Manager - Festival Of The Book

University of Virginia • Charlottesville, VA

7d • $65,000 - $70,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager of the Virginia Festival of the Book supports and reports to the Director of the Virginia Center for the Book in developing and delivering high quality literary programming to the Virginia Festival of the Book and other Festival lead-up initiatives including statewide events throughout the year, as well as the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. This role requires strong communication skills, project management abilities, statewide relationship building, and familiarity with the publishing ecosystem. The Manager organizes key projects and activities related to the Festival, including logistics, assisting with managing partnerships and statewide engagement, and implementing programs. The Manager also represents the Center independently at select statewide events and meetings and contributes to overall Virginia Humanities initiatives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• 3 years experience in one or more of the following: Literary programming, book festivals, or cultural event planning
• Publishing (editorial, publicity, author relations)
• Public library or statewide humanities based program work
• Nonprofit program management or community partnership development
• Strong communication and organizational skills.
• Comfort with public speaking and communicating with audiences of varied sizes.
• Ability to be flexible, adaptive, and solution-oriented when facing setbacks or quickly-changing program needs.
• Valid driver’s license (due to statewide travel)
• Must be able to lift up to 40 pounds.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelors or higher degree in Library & Information Science, Literature, English, Creative Writing, Public Humanities, Communications, or a related field.
• Deep understanding of the current publishing and literary landscape and a thorough knowledge of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, including youth literature.
• Experience developing partnerships with libraries, educators, and literacy organizations.
• Experience coordinating statewide initiatives or representing an organization publicly.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Center for the Book Director, Virginia Humanities’ staff, and other stakeholders to curate authors and programs for the Festival as well as year-round Center for the Book events.
• Assist the director in creating and scheduling panel discussions and programs based on book themes or other literary ties for Festival events.
• Manage venues, AV, and other logistics for the Festival other year-round lead up events.
• With the director and other Virginia Humanities staff, determine interlocutors to interview authors and special guests.
• Oversee author needs such as hotel bookings, comp tickets, and participation in special events.
• Stay informed on publishing developments via Publishers Weekly, Publishers Marketplace, and related industry sources.
• Help build and sustain partnerships with nonprofits, publishers, bookstores, community groups, and statewide literary collaborators.
• Manage offsite and onsite sales with booksellers for all Center for the Book events.
• Oversee the annual book submissions process for authors and publicists, including outreach and ensuring submission completeness.
• With the director, conduct initial review of all submissions and oversee managing review committees and evaluations.
• Manage bulk and individualized author, moderator, and special guest communications, including media requests for author interviews.
• Assist with identifying authors to feature in Virginia Humanities or Center for the Book interviews; conduct or assign interviews as needed.
• Create e-newsletters and coordinate with VH Communications team for social media posts
• Deliver post program reports to publishers and publicists, including attendance, bookseller data, and other metrics.
• Plan and implement strategies for collecting survey, participant, and event evaluation data to measure and report the Center for the Book’s metrics and impact.
• Support and refine internal program databases.
• Support the director in representing the Center independently at statewide events, meetings, and community engagements to expand Festival visibility and partnerships.
• Assist with conducting statewide outreach—virtually and in person—to strengthen relationships across the Commonwealth and bring attention to the Festival.
• Oversee recruiting, scheduling, training, and supporting volunteers, interns, and event ambassadors, as well as all volunteer communications.
• Oversee budget tracking, program expenditures, and documentation.
• Work with VH finance team to ensure all payments are made in a timely fashion.
• Maintain organized, accurate program records, evaluation materials, and administrative documentation.
• Learn and effectively use agency technology platforms, including CVENT and other event management, communication, and data systems.

Benefits

• Exempt level, benefited position

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager