Africa in Words is recruiting volunteers to join our small, friendly and entirely voluntary team. We are recruiting for our Reviews section.

Africa in Words has an average of 6500 readers each month from over 100 countries. The blog’s Reviews section is well established, 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 developments in cultural production. There will be some management responsibilities associated with the role, including close collaboration with the AiW Reviews team, and with our Guest Authors, in coordination with the Managing Editor. 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.

Key responsibilities will include identifying books and other cultural forms for review, liaising with publishing houses, authors’ agents and launch event organisers (where relevant), scheduling, editing and publishing reviews, and collaborating with the blog’s Editors to ensure the ongoing success of our Reviews section.

This is an ideal position for anyone passionate about writing and texts of all kinds, cultural production and Africa, wanting to gain relevant experience for a future career in associated areas (editing, publishing, online media, arts administration, the creative industries, or academia, for example).

The role would require an initial commitment of 10 hours/month; we are flexible but would ask that the candidate be reliably available and envision this collaborative involvement with the Africa in Words team lasting one year, with the potential for further development along with the growth and direction of the blog as might suit at that time.

The role would be unpaid: we are an entirely voluntary organisation. You can be based anywhere in the world: we are particularly interested in hearing from applicants based in Africa or its diaspora.

The ideal applicant for this role will:

• be knowledgeable about African cultural production, with a demonstrable interest in literature, film or the visual arts, and up-to-date on the latest trends and happenings on the continent
• 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 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
• 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

To apply, please submit a short covering letter and CV to africainwords2011@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.

NEW Closing date: 6 May 2019. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via Skype in May with a view to starting the role soon after.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Categories: Calls for & opportunities

Tags: agents, Authors, blogging, Call for applications, Kristen Stern, Publishing, Reviews & Spotlights on..., Reviews editor