Manager - Festival Book

Manager, Virginia Festival of the Book

Virginia Humanities is the state humanities council, dedicated to helping Virginians share their stories and connect through history, culture, and ideas. The Virginia Center for the Book—part of Virginia Humanities—serves as the Commonwealth’s affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and fosters statewide literary culture, reading, and community engagement through year‑round programming, partnerships, and the annual Virginia Festival of the Book.

The Manager of the Virginia Festival of the Book supports and reports to the Director of the Virginia Center for the Book in developing and delivering high‑quality literary programming to the Festival and other lead‑up initiatives, including statewide events and the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. This role requires strong communication skills, project management abilities, statewide relationship building, and familiarity with the publishing ecosystem.

The Manager organizes key projects and activities related to the Festival, including logistics, partnership management, statewide engagement, and program implementation, and represents the Center independently at select statewide events and meetings.

• Program Development: collaborate with the Center for the Book Director, Virginia Humanities staff, and other stakeholders to curate authors and programs for the Festival and year‑round Center events.
• Assist the director in scheduling panel discussions and programs based on book themes or other literary ties for Festival events.
• Manage venues, audiovisual, and other logistics for the Festival and year‑round lead‑up events.
• Determine interview interlocutors, oversee author needs such as hotel bookings, complimentary tickets, and participation in special events.
• Stay informed on publishing developments via Publishers Weekly, Publishers Marketplace, and related industry sources.
• Partnerships & Community Engagement: build and sustain partnerships with nonprofits, publishers, bookstores, community groups, and statewide literary collaborators; manage off‑site and on‑site sales with booksellers.
• Submission & Selection Management: oversee the annual book submissions process, conduct initial reviews, and manage review committees and evaluations.
• Communications & Media Coordination: manage bulk and individualized author, moderator, and special guest communications; coordinate e‑newsletters and social media posts with VH Communications.
• Data, Reporting & Evaluation: deliver post‑program reports, collect survey and evaluation data, and support internal program databases.
• Statewide Outreach & Public Representation: support the director in representing the Center at statewide events, meetings, and community engagements.
• Volunteer Coordination: recruit, schedule, train, and support volunteers, interns, and event ambassadors.
• Program Administration, Budget Support & Technology: oversee budget tracking, program expenditures, documentation, and payments; maintain organized, accurate program records; learn agency technology platforms such as CVENT.

• Bachelor’s degree

• 3 years experience in one or more of the following:
  • Literary programming, book festivals, or cultural event planning
  • Publishing (editorial, publicity, author relations)
  • Public library or statewide humanities‑based program work
  • Nonprofit program management or community partnership development

• Bachelors or higher degree in Library & Information Science, Literature, English, Creative Writing, Public Humanities, Communications, or a related field.
• Deep understanding of the current publishing and literary landscape and thorough knowledge of fiction, poetry, and non‑fiction, including youth literature.
• Experience developing partnerships with libraries, educators, and literacy organizations.
• Experience coordinating statewide initiatives or representing an organization publicly.

• Strong communication and organizational skills; comfort with public speaking and communicating with audiences of varied sizes.
• Ability to be flexible, adaptive, and solution‑oriented when…