result, we will only be accepting applications from candidates who identify as coming from a lower socio-economic background. You can find more information about this eligibility criteria on our careers site or in the application form.
You must also be over the age of 18 and have the existing right to work in the UK in order to apply for this internship role. Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor visas as the summer internship does not meet the minimum requirements for visa sponsorship.
Applications close on Sunday 29th March at 23:59.
Our summer interns are paid the London living wage.
Summer interns will be expected to join us in the business for 8 weeks from Monday 6th July 2026.
Please note that this is a full-time hybrid position. You will be working from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. You will be expected to be in person in our London office for at least 2 days per week.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.