Publishing Assistant
Freehand Books
Deadline: April 30, 2026
Salary: $45,000 per year
Freehand Books is looking for a highly organized individual with strong communication skills to join our small team on a full-time basis as publishing assistant. The successful candidate will be responsible for the administrative duties of the press, and will tackle a wide range of tasks to assist the Managing Editor. Responsibilities include:
Provide administration management and support in the following areas:
- Create, update and distribute metadata files
- Coordinate ebook creation and distribution
- Provide administrative support in the areas of editorial, design, production, distribution, rights and translations
- Administration of various financial and bookkeeping functions, including processing royalties, entering and preparing monthly sales reports
- Complete and submit annual grant applications and reports
Primary point of contact for author communications
- Ongoing support, feedback and assistance throughout the publication process
- Problem solving and tracking deliverables
Support the marketing and promotion functions at Freehand Books
- Prepare pitches for sales conference, festivals, booksellers, media
- Prepare and distribute monthly newsletter
- Update and maintain website and social media channels
- Prepare submissions for various projects and awards
- Prepare and send title information sheets and review copies
- Event coordination, including book launches, author events and attendance at events as needed
- Coordinate advertising content and placement
Skills and qualifications
- Strong administration and organizational skills
- The ability to multi-task and manage competing priorities and deadlines with minimal supervision
- Ability to work cooperatively and maintain productive working relationships with multiple partners in a fast-paced environment
- Strong creative problem-solving abilities
- Strong writing and communication skills
- Experience with ONIX, metadata, accessibility standards, CoreSource and other publishing-related digital platforms is an asset
- Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Adobe Creative Suite, Outlook, shared file storage platforms
- Familiarity with and/or education in the publishing industry is an asset
Job Title: Publishing Assistant
Position: Full-time, must live in Calgary or Edmonton
Salary: $45,000 per year plus benefits package, two weeks vacation, and time off between Christmas and New Year’s
Report: Freehand Managing Editor
Structure: Hybrid working model
To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to info@freehand-books.com by Thursday, April 30, 2026.
We thank all applicants for their interest. Only applicants who are selected for an interview will be contacted.
