Home › Calls for & opportunities › Call for applications: Associate Reviews Editor for Africa in Words. Closing date – 31 July 2018.

Call for applications: Associate Reviews Editor for Africa in Words. Closing date – 31 July 2018.

By Africa in Words on 17 July , 2018 • ( 1 )

Africa in Words is recruiting volunteers to join our small, tight-knit and entirely voluntary team. We are recruiting for our Reviews section, with the potential for multiple Associate Editorial positions.

Africa in Words has an average of 9500 readers each month from over 100 countries. The blog has an established reviews section, with a primary focus on books (trade as well as academic) and other forms of innovative print culture (particularly small magazines), as well as film, visual arts, and other exciting and cutting-edge forms of cultural production. There will be some management responsibilities associated with the role, including close collaboration with the Reviews team, and with our pool of guest review authors to produce regular reviews for the blog, in coordination with the Managing Editor.

Key responsibilities will include identifying books and other cultural forms for review, communicating with publishing houses, authors’ agents and launch event organisers (where relevant), recruiting Africa in Words reviewers for the team, managing, scheduling, editing and publishing their reviews, and cooperating with the entire editorial committee to ensure the ongoing success of the blog’s Reviews section. There may be scope for additional management in terms of heading up and guiding a small Reviews team, subject to experience and the overall strategic direction of Africa in Words.

This is an ideal position for anyone passionate about cultural production and Africa, and interested in gaining relevant experience for a future career in publishing, the creative industries or academia.

The role would require an initial commitment of 10 hours/month for one year, with the potential for expansion and movement into other roles as might suit. The role would be unpaid: to reiterate we are an entirely voluntary organisation. Applicants can be based anywhere in the world, and we are particularly interested in applicants based in Africa or its diaspora. The ideal applicant for this role will:

be deeply knowledgeable about African cultural production, with a demonstrable interest in literature, film or the visual arts, and up-to-date on the latest trends
have some experience in editing other writers’ work
have an active interest in blogging, culture and Africa and be able to demonstrate some awareness of how the fast pace of the online environment might affect the Reviews section and the input to the role
have demonstrably excellent research, organisational and time management skills, and attention to detail
be able to offer a regular (ideally weekly) commitment to the editorial work
be a strong writer with a firm grasp of grammar and punctuation
have good communication and interpersonal skills in order to liaise with publishers, reviewers and editors
be computer-literate, with regular access to email and an internet connection suitable for Skype
be self-motivated (the majority of work will be done remotely via email and Skype) and enthusiastic about developing new skills

To apply, please submit a short covering letter and CV to africainwords@gmail.com, detailing why you’d like to work with us and in this role specifically. Please include ‘AiW Reviews Editor’ in the email subject line.

Closing date: 31 July 2018. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via Skype in early August with a view to starting the role soon after.

We look forward to hearing from you.