Director, Creator and Community Publishing

About the role

The Director, Creator & Community Publishing is responsible for building and owning Andrews McMeuel's publishing program in emerging creator-driven and community-native categories. Reporting to the EVP & Publisher, this role owns the full publishing lifecycle for these categories — from identifying platform-native creators and community-driven opportunities, through acquisition, editorial development, and publication — while working closely with the broader books editorial team.

Responsibilities

• Discover & Sign:
  • Identify and acquire platform-native creators across digital content platforms, social communities, and creator ecosystems who have demonstrated, engaged audiences and genuine commercial potential
  • Build Andrews McMeuel's acquisition pipeline in high-priority community categories — including genre fiction and maker/craft culture among others — with latitude to identify and propose additional emerging community opportunities
  • Evaluate creator projects using platform performance data, audience engagement signals, and community dynamics alongside traditional editorial criteria
  • Evaluate P&Ls and present proposed acquisitions to the EVP & Publisher through the standard editorial acquisitions process
• Develop & Publish:
  • Own the creator relationship editorially from acquisition through publication — serving as their primary Andrews McMeuel editorial contact
  • Collaborate with the calendar editorial team to identify crossover opportunities where community-driven content extends across formats
  • Partner with the Executive Managing Editor on acquisition workflow, scheduling, and delivery to ensure community-native projects move efficiently through the editorial process
• Build & Evangelize:
  • Serve as Andrews McMeuel's internal subject matter expert on emerging reader behavior, platform-native content economics, and creator community dynamics
  • Maintain a visible, credible presence in target communities — attending relevant events, engaging authentically online, and building AMU's reputation as the right publishing partner for platform-native creators
  • Contribute to editorial strategy conversations at the leadership level, bringing community and audience intelligence to acquisitions discussions across the broader list
  • Participate as a member of the Publishing department leadership team, contributing to division-wide strategy and cross-category editorial thinking

Essential Skills

• Genuine fluency in platform-native creator communities — including web fiction platforms, creator subscription platforms, social video, and adjacent ecosystems — from the inside, not as an observer
• Direct experience acquiring or developing platform-native creators, with working relationships inside these communities
• Strong editorial judgment — the ability to tell a good book from a good social following, and to evaluate when a creator has both
• Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to build a pipeline and category presence from scratch without established infrastructure
• Strong written communication and editorial skills, including the ability to write compelling acquisition briefs and present confidently to senior leadership
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with Design, Production, Sales, Marketing, and Finance
• Understanding of transmedia rights and the audio, ebook, and merchandise ecosystem around community-driven IP
• Strategic thinking and an ability to foresee where creator communities and platform-native content are moving

Minimum Qualifications

• Four-year Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 5–8 years of experience in publishing, digital media, or the creator economy, with meaningful exposure to community-native content and platform-driven audiences
• Demonstrated track record of identifying commercially viable platform-native creators and converting them into published books or content programs
• Experience with community-native content categories — including genre fiction, craft and maker culture, or comparable platform-driven formats — strongly preferred