At David Higham Associates, we’re always on the hunt for passionate readers who are ready to start their career in the publishing industry.

We see paid internships as a key pathway for candidates who need to earn a living while they build experience, and offer a fair salary as standard. We are keen to attract applications from candidates from under-represented backgrounds in our shared aim to make publishing a more diverse and fully representative industry.

Our Books department internships are usually offered on a six-monthly basis, to give as many candidates as possible the chance to take their first step into the industry but also to ensure they have the opportunity to take on varied responsibilities.

Typically Books interns manage our submissions inbox, read and report on manuscripts, assist one of our book agents with client-related tasks, help out the translation rights team, fulfil permission requests, help organise our occasional Open Day events and attend and minute Books department meetings amongst other tasks.

Interns also undertake a variety of office tasks and act as receptionist, answering our phone line and greeting visitors.

Interns leave DHA with a good insight into all the functions of an agency and a developed sense of which role interests and suits them best. We mentor our interns with one-to-one sessions throughout their tenure and assist them as they start their permanent job search. We are extremely proud of the varied, exciting roles our interns have gone on to secure since our internship programme was initiated over a decade ago – including several who are now permanent DHA staff.

This is how some of our talented alumnae have summarised their experience with us:

Anna Barnes, Head of Picture Books at Puffin:

I loved my time interning at David Higham. I learned so much about the industry – from big, fundamental things like how contracts work and how agents and publishers work together to find, launch and nurture authors and illustrators; to small but crucial things like how to write a good email. It was the best possible start to my publishing career.

Aimée Felone, Managing Director of Knights Of, British Books Awards 2022 Children’s Publisher of the Year:

I honestly look back at my time as an intern at DHA with such fond memories! Getting the (paid!) opportunity to work at such an illustrious literary agency gave me the much needed skills and confidence to start formulating my ideas of what I wanted my career to look like and what I wanted my impact in this industry to be.

Rebecca Jamieson, Editor at HQ:

My experience interning at David Higham Associates was invaluable. Not only did I meet some of the most amazing people and brilliant minds, but it gave me an extraordinarily helpful introduction to the publishing industry and agenting. The internship is what you make of it, so if you put yourself forward and get involved, you can learn so much – you could be working on inspiring projects, like the DHA Open Days for Under-represented Writers, or reading submissions and writing reader reports for agents, alongside the internship duties required. For anyone trying to break into the industry, I highly recommend applying to this internship at DHA.

Launched in 2018, the DHA Open Days aim to demystify the industry, and support writers from under-represented backgrounds to gain valuable industry knowledge and develop their work. We run Open Days for adult literary and commercial fiction and also for scriptwriters.

Our 2023 Open Day built on the success of previous years, inviting ten exceptional writers to take part in a day of free workshops and seminars from authors, editors, and leading industry professionals, alongside an in-depth 1-1 feedback session on their submitted work with a DHA agent.

Check back here for news of the next Open Day or follow us on X for the latest info.

David Higham Associates is one of the world’s leading literary agencies, and last year celebrated ninety years at the forefront of the international literary and publishing landscape.

Two exciting opportunities have arisen to support the DHA books team:

Book Agents’ Assistant:

We are looking for an assistant to support two of DHA’s book agents, Lizzy Kremer and Maddalena Cavaciuti. This busy full-time role based in London would suit someone with energy and initiative looking for a permanent assisting role in publishing and is suitable for candidates who have prior experience as a book agent’s assistant, publishing assistant or intern, or strong administrative experience in another field.

This position represents one of the best opportunities to learn about agenting through sharing in the work and experiences of two agents who are known for their commitment to mentorship and curiosity about and insight into the business. It will suit individuals who learn quickly, work efficiently and take pleasure in their work. We are especially interested in applications from readers who are reading in the areas of romance, crime and thriller and romantic fantasy.

Everyday duties will be a combination of administrative and editorial. In this role you will be working alongside Orli Vogt-Vincent to provide administrative and editorial support to Lizzy Kremer and her list and her role as Managing Director. Responsibilities will include client and publisher contact, diary management, day-to-day administrative assistance, the creation and maintenance of website and database entries, processing contracts, tracking publication details and liaising with our film and translation teams.

Your role will also include reading and reporting on new manuscripts and proposals for Maddalena Cavaciuti, with a focus on the kind of popular romance and fantasy which shapes Maddalena’s list. The ideal candidate will already be reading widely in this space and will have an active interest in the online book community and the conversations which are driving excitement in these genres.

We are interested in hiring an assistant with a strong interest in and capability for social media content creation, although this isn’t essential for the role should you otherwise be the ideal candidate.

In your application we would be interested to learn why you are interested in working in agenting, at DHA and specifically across Lizzy and Maddalena’s lists and what you feel you would bring to this work. Your application should also include a couple of paragraphs of description of a work of fiction you have read and loved recently and why you would recommend it. Alongside your letter, you are invited to supplement your application with a video (of not longer than 1 minute duration in length) or a social media style reel/carousel on a subject of your choosing. We’re keen to hear from you in whatever formats feel most natural to you and for you to apply to us using your authentic voice and experience. What we are looking for above all is an individual with exceptional organisation and communication skills, curiosity, enthusiasm, an appetite to learn, and a positive attitude.

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Books Department Intern:

We are looking to recruit a publishing hopeful to take on a six-month in-house internship that will comprise of two parts: general reception duties and office managerial tasks for the company as a whole; and more specialised administrative and reading support for literary agent Christabel McKinley. We see this as a role for someone who is starting their journey in publishing, although experience in other industries is actively welcomed and valued.

The ideal candidate would be approachable, comfortable with a front-of-house receptionist role and willing to turn their hand to various ad hoc tasks to ensure smooth running of the front desk. Alongside this, a passionate long-time reader of fantasy would be instrumental in helping Christabel manage and read her submissions, work editorially with her authors alongside her (please see her agent page for a sense of her list and tastes), and provide help with basic administrative tasks. These will introduce the intern to the day-to-day workings of a literary agent, including a basic understanding of contracts, databases and editorial, and aim to provide a strong foundation for progressing into a publishing career.

In your application, please outline what you would like to take from the internship experience and what relevant and/or transferable experience and skills you would bring to the role. Please feel free to approach this as laterally as you would like – we consider every career, educational or voluntary experience as valuable, and are particularly interested in candidates who can bring a fresh perspective to the role. Any skills or background in the wider arts, visual or cultural industries, design, languages, education or marketing are of particular interest. We are also very interested in hearing about your own personal reading tastes and habits and would love to hear a few lines about a book or story you enjoyed recently and how you came across it.

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DHA welcomes and encourages applications from any individual regardless of ethnic origin, gender, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age. All applicants will be considered on merit.

Our offices are based in Soho. Working hours are 9.15am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Please note that both of these positions are full-time roles and you will be expected to work a minimum of three days a week in the office and in the first year four days a week.

We are a company that takes pride in creating a supportive and collaborative environment where employees work towards individual and company goals as well as towards attaining a good level of autonomy in their roles, with training.

To apply, please email your CV and covering letter (or your CV and two covering letters if you are applying for both roles and you would like to use different letters) via email to Orli Vogt-Vincent at recruitment@davidhigham.co.uk. Please include your name in the subject line of the email and indicate which position/s you are applying for using these formats:

INTERN SURNAME first name

ASST SURNAME first name

INTERN and ASST SURNAME first name

In line with DHA’s internal AI policy for employees, we ask that you not use AI in the preparation of your application, for example through use of Chat GPT or Claude.

We offer expenses for travel to London to attend interview. Please let us know if you require any accessibility adjustments during the application and/or interview process.

Salary:

Book Agents’ Assistant: from £27,000 depending on experience

Books Department Intern: £26,000

Closing date: EOD Sunday 2nd August