Publicity Director, Norton Children's Books & Norton Waverly W.W. Norton NY

W.W. Norton & Company

New York, NY Full Time Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations Posted 10/16/2026

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.
Essential

Job Responsibilities:

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

Please note:

this job description is not designed to cover all activities required of the employee.

Required Qualifications:

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…