Contracts Assistant - Subrights and Author Contracts

We are excited to announce the opening for two Contracts Assistant positions within our dynamic Contracts team. These entry-level roles are pivotal in managing the intricacies of Subsidiary Rights licensing agreements and Author Contracts, catering to various publishers within the Macmillan Trade group. If you are keen to embark on a career that sits at the heart of publishing, facilitating the life cycle of books from acquisition to publication and beyond, we welcome you to apply.

The Contracts Assistant - Subrights role will focus on handling a high volume of Subsidiary Rights licensing agreements, including but not limited to UK, translation, audio, serial, educational, and reprint licenses. This role will work on licensing agreements for the various publishers in the Macmillan Trade group of publishers, including Celadon Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Picador, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt and Co., St. Martin's Publishing Group, Tor, and the Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. This Assistant will be responsible for: reviewing and preparing licenses for signature; coordinating approvals and signatures with co-agents and licensee publishers; maintaining and updating logs and databases; proofreading licenses; routing and archiving contract documents; assisting with securing license payments; some license drafting and negotiation. The Subrights Contracts team handles a high volume of license agreements including UK, translation, audio, serial, educational, and reprint licenses.

Conversely, the Contracts Assistant - Author Contracts will assist in drafting and negotiating a wide array of author contracts and associated agreements. This Contracts Assistant will assist our busy Contracts team with drafting and negotiating a high volume of contracts and associated agreements for trade books; maintain contract data and contract archives; track and process contracts through all stages; and request contract signature payments. The ideal candidate will be diligent and motivated, actively engaged in learning about publishing from the business side, and able to communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders.

Both Assistants will be integral partners in the execution and completion of author contracts, and will liaise with a wide variety of stakeholders, from the Contracts, Editorial, Royalty, and Sub-rights teams in house, to our numerous co-agents and licensee publishers worldwide.

What you'll do:

• Assist with drafting and review of subsidiary rights license agreements and book acquisition agreements, including author contracts, amendments, and related documents.
• Draft a variety of book acquisition agreements and related documents (e.g., author contracts, subsidiary rights agreements, translator agreements, artist agreements, contract amendments)
• Coordinate review and approval processes with sub-agents, licensee publishers, authors, and their representatives.
• Interpret contractual details such as sub-rights granted, territories, author approvals, and ensure compliance with these agreements.
• Manage electronic signature processes and completion of licenses/agreement using DocuSign.
• Track and archive signed agreements while maintaining up-to-date contract logs and databases.
• Assist in securing license payments and process contract signature payments.
• Liaise with various stakeholders, including Sub-rights, Contracts, Editorial, Royalty teams, and co-agents and licensee publishers worldwide.

What You'll Bring:

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Meticulous attention to detail with the ability to manage heavy volume workloads and expedient turnaround times.
• A strong interest in the book publishing industry, with a keenness to learn about subsidiary rights, author contracts, and the broader business and legal landscape.
• Ability to work collaboratively and independently within a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and G-Suite. Familiarity with publishing contracts management tools such as Biblio3 Suite and/or Bradbury
• Phillips Rights Manager is advantageous.

Ideal Experience/Education:

• A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Prior professional experience in book publishing, media, or entertainment is highly regarded, especially roles related to contracts, licensing, or rights management.
• Six months to one year of experience in a relevant field is preferred for the Author Contracts role.

This role will have an annual salary of $47.5k

Macmillan Publishers is the U.S. trade division of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a large family-owned media company headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its publishing companies include prominent imprints around the world that publish a broad range of award-winning books for children and adults in all categories and formats.

U.S. publishers include Celadon Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, The St. Martin's Publishing Group, and Tor Publishing Group. In the UK, Australia, India, and South Africa, Macmillan publishes under the Pan Macmillan name. The German company, Holtzbrinck Deutsche Buchverlage, includes among its imprints S. Fischer, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Rowohlt, and Droemer Knaur.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are actively seeking job applicants who reflect a broad representation of differences, including race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, physical ability, neurodiversity, age, family status, economic background and status, geographical background and status, and perspective. We believe that the best companies reflect the incredible diversity in viewpoints, backgrounds, and identities of the world in their staffs, and are committed to inclusive hiring across departments and levels. The successful candidate for this position will be an employee of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.