£12.21 per hour + £1.47 holiday pay
Advertising End Date
25 May 2025

Role & Department Overview

Please note: this internship is only available to current students registered on a degree scheme in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Lancaster University.  If you apply for this role the information within your application will be shared with the recruiting organisation.

Comma Press is a not-for-profit publisher and development agency, based in Manchester, specialising in short fiction from the UK and beyond.  Founded on a passion for literary excellence, Comma is simultaneously a publishing house and a writer development agency. Our mission is to put the short story at the heart of contemporary narrative culture, and to provide a through-line of support for emerging and established writers in the UK and beyond.  Comma has an international reputation for high-quality and innovative commissioning.

These are hands-on, largely in-person internships focusing on digital marketing, with the express aim of driving engagement with Comma's authors, forthcoming books, backlist titles, on-going series, and an array of different literary and publishing events hosted by Comma throughout the summer and autumn, working with all members of team.

Please submit a CV (maximum of two sides) and a Cover Letter (maximum one side) both tailored to the role.

Preferred Start Date: 30 June 2025
End Date: 31 July 2025
Interview Date: TBC (mid-June 2025)
Working Hours / Pattern: 70 hours in total over a four-week period, with at least 60% time in the office (Manchester) between two and six days a week (excluding Friday). Hours by agreement between the successful candidate and Comma Press.
Location: Remotely (in the UK) and at the premises of an external employer

Job Description

  • To carry out market research into existing digital networks - influencers, bloggers, vloggers/YouTubers, and other types of gatekeepers - that might offer access to new audiences for specific, forthcoming books
  • To devise and implement a multifaceted social media campaign for a host of forthcoming books, through extensive scheduled content, with an emphasis on video (TikTok and Instagram reels)
  • To devise and implement a series of social media campaigns to re-engage readerships with Comma's on-going series (these series include: Reading the City, Futures' Past, the BBC National Short Story Award, history into fiction, science-into-fiction, history-into-fiction, etc).
  • To assist with publicity for forthcoming books (researching potential press opportunities and contacting journalists, etc)
  • To contribute to the Comma Blog and initiate conversations/invite contributions
  • To proof, maintain and correct any omissions in existing website content relating to backlist books

Person Specification

  • Confident use of digital tools (including social media in-app video creation, content scheduling, etc.)
  • An interest in learning to use a range of digital tools
  • Ability to research as directed
  • Have a keen eye for details
  • Experience and interest in marketing as well as contemporary literature and publishing
  • Good time management and organisational skills
Working in this role will help develop the following skills and experience:
 
  • Business Development
  • Commercial awareness
  • Creativity
  • Entrepreneurial skills
  • Exercising professional judgement
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity
  • Knowledge Sharing
  • Multi-tasking
  • Perseverance
  • Persuasion
  • Planning and organising
  • Problem solving
  • Resilience
  • Self-motivation
  • Teamwork
  • Time Management
  • Verbal communication
  • Written communication
For informal enquiries regarding this role, please contact [email protected].
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You are required to submit a cover letter to support your application. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Please note: Unless specified otherwise in the advert wording, this role is only open to individuals living in the UK.

Under the terms of this work, we endeavour to provide the advertised number of hours, however hours are not guaranteed and that work may cease if there is a fall in demand. 

Adverts that display a closing date should be treated as a guide. We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

Help and advice on making applications can be found on the Lancaster University Careers pages. Visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/careers.