About the position Simon & Schuster is seeking a highly organized, enthusiastic, and creative Publicity Assistant to support the Children’s Publishing publicity team. The Publicity Assistant will provide administrative and project support for a fast-paced department working across picture books, middle grade, YA, brand-driven publishing, and new adult titles. The successful candidate is detail-oriented, collaborative, proactive, and excited about helping authors and illustrators connect with readers.

Responsibilities

• Support senior publicity staff on publicity campaigns for high profile authors and illustrators
• Develop and write press releases, pitch letters, author Q&As, and internal media alerts
• Identify key audiences on a title-by-title basis, develop targeted mailing lists, and execute mailings
• Assist with planning book tours, media outreach, detailed itineraries, and author travel
• Maintain an internal publicity database by updating media contacts, and creating detailed logs of media hits, book reviews, and author appearances
• Manage a variety of departmental tasks including but not limited to managing budgets, award submissions, monthly Amex coding and payments, etc.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with editorial, marketing, sales, and ed/lib teams
• Field backlist requests and respond to a variety of media, author, and bookseller questions

Requirements

• Prior experience in publicity and/or publishing preferred
• Strong interest in children’s and young adult books
• Proven ability to multi-task and shift priorities in a deadline-driven environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Exceptional organization and attention to detail, and proactive approach to problem-solving
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook