Publicity Director, Norton Children's Books & Norton Waverly

W. W. Norton & Company is seeking its first Publicity Director (PD) for the Norton Children’s Books and Norton Waverly team. Reporting to the Director of Children’s Books and Strategic Development, the PD will have a unique opportunity to help shape the growing Norton Children’s Books list, working across NCB and its imprints to coordinate author events and tours, secure media, partner with social media influencers, manage award submissions across titles, and look after imprint presence and branding in the marketplace.

This role also requires working closely with the NCB senior marketing manager and children’s sales specialists, as well as occasional interface with Trade marketing and publicity colleagues. An ideal candidate will be an excellent written and verbal communicator with an established media contact list, history of excellent author care, and strong interest in children’s literature. They should be familiar with the spectrum of approaches to current-day book publicity, particularly for children’s books (all ages), and interested in adapting and honing their promotional efforts to suit the ever-evolving publicity landscape.

• Plan and coordinate strategic author events and book tours across the Norton children’s lists, which currently encompass up to approximately 35-40 titles a year, contracting and utilizing freelance publicists within budget as approved and needed. Manage book orders and author travel. Events will run the gamut from picture book story times and school visits to large-scale public and even ticketed events.
• Draft press releases and, as appropriate, pitch national media, including high-profile podcasts, TV, radio, and print, for lead authors as well as pitching regional and local coverage of author events and tours
• Coordinate outreach and mailings to trade media, as well as following up for features and review
• Pitch national media and establish regular pitch meetings with key outlets
• Contribute collaboratively to the title-specific campaigns for each frontlist book and occasional backlist properties, aiming for appropriate media attention including, when necessary, a special focus on genre media, niche audiences, and relevant local media
• Manage the publicity budget
• Establish and maintain publicity and tour archives
• Conduct post-mortems of title with significant spend post pub, and analyze for future improvements
• Coordinate cover reveals, pre-pub author/illustrator interviews and videotaping, etc.
• Pitch Norton Children’s Books and imprint-level news as needed
• Respond to trade media calls for information and manage the NCB publicity inbox
• Manage relationships with social media influencers via The Flock program and work closely with marketing team on special designed influencer mailings
• Manage award submissions, including top awards like National Book Award and genre awards like the Outstanding Award for Comics
• Will have access to shared assistance in the office
• Other duties and tasks as reasonably requested

• Minimum 6 to 10 years of experience in book marketing, publicity, or sales, with recent senior experience in children’s trade and a solid understanding of the contemporary children’s book publishing landscape.
• Love and knowledge of children’s literature.
• Strong grasp of key publicity concepts and tools including media pitching and event coordination.
• Ability to collaborate as part of a larger team while working independently.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication and copywriting skills.
• Must have strong time-management skills and a proven ability to prioritize tasks and projects effectively and accurately.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite required.
• Travel required.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Employment eligibility to work…