As an Art Director on our Romance design team, you will be a creative leader and visionary, driving the design and execution of market-competitive, innovative book covers across assigned imprints. You will take ownership of creative strategy, ensuring designs align with positioning, business goals, and consumer expectations. This role requires a growth mindset, problem-solving agility, and strong cross-functional collaboration, balancing breakthrough creative excellence with workflow efficiency and budget considerations.
This an exempt salaried position with a range of $70,000 - $80,000. We determine starting pay based on a thorough evaluation of job-related factors, including geographic location, market conditions, relevant experience, training, and education. This process ensures a fair and competitive salary that aligns with both the company and the candidate’s qualifications.
The location for this position can be hybrid or remote in New York or Naperville, Illinois or remote based in any of the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin. This role includes some travel with occasional meetings at the home office in Naperville, IL.
What You'll Do:
- Take ownership of creative strategies for assigned titles, ensuring strong market positioning.
- Design and art direct compelling, high-impact book covers, from concept to final production, striking the balance between breakthrough creative and commercial design that is always at the forefront of market trends.
- Be deeply collaborative, prioritizing authors and readers while working with editorial, marketing, and sales teams to align creative vision with business goals.
- Research and recruit top illustrators, artists, and designers, ensuring innovative and competitive book designs.
- Manage the cover approval process, facilitating feedback and achieving timely resolutions.
- Check the data, evaluating workflow efficiencies and refining processes to enhance team productivity.
- Maintain accurate records, organized files, and updated design archives for all projects.
- Stay curious and engaged, keeping up with market trends, emerging design innovations, and industry standards.
- 10+ years of experience in book publishing design or a related creative field.
- An exceptional portfolio demonstrating strong typography and design and proven expertise in art direction.
- High-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and strong understanding of bookmaking and printing processes including advanced printing specs.
- Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple deadlines.
- Strategic problem-solving skills, balancing creative vision with budget, timeline, and business goals.
- Ability to be deeply collaborative, ensuring alignment across editorial, marketing, and production teams.
- Be coachable and always learning, staying engaged with evolving design trends and innovations.
As Newsweek’s #2 Most Loved Workplace in 2024 and a recognized leader in innovation by Fast Company (2024 Most Innovative Companies, 2023 Best Workplaces for Innovators), we use a mission-driven, data-centered approach to drive success for our authors and their books. We’re a thriving entrepreneurial company that creates books that transcend categories and defy odds, and we’ve been honored with hundreds of national bestsellers and awards. We are passionate book lovers dedicated to connecting books to readers in innovative ways. Story by story, book by book, we have changed more than 300 million lives. Join us as we change 300 million more!
Ready to Apply:
Please submit your resume, portfolio, salary requirements, and cover letter detailing your relevant experience and interest in this role. Applications without a cover letter and portfolio will not be considered.
Show us your passion and creativity — we’re looking for someone who’s as enthusiastic about this opportunity as we are!
Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits include, but are not limited to, Medical/Prescription drug insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care, Dependent Care, Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account 401(k), Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, & generous paid time off.
Sourcebooks values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.
Skills Required
- 10+ years of experience in book publishing design or a related creative field.
- Exceptional portfolio demonstrating strong typography, design, and proven art direction.
- High-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop).
- Strong understanding of bookmaking and printing processes, including advanced printing specs.
- Exceptional organizational and project management skills with ability to handle multiple deadlines.
- Strategic problem-solving skills, balancing creative vision with budget, timeline, and business goals.
- Ability to be deeply collaborative across editorial, marketing, and production teams.
- Be coachable and committed to continuous learning and staying current with design trends.
- Portfolio and cover letter required for application; applications without both will not be considered.
Sourcebooks Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Sourcebooks and has not been reviewed or approved by Sourcebooks.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, paid holidays and sick days, and a sabbatical program are highlighted, with additional closure between Christmas and New Year’s. These elements collectively indicate a wide range of time‑off options.
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Parental & Family Support — Generous parental leave includes six weeks paid for both parents that can be combined with FMLA, alongside family medical leave. This reflects structured support for caregiving needs.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage are provided along with life insurance, short‑ and long‑term disability, FSAs, and mental‑health benefits. The package spans core health protections and ancillary supports.
Sourcebooks Insights
What We Do
“Sourcebooks, a legitimate contender for the title of ‘most innovative company in book publishing.’”—Mike Shatzkin, Idealog Innovators. Always looking for ways to bring new experiences to our readers, data is the backbone that gives direction to our creativity and informs our innovative spirit. Put Me In The Story, now the #1 personalized book platform in the U.S., is one of three e-commerce businesses we operate. We are committed to innovative publishing and to exploring new publishing platforms and models. Owners and Entrepreneurs. We take pride in being pioneers. Each of us is a leader invested in creating breakthrough for ourselves, our company, and readers everywhere. Starting with just one book in 1987, we now publish more than 300 new titles each year. With millions of books sold and more than 80 New York Times and USA Today bestsellers—and more—Sourcebooks publishes authors, not books. Constantly Learning. Not content to rely on yesterday’s knowledge, we know tomorrow’s opportunities can be discovered only with a passionate desire to explore new ideas. We Create Amazing. Every book and product we create and every life we touch is an opportunity to deliver the unexpected and the extraordinary. Our award-winning books earn accolades from Parenting Media Awards, YALSA Lists, Texas Bluebonnet, state awards, the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal Award, and more. Book Business Magazine named Sourcebooks 2013 Publishing Innovator of the Year. From children’s, young adult, fiction, and memoir to personalized books, inspirational gifts, reference, poetry, and beyond, we believe books change lives. It is the heart of all that we do. We are excited to work with passionate authors, booksellers, librarians, designers, media, brand partners, and others to create a vibrant future for books. FIND US ONLINE www.sourcebooks.com www.putmeinthestory.com www.simpletruths.com www.123magic.com
