Backlist Manager, Scribner Books

Simon & Schuster was named to Forbes magazine list of America's Best Mid-Size Employers 2022. Simon & Schuster is a global leader in general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world's most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards.

It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Adams Media, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, and proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories.

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Scribner is seeking a creative, strategic, and commercially minded Backlist Manager to unlock the full potential of one of publishing’s most distinguished catalogs. Home to timeless literary works, modern classics, bestselling authors, and books of enduring cultural importance, Scribner’s backlist offers extraordinary opportunities to reach new generations of readers.

The Backlist Manager will develop and execute an ambitious strategy for optimizing Scribner’s deep catalog. This person will identify books with renewed sales potential; conceive innovative repackages, new editions, and publishing programs; and create imaginative campaigns that bring fresh attention to both literary landmarks and contemporary classics.

The ideal candidate will combine a genuine passion for books with strong editorial instincts, creative marketing ideas, commercial judgment, and fluency with sales data. This role calls for someone who views the backlist not as a static archive, but as a vital, evolving part of Scribner’s future.

• Develop and manage a comprehensive, year-round strategy for growing Scribner’s backlist across print, digital, audio, retail, academic, and direct-to-consumer channels.
• Utilize data – sales history, market trends, inventory, pricing, formats, metadata, cultural conversations, and competitive publishing – to identify untapped opportunities.
• Establish annual priorities for key authors, titles, franchises, and thematic publishing programs.
• Build a pipeline of short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives with clear revenue goals and measures of success.
• Monitor results and use performance data to refine future campaigns and publishing decisions.

• Identify opportunities for redesigned editions, anniversary publications, format changes, new introductions or afterwords, reading-group editions, boxed sets, and other value-added packages.
• Conceive larger programs—including seasonal collections, author starter packs, thematic series, and other creative groupings that encourage discovery across the Scribner list.
• Ensure that new editions feel relevant and inviting to contemporary readers while honoring the literary significance and distinctive history of each work.

• With the Scribner team, create inventive campaigns that breathe new life into Scribner’s timeless literary gems and modern classics via opportunities tied to anniversaries, adaptations, holidays, academic cycles, author milestones, awards, cultural moments, and emerging areas of reader interest.
• Find meaningful connections between frontlist and backlist titles, using new publications to renew interest in an author’s larger body of work.

• Serve as the central champion and strategic resource for Scribner’s backlist.
• Partner…